The only hurricane that impacted the LSU football team’s season opener against North Texas was the tempest brought on by the Tigers’ running backs Alfred Blue and Kenny Hilliard.
With all the talk in training camp surrounding new starting quarterback Zach Mettenberger chucking the ball downfield and utilizing speedy receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry, the LSU backfield got lost in the shuffle.
Blue and Hilliard made one thing clear with their combined 264-yard rushing performance on Saturday night — the Tigers’ bread and butter is still lining up and forcing the ball down the defense’s throat until they prove they can stop it.
North Texas couldn’t.
During the offseason, offensive coordinator Greg Studrawa hinted the offensive playbook wasn’t going to change dramatically, even with the emergence of Mettenberger’s impeccable arm strength. LSU’s 46 rushing attempts compared to 26 passes thrown by Mettenberger showed that Studrawa is still sticking with the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mindset.
Who can blame him?
What was thought to be a stable of runners has turned into a two-horse race with Blue and Hilliard looking to dominate the workload in 2012.
While Blue and Hilliard got the lion’s share of the carries Saturday night, junior Spencer Ware and highly touted freshman Jeremy Hill didn’t tote the rock once.
LSU coach Les Miles allowed 12 true freshmen a chance to see the field for the first time Saturday night.
Hill wasn’t one of them. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him redshirted in 2012.
Ware hasn’t done anything wrong. Blue and Hilliard have just done everything right.
Blue bulked up to 220 pounds during the offseason and appears to be a much more determined runner than he was a season ago. He put his added strength on display against North Texas, carrying defenders with him and piling on yards after contact.
After looking more like a safety than a running back last season, Blue proved in the opener that he isn’t just going to sit back and wait for the job to be handed to him — or anyone else for that matter.
“We tell each other, if you don’t get it, I’m [going to] get in and get it,” Blue said after the game.
The junior from Boutte, La., definitely got in and got his Saturday night, running for 123 yards after receiving the starting nod from Miles.
While the key to Blue’s success has been adding weight, Hilliard has slimmed down from 240 pounds in 2011 to 231 pounds this season.
Despite reducing excess poundage, Hilliard didn’t have any trouble thumping the Mean Green into submission. His first two carries of 2012 resulted in trips to the end zone, and he led the Tigers in rushing with 141 yards on only 13 carries.
Playing sparingly throughout much of 2011 until the Western Kentucky contest, Hilliard has now racked up eight rushing touchdowns in his last six games.
The performances of Blue and Hilliard combined with bruising fullback J.C. Copeland will give Studrawa time to figure out exactly how he wants this passing game to work. After all, the same horizontal passing scheme Tiger fans moaned and groaned about last season was put on display yet again Saturday with minimal results.
If Ware or Ford hope to supplant either of the two featured backs, they might want to get started now. The one-two punch of Blue and Hilliard looks like a freight train gaining speed leaving the station.
Good luck trying to stop it.
