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The Tigers dug deep and salvaged their dignity this weekend, as well as Southeastern Conference championship hopes, coming off a 30-point blowout loss to Florida.The 24-17 road win against South Carolina instilled confidence and renewed pride in the Tigers, LSU coach Les Miles said Sunday.”Minus being undefeated, I think we’re on point,” he said.The win gives No. 13 LSU a morale boost entering five straight home games, beginning with Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. game against No. 7 Georgia.”Improvement has to be made this week. We’re playing a very good football team,” Miles said. “Ultimately handling the challenge right before you tells you where you’re at. If we can handle a quality team that is coming in here, that would be just what we need.”Miles said he feels confident in frequently rotating redshirt freshman quarterback Jarrett Lee and sophomore quarterback Andrew Hatch, a scheme that proved effective in Saturday’s win.Lee completed 16-of-26 passes for 189 yards with one interception. Hatch was used primarily for his rushing threat, but he did complete a 7-yard touchdown pass to junior tight end Richard Dickson.”We need to take steps again this week, but I like the way we’re using our quarterbacks in and out,” Miles said.Lee said he was encouraged by the offense’s ability to come back on the road from a 7-point halftime deficit.”That last drive we knew we had to watch the clock and be smart,” he said. “It’s a great win after last week and everything that happened. We knew this week we had to keep our heads up and stay positive.”The Tigers displayed a more balanced running attack against South Carolina, deviating from the tendency to give junior Charles Scott most of the touches.Junior Keiland Williams led the team with 72 yards on 15 carries, displaying an ability to “pound it in there with some speed,” Miles said.Scott added 61 yards on 16 carries, and sophomore Richard Murphy also contributed with 18 yards on five carries.”We felt like we could get fresher legs in,” Miles said. “[Scott has] been carrying the load for a couple of weeks now. We felt like we should not necessarily rely on him for every snap. He still carried the ball in key situations all throughout the game. He’s still very much our back, but we felt like the other guys gave us different styles of running.”Junior wide receiver Trindon Holliday, who also carried the ball three times for seven yards, said the win could be a sign of the Tigers’ resilience.”I think it determines what our season is going to turn out to be,” he said. “This one was kind of satisfying. It brings the character out in our team and that we are able to fight back.”INJURY UPDATESJunior defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois missed the Florida and South Carolina games because of a lingering groin injury. Miles said Jean-Francois’ status is uncertain for the Georgia game, although he did practice a “good portion” Tuesday and Wednesday.”I really could foresee him being there,” Miles said. “We obviously want to do the right thing. He’s got to be ready to play. We’re not going to put him in a game like this unless he’s ready.”Sophomore defensive tackle Drake Nevis, who played in place of Jean-Francois, left Saturday’s game because of an apparent ankle injury but returned to the game after getting taped up. Miles said he doesn’t expect Nevis to have any lingering effects from the injury.Redshirt freshman center T-Bob Herbert was not as fortunate. Herbert sustained what will likely be a season-ending knee injury on special teams duty Saturday.—-Contact Amy Brittain at [email protected]
After big loss, Tigers grind out win at S.C.
By Amy Brittain
Chief Staff Writer
Chief Staff Writer
October 18, 2008