In the week leading up to the announcement of this season’s Bowl Championship Series selections, the notion of the No. 4 LSU Tigers making the 1,800 mile trek to Pasadena, Calif., for the Rose Bowl did not seem that far-fetched. But after the USC Trojans choked against UCLA and the University of Florida overtook the University of Michigan for the No. 2 spot in the BCS standings, the Tigers got “stuck” in the Sugar Bowl. Fans have been angry that LSU was selected to the third-most important bowl game because now they will not get the chance to head to the beautiful confines of Southern California. Fans are even more upset that the Tigers won’t face the Trojans in the Rose Bowl in a game that should have taken place following the 2003 season because every LSU student hates USC for no apparent reason. Most LSU students I have encountered base their hatred for USC on an argument that goes something along these lines. LSU student: “I hate the Trojans because they played in the game they were assigned, won that game and were crowned national champions by the Associated Press.” Sounds like the blame for the split national championship in 2003 should go to the AP and not the Men of Troy, but that’s another debate for another column. The Tiger faithful should be thrilled their team is staying in-state for its contest Jan. 3 against the University of Notre Dame because reaching a BCS bowl next year is highly unlikely. Nothing against the recruiting ability of LSU coach Les Miles and coordinators Bo Pelini and Jimbo Fisher, but simply put, the Tigers are going to lose too much fire-power this off-season to be a national championship contender next season. LSU will lose 22 seniors this off-season, but its biggest loss may be from a junior. Quarterback JaMarcus Russell could be lured back to LSU for his senior season for a possible run at a Heisman Trophy, a national championship or maybe even the prospect of being selected No. 1 overall in the 2008 NFL Draft. But money talks, and no one knows what could happen to Russell next season. Maybe injuries or a sub-par 2007 will decrease his draft stock lower than what it already is. Russell has led the Tigers to their first back-to-back 10-win season in school history, and his 24-4 career record is one of the best LSU has ever had. He has a great opportunity of being the second quarterback selected in the 2007 NFL Draft behind his Sugar Bowl counterpart Brady Quinn. Why pass on that? The candidates to replace Russell as the signal caller are obvious. On one hand there is junior Matt Flynn, whose one shining moment was a 40-3 win against the University of Miami Hurricanes in the 2005 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. After the implosion Miami suffered this season, that beatdown seems less than impressive. On the other hand, there is high school phenom and redshirt freshman Ryan Perrilloux, who fell flat on his backside on his first ever snap from scrimmage earlier this season against the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. No matter who starts at quarterback for the Tigers, they will be without this season’s top-two wide receivers, seniors Dwayne Bowe and Craig “Buster” Davis. After being heralded as one of the best receiving cores in the country this season, the only experienced wideout returning next season is junior Early Doucet. True freshman Trindon Holliday has proven he can play against SEC competition, but Holliday, who is listed as a wide receiver, did not have any catches this season. The two men who figure to be the Tigers’ second and third receivers next season, redshirt freshman Brandon LaFell and freshman Jared Mitchell, combined for a whopping six catches this season. One area where the Tigers stand to improve is the running game because after the Notre Dame contest, there will be no more handing the ball off to Justin Vincent simply because “he was here in 2003.” Vincent’s production has declined ever since the BCS national championship season, rushing for 1,001 yards in 2003 to an astonishing 139 yards this season. Keiland Williams, Alley Broussard and Jacob Hester should occupy the Tigers’ backfield next season, with Williams being the premier back if Broussard is still not back to his pre-knee injury level of physical fitness. The Tigers will only lose two offensive linemen, seniors Peter Dyakowski and Brian Johnson, to graduation, so the ground attack should be a focal point of the 2007 LSU offense. The pressure will be on the defense for the Tigers next semester. The No. 4 LSU defense has stayed near or at the top of the national rankings all season and should remain among the best in the country next season. Junior cornerbacks Jonathan Zenon and Chevis Jackson are both returning to a secondary that allowed the third-fewest passing yards this season. Senior safeties LaRon Landry and Jessie Daniels have played their final games in Tiger Stadium, but junior Craig Steltz is more than capable of picking up where Landry and Daniels left off. Despite not being a regular starter, Steltz led the Tigers in interceptions this season with four and was seventh on the team in tackles with 39. All three starting linebackers will be back next season, and sophomores Tyson Jackson and Marlon Favorite will return to the defensive line. Rumors have circulated that junior defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey will join Russell in the NFL Draft, and the graduation of senior Chase Pittman will leave a significant hole in the line. Redshirt freshman Ricky Jean-Francois and sophomore Charles Alexander have seen on-field action this season, and they will be relied on heavily next season. The Tigers can also beef up the defensive line with freshman Al Woods, who was rated No. 17 in ESPN.com’s Top-150 Prospects when he came out of high school in 2006. Coach Miles’ 2007 recruiting class is rated No. 5 by the most trusted recruiting Web site Rivals.com. According to Rivals, seven of Miles’ 17 verbal commitments are among the top 250 players in the nation. Off the field, the possibility of coordinators Fisher and Pelini not returning next season is strong. Pelini was considered for the coaching vacancy this off-season at Michigan State University before it was filled by Mark Dantonio, and Fisher’s seven seasons at the helm of the Tigers’ offense does not hurt his future head coaching chances. It is too early to decide which current players and coaches are coming back, which current players are leaving and which newcomers will make waves next season in the ocean that is LSU football. The SEC is the toughest conference in college football and injuries do occur from time to time, so there is no telling who will be the favorite to win the SEC next season. The Tigers will not be in rebuilding mode next season, but they will definitely be under heavy renovations.
—–Contact Tyler Batiste at [email protected]