LSU’s win Friday against the University of Arkansas gave the Tigers their first back-to-back 10-win seasons in school history, but more importantly the win propelled LSU back into the BCS mess. LSU was boosted, USC-style, into the Bowl Championship Series top five. The Tigers sixth-straight win forced the computers to give LSU some love with the Tigers jumping five spots in the BCS poll. LSU is now close enough to smell the roses or taste the oranges. The 31-26 victory over the Hogs, however, would not be an easy one. Arkansas sophomore running back Darren McFadden showed that he was the best running back in the league and possibly the nation, rushing for a school-record 182 yards and two touchdowns. The Razorbacks “Wildcat” formation, nothing more than a spread-option offense with a true running back at the helm, stifled the former No. 1 defense in the country to the tune of 298 yards on the ground. Through the air the Razorbacks had major issues. Arkansas junior quarterback Casey Dick is, well, pretty terrible. True, the LSU pass defense is No. 4 in the country, but the Razorbacks would have done better leaving McFadden as the signal caller. He was two for two at quarterback. Dick went 3-for-17 for 29 yards with a touchdown and a fourth-quarter interception setting up a 9-yard LSU score. The LSU defense had to be relieved when Arkansas took the field with 2:04 remaining in the game, a 5-point lead and Dick not McFadden behind center. Dick threw four straight incompletions on the Razorbacks’ final drive of the game. Following the game, Dick said he did not have his best game and the Razorbacks’ first loss since the season opener was a tough one. “Now we just have to regroup just like we did after USC,” Dick said in a news release. “We missed some key opportunities, but now we have to go to Atlanta and take care of business.” The USC comparison aside, Dick’s statements about his poor performance were dead on. On the other side of the ball and win, LSU junior quarterback JaMarcus Russell was an unflappable leader, completing 14 of his 22 passes with two scores against an Arkansas defense that blitzed just about every down. LSU receivers senior Buster Davis and junior Early Doucet both had touchdown receptions from Russell, freshman running back Keiland Williams rushed for 68 yards and a touchdown, and senior safety LaRon Landry hauled in his second interception of the season. Saturday’s most valuable player comes in a very small package. Freshman wide receiver Trindon Holliday made his only touch Saturday count with a 92-yard kickoff return for a game-winning touchdown. The CBS cameras flashed on McFadden who was still breathing heavily on the sidelines after his 80-yard touchdown the play before. McFadden got a quick sip of water, shook his head in disbelief of Holliday and headed back to the field. Holliday, without a doubt the best 5-foot-5-inch, 159 pound return man on LSU’s roster, earned Southeastern Conference Special Teams Player of Week and the admiration of his coach. “To answer right there, the very next play, is so huge,” LSU coach Les Miles said in a news release. “When [Holliday] gets out in front, he’s tough to catch.” So now what for the No. 5 Tigers? A trip to a BCS bowl seems likely for LSU now at 10-2, 6-2 in the SEC, but not being the SEC West representative in the conference championship game still leaves an air of uncertainty for LSU. Regardless of what bowl the Tigers end up playing in, they have certainly proved they are one of the elite teams in the country. Winning the Golden Boot this season was not the push-over game that it has been in the past. But with a tough defense, another strong performance from Russell and a little luck from a kick-returning leprechaun, the Tigers are now one of the hottest teams in the country.
—–Contact Keith Claverie at kclaverie@lsureveille.com