When the clock hits all zeroes tomorrow night, you can bank on one thing.
An inordinate amount of praise or blame will be heaped on the broad shoulders of LSU junior quarterback Zach Mettenberger. Win, and he’s the quintessential quarterback with the golden arm. Lose, and he’s the reason LSU won’t reach those lofty goals that fans and media set at the beginning of the season.
It’s a tough position to be in, but it’s a problem LSU signal callers have faced in the past and will face in the future. The fickle Tigers’ fan base needs a winner, and it needs one that can do it with flair.
Since his first underwhelming performance, those fans have been jumping off the Mettenberger wagon at a rate that suggests it’s carrying a flesh-eating bacteria.
Everyone expected Mettenberger to seemlessly direct then-No. 3 LSU’s offense in the season-opener against North Texas.
He turned in an efficient 19-of-26 performance in LSU’s 41-14 win. It was productive, but missing that scintillating moment — that’s been the theme this season.
Mettenberger has posted run-of-the-mill numbers this season. He’s been erratic at times, completing just 56.6 percent of his passes, and his seven touchdowns in eight games won’t prompt Heisman voters to call his name any time soon.
Heading into LSU’s most important contest of the season, he’s already been discarded into the second-rate quarterback bin instead of being the catalyst that would turn LSU into a ‘Bama-beater.
Pump the brakes, y’all. Have some perspective.
It seems fitting that the entire reason Mettenberger was put into the situation as LSU’s savior in the first place was because of how putrid the Tigers’ offense was the last time it played Alabama.
He was the anti-Jordan Jefferson. Even in the hours and days after LSU was embarrassed in the national championship game, LSU coach Les Miles was questioned as to why Mettenberger wasn’t given a chance to jump-start LSU’s offense.
Now, eight weeks into the 2012 season, Miles has fielded questions about whether he’s given transfer quarterback Rob Bolden any consideration as an option threat.
Give me a break.
Here’s my proposition: rather than look for a quick fix to something that hasn’t proven to be broken, give the man some time.
He’s still just three-quarters of the way through his debut season at the helm of a Southeastern Conference powerhouse, and the Tigers have fared well with him in control of the wheel.
LSU has outscored its opponents by a 16.4 point average this season, dropping just one contest in a hostile environment to a Florida team that’s proven itself to be capable of hanging with the big boys this season.
And you never know, Mettenberger might turn in that coming-of-age performance like Matt Flynn did against ‘Bama in 2007 when he threw for 353 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-34 LSU win. The same Matt Flynn who had spookily similar stats seven games through his first season as starter before beating the Tide and leading LSU to a National Championship.
If that happens, I’ll be on the lookout for your “Mettenberger for Heisman” signs.
