It only took one game into the 2010 season for LSU junior running back Stevan Ridley to realize the LSU football team had no business returning to its old ways of 2009.
The Tigers had the lead going into the fourth quarter in 11 of 13 games in 2009 but escaped with only a 9-4 record. LSU was a team on a mission for the 2010 season because of its inability to close out games.
LSU’s new motto, simple yet elegant, was to finish.
But following a near-catastrophic loss to North Carolina on Sept. 4, Ridley stood composed and issued his team a challenge to “break that trend” of not closing out games.
So far, the mission statement and Ridley’s challenge has lived to the billing. LSU has outscored opponents, 83-50, in the fourth quarter and is a perfect 7-0 when entering the fourth quarter with a lead.
“[LSU] coach [Les] Miles has told us we have to finish,” Ridley said Monday. “That’s the key word to the season.”
Miles, though, couldn’t give a specific reason as to why the team has been so successful late in games this season.
“We are maybe getting on track,” he said. “Maybe the coaches are getting a good look at what is needed, and maybe our players are fresher and look forward to finishing the game.”
The latter can be traced back to last summer with the involvement of strength and conditioning coordinator Tommy Moffit.
The Tigers spent countless hours conditioning and training during the dog days of summer, which is standard for a college football team. But Moffit took it a step further — albeit a little step.
After their conditioning, the players would huddle up to break it down, only to receive a surprise from the 11th-year strength coach.
“We’d have like 25 up-downs, and we’d be like ‘What is this for?’ and he said ‘This is to finish, this is the overtime,’ and so we put a key focus on finishing everything,” Ridley said.
The 2009 season was just a minor blip on LSU and Miles’ radar in terms of closing out games. Since Miles arrived in Baton Rouge in 2005, he is 48-5 when leading after the third quarter.
Many of the players, including Ridley, took it to heart to not allow a repeat of 2009. LSU currently has a tradition where after the third quarter clock reads zero, the whole team holds up both hands with four fingers to signify the final quarter.
“We kind of took it upon ourselves and said why not be us and let us be the team that rallies in the fourth quarter and finishes strong,” said LSU junior left guard Josh Dworaczyk.
Rallying is exactly what LSU has done to help establish its No. 5 BCS ranking. LSU notched last-second wins against Tennessee and Florida in consecutive weeks. LSU now has 16 comeback or overtime wins with Miles at the helm.
“It shows that whenever we’re in the fourth quarter, it’s really time to strap up and make sure we get this victory,” said junior quarterback Jordan Jefferson.
With three games left to play, the 83 points the Tigers have scored in the fourth quarter already surpasses last year’s 82.
 
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Contact Sean Isabella at [email protected]