Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning is well-known throughout the country, but his counterpart, LSU quarterback Matt Mauck, may not get enough credit for the season he’s having after a difficult injury he suffered last season.
But defensive end Marquise Hill paid Mauck a big compliment Monday when he said: “I think there’s a lot of hype on Eli Manning. He’s a good quarterback, but he’s nothing better than we see every day in practice.”
Hill may be onto something. The numbers are similar for the two quarterbacks. Mauck has a quarterback efficiency of 154.1, tops in the Southeastern Conference. Manning sits at 149.8, second in the conference.
Both have thrown eight interceptions. Manning edges Mauck in touchdowns by a 23-to-21 margin, though Mauck has completed more than 65 percent of his passes compared to Manning’s nearly 63 percent rate.
When told of Hill’s compliment, Mauck was surprised.
“I don’t know about that, but I appreciate him saying that,” the LSU signal caller said. “Eli has had a tremendous career. He’s fun to watch on film.”
Receiver Michael Clayton also has a lot of respect for Manning.
“He’s an awesome guy and a great athlete,” Clayton said. “I can’t say enough about the guy. He can change the outcome of a game. I got the chance to work with him [this summer at Archie Manning’s camp] … he’s just a great guy. I know he’s going to bring his ‘A’ game. We’ve just got to be ready.”
SMACK!
With the dominating win the Tigers had on the road in Alabama, it might be tough to come up with one single play that was the play of the game.
It could be Skyler Green’s punt returns or the key defensive stops … but what about the block running back Justin Vincent had on two Alabama players during the second half of LSU’s win?
Vincent engaged a ‘Bama player during a jail break screen pass to Green, then ran down the field and took out two Crimson Tide players at the same time. He then hustled up field and made contact with another.
Coach Nick Saban called the block “unbelievable.”
Sophomore offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth said blocks by skilled players like Vincent mean a lot.
“He had a couple of blocks like that,” Whitworth said. “It’s definitely inspirational to us. He’s out there putting a hat on [a hat].”
Broadway Joe
Back to Mauck again. The junior who has become more of a traditional pocket passer this season, drew a tremendous compliment from NFL Hall of Famer and former Alabama quarterback Joe Namath.
Namath, who was visiting the ESPN crew during the Tigers’ 27-3 rout of ‘Bama, came away impressed with Mauck.
“Man, I saw Mauck earlier in the year and said ‘who is that guy?'” Namath said. “I have seen him several games now. He can do it all. I love the way he moves around and the way he throws the football.”
Stop Somebody….
Ole Miss comes into Saturday’s contest with statistically the second-worst pass defense in the country.
However, the statistic could be misleading, especially when you consider Texas Tech quarterback B.J. Symons threw for 661 yards and six touchdowns against the Rebels in a 49-45 loss to the Red Raiders on Sept. 27.
“That one Texas Tech game throws everything out of whack when [Tech] threw for 600-something yards,” offensive lineman Rodney Reed said. “Stats and records in a game like this can be thrown out of the window. It really doesn’t matter.”
Saban Strikes Back
In the opening moments of Monday’s press conference, Saban struck back at a local columnist who offered a sarcastic look at Saban’s comment after the ‘Bama game, in which the coach said there was nothing at stake in Saturday’s tussle at Ole Miss.
Saban offered the columnist’s boss – since the columnist was absent from the gathering – a whistle and told him to pass it on to the columnist. He said that coach’s meetings begin at 1:45 p.m., insinuating that the columnist should take the reins of the team.
Tension between Saban and the media continued on Monday when he reiterated his comments following Saturday’s contest.
“You guys don’t understand,” Saban said. “You just can’t get it through your heads that when you make things high stakes, it creates expectations and anxiety that is not good for performance.
“Why would I tell the team ‘This is going to be the biggest game you play of your life and if we don’t win, we’re going to push y’all off a cliff.’ Why would we do that? How would that make us play better? I know you’d like for me to do that and say that.”
Saban said the media serve an important purpose for the information he wants to get out to the team.
“You guys just don’t understand,” he said. “Sometimes I’m talking to the team through you. You think I don’t know what’s at stake? I mean, everybody does. But why make it bigger than it is?”