LSU-App St.: Tigers dominated Mountaineers in The Trenches

Quite frankly, I never understood all of the fanfare surrounding the Appalachian State’s season opener at Louisiana State. The Mountaineers have seemingly become America’s newest college football darlings.

LSU reminded me of the Allies in World War I, because I knew that they would dominate Appalachian State from the jump by means of their outstanding play in the “trenches” on the defensive and offensive lines.

The most important aspect of any football game is the trench wars. The battle between the offensive line and defensive line should never be underestimated as it is the key to who wins any ball game..

Today, one of the most talked about football games was the bout between the Appalachian State Mountaineers and the Louisiana State Tigers. The Mountaineers made this an intriguing match-up because they went into Ann Arbor last year and knocked off the Michigan Wolverines.

Would history repeat itself for Appalachian State in 2008?

Would they find success in the bayou?

No, they wouldn’t.

From the get-go, the LSU Tigers defensive line manhandled the Mountaineers offensive line as Appalachian State quarterback, Armanti Edwards, found no room to operate all game long. As far as I know, LSU’s defensive end Tremaine Johnson could tell us what flavor of bubble gum Edwards was chewing.

On every down, the star quarterback from the Mountaineers was left without a pocket. He had to make the best of every down as he was constantly on the run. Edwards was ineffective because he had no time to deliver the ball. On the day, Edwards completed just 13 of 31 passes for 155 yards.

A giant kudos should be given to the LSU Tigers. While I expected the Tigers to dominate and win this ball game, there is no doubt that Armanti Edwards is a very talented quarterback. The defensive line of LSU deserves a lot of credit for applying more pressure than expected on the Appalachian State offensive line.

You know what they say: "Pressure bursts pipes" and the frontline of LSU, spear-headed by Tyson Jackson and Al Woods proved so. The reigning Division 1-FCS champions had no answer to the all-out assault placed on them by the LSU frontline.

LSU defensive tackle, Ricky Jean-Francois and company helped limit the Mountaineers to an average of 1.8 yards per carry.

Despite losing their leader in the trench, Glenn Dorsey, to the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft, the LSU Tigers front four is arguably better than it was last year. At defensive end, Tyson Jackson, Tremaine Johnson, and Kirston Pittman form a fabulous trio that any head coach would love to have. On the interior, Al Woods, Ricky Jean-Francois, and Marlon Favorite form a wall that is reminiscent of the 1970’s Pittsburgh “Steel Curtain.”

Even though this was a match-up between a Division I-FBS school and a Division I-FCS school, it is a perfect example of how games are won in the trenches. These two national champions went head to head in the wake of Hurricane Gustav, but only one reigning national champion prevailed, the LSU Tigers.

A similar statement was made last January as the Georgia Bulldogs beat up on the Hawaii Warriors in the Sugar Bowl. From the first whistle, the Bulldogs had the game in the bag because Hawaii's offensive line was so inferior to Georgia's defensive line.

The same song can be said about dominating offensive lines. The LSU Tigers may have the best offensive line in all of the Southeastern Conference. Led by Herman Johnson, Ciron Black, and Brett Helms, the Tigers were able to rush for 266 yards on the Mountaineers.

LSU averaged nearly seven yards per carry in the ball game, proving once again that whoever wins the battle in the trenches will likely win the ball game.