The Badgers stacked eight or nine defenders at the line of scrimmage to stop Fournette and force quarterback Brandon Harris to beat them with his arm.
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LSU head coach Les Miles said he considered playing Etling last Saturday against Wisconsin, but felt “the situation was hard”.
Integrating Boutte: After serving his one-game suspension, offensive guard Josh Boutte will be available for the Tigers in their Southeastern Conference opener against the Bulldogs. The No. 5-ranked FCS squad jumped out to an early 14-0 lead keeping the pressure on the Lions until the end of the game.
He obviously liked what he saw in Guice, who previous year rushed for 436 yards and averaged 8.5 yards per attempt in making the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman team. “We’ll get Boutte back after he served his one-game suspension”, the coach said. Guice rushed for 155 yards on merely 19 carries while Etling did enough under center, going 6-for-14 on passing attempts with a touchdown and interception.
“The issue is we have to find the recipe that allows that to happen because we have talent”, Miles said. Well, nothing changed, and neither has the mindset of the fans, boosters, and alumni in regards to Miles being the head coach for the Tigers next season. In 11 seasons, Les Miles have never had a losing season in Baton Rouge.
“I feel like they (Jacksonville State) were wore down after the first quarter”, said Guice.
Some pundits will say there’s no value for LSU in a game like this, but that’s not true for a number of reasons.
All in all, though, it continues a trend of minimal interaction with the media since spring practice, including the fact LSU didn’t bring Harris to SEC Media Days in Alabama in July. If they get it fixed, JSU will likely struggle to contain the Tigers’ skill players.
LSU has great defensive personnel, an All-American at running back, and arguably the best home-field advantage in college football. Harris was indecisive and careless, leading to a poor overall offensive performance. Don’t be surprised if he throws three times on the opening drive, if possible.
For now, the bet is that Harris is closer to following Jennings and Johnson down the transfer road (Jennings has been an effective starting quarterback for UL-Lafayette) than he is to reclaiming LSU’s starting role. So, more than anything, Miles needs a quarterback that the rest of offense trusts, and Saturday indicated that Etling has the better chance of earning that trust than Harris, at least at this stage in the season.
Harris left the field to boos.
Given his production against LSU, his connection with Houston and Chryst’s track record, Fumagalli seems on track for his best season in cardinal and white and a breakout 2016. “He came in and showed that he’s a pretty special back. We are looking forward, though, to seeing him return”. Look no further than the history of Miles with the Tigers for supporting evidence. He sat with an ankle injury. All things need to be tightened up.
As LSU’s offense established control, Etling’s more realistic threat of hurting the defense with the pass loosened up Jacksonville State’s defense for the Tigers’ running game.
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It will be the first-ever meeting between LSU and Jacksonville State.
