ARLINGTON, Texas — In a game that featured two football teams built around distinctly divergent philosophies, old school, smash-mouth football won out. For fans of LSU and the SEC, the result was welcome news.
The Tigers used a complete team effort to defeat Oregon in a marquee matchup of top-5 teams during college football’s opening weekend. With distractions abound — including an indefinite suspension to starting quarterback Jordan Jefferson — LSU stayed focused what it does best: playing a physical, grinding brand of football while keeping mistakes to a minimum.
“We care about pride and dignity and every game that’s how we control it,” said running back Spencer Ware, who finished with 99 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. “Eat up the clock and we pound our opponents, right at them.”
LSU battered Oregon from start to finish on both sides of the ball. On offense, the Tigers relied on a stout running game that racked up 175 yards on 48 carries. What the Tigers offense lacked in flair, it made up for in substance. LSU meticulously wore down a relatively small defensive line for Oregon and ran away in the second half, eating up clock and stacking up points to put the game out of reach.
Fifth-year backup quarterback Jarrett Lee did an honorable job filling in for the suspended Jefferson. Lee had previously proven his mettle by leading the Tigers to four fourth-quarter comebacks during his career. After suffering a few hiccups early on (including a botched snap that resulted in an Oregon recovery at the LSU 20) he settled down, making plays when he needed to while avoiding the type of disastrous mistakes that doomed Oregon early on.
“I enjoyed Jarrett Lee’s effort,” head coach Les Miles said. “I liked how the offense did the things it needed to do, keep the ball on the ground with the lead. You don’t win a game against a good opponent unless you win the turnover margin.”
“We have a great football team,” Lee said. “Offensive line, receivers, running backs — we all just work hard and prepare hard each and every day. The offensive line did a great job of blocking so it was a full team effort.”
LSU’s defense took care of the rest. Playing against an Oregon team that averaged 47 points per game in 2010, the Tigers were physically and mentally dominant. Following the blueprint of previous teams with success against Oregon’s up-tempo spread attack, LSU displayed impressive gap discipline, conditioning and sound tackling. The Tigers also limited Heisman-trophy candidate LaMichael James to 54 yards on 18 carries.
More importantly, LSU forced four key Oregon turnovers, including a fumble on a botched punt return that resulted in the first touchdown of the game. The Tigers were presented with a short field on numerous occasions, and took advantage by scoring 20 points on possessions resulting from an Oregon turnover.
“We started at the spring of this year with what we called the tempo drill,” Miles said. “We ran two offenses at the defense in rapid fire to get them used to a fast pace. We continued right through two-a days and virtually every day. We challenged them to be ready, and ‘ready’ is a big deal when you line up against a team that will fast-pace you an try to get your helmet turned and run a big play. They were ready.”
LSU took down last year’s Pacific-10 Conference champs by staying true to its principles, taking advantage of its opportunities and refusing to fixate on off-field distractions. Despite being unexpectedly thrust into the starting lineup, Lee was voted a team captain previous to the game, and his confidence was evident and infectious throughout the contest.
“As you all know, there’s a lot we had on our minds as a team coming into this game,” Lee said. “We just kind of put that to the perimeter. It’s not something that we wanted to happen but you just have to put that to the side and you have to move forward.”
“We asked them to put to the perimeter all those things that could be distractions; things that the sports media needed to visit about and rehash and define and clarify,” said Miles. “We went to offense defense and special teams and how a group of men could be committed to each other, and do the things that they came to do without regard to the setting of the game.”
LSU will continue its path towards a grueling Southeastern Conference regular season one game at a time, starting with Northwestern State on Sept. 10. Despite the momentous victory on a national stage, Miles was quick to point out that the win was just one step towards the Tigers ultimate goal.
“I don’t really care if we’re ranked No. 1 or not, to be honest with you,” Miles said. “That’s so far way from ever really counting. I appreciate the fact that we’re close enough to end up No. 1 and that’s all I care about. If we continue to play well and do the things we’re capable of doing, we’ll earn our way. I’m not in any way lobbying to be the No. 1 team in the country.”