Jordan Jefferson and Cliff Harris: Did the LSU Tigers or Oregon Ducks Lose More?

You know the facts. You've heard the stories hundreds of times. The Oregon Ducks' junior cornerback Cliff Harris received a suspension for the first game of the season (the Cowboys Classic verses the LSU Tigers on September 3) for driving 118 MPH on Interstate 5 in June.

Just this week, the LSU Tigers program took a shot of its own. Their starting senior quarterback Jordan Jefferson was suspended indefinitely for his alleged role in a August 19 bar fight at Shady's bar in Baton Rouge.

You know that. It's old news.

It's time to move on. The Ducks and Tigers are one week away from the biggest game of each of their seasons—arguably, the biggest game of the 2011 college football season.

As college football fans across the country try to find things to pass the time until Saturday, they're left speculating as to which of these plays absence will have a biggest impact on the game.

2010 Player Profiles

	Jordan Jefferson	Cliff Harris
Class	Senior	Junior
Interceptions	10 (Thrown)	6 (Taken)
Touchdowns	14	5
X-factor	No	Yes
Backup Status	Great	Mediocre

Which team lost more?

While Jordan Jefferson is the one responsible for starting each offensive play for the Tigers, he isn't counted on as a significant x-factor like Cliff Harris is for the Ducks. Many times last season when the Ducks were in a jam, Cliff Harris stepped up big. In their game at California, they had the worst offensive production of the season. Harris returned a punt for a touchdown halfway through the second quarter to put the Ducks ahead never to look back.

One way you can tell who is losing more in this is by looking at which fan base is more upset with their loss. Since the news broke on Cliff Harris' suspension back in June, the Duck faithful have been licking their wounds and telling themselves "everything will be OK."

Oregon loses a lot of talent in Cliff Harris—a player that is a spark plug and vocal leader on the field and on the sidelines. He is somewhat of a face for the football team.

Ever since the bar fight involving the LSU players took place, Tiger message boards have been generally happy that Jordan Jefferson will have to sit in place of senior Jarrett Lee or possibly sophomore fan-favorite Zach Mettenberger.

Whereas Harris steps up big in critical moments in games and often turned momentum in games, Jefferson has often found a way to give momentum to the opposing team with his untimely interceptions.

What LSU does lose is practice time. Lee and Mettenberger simply didn't receive as much practice time with the first team offense like Jefferson was. If this news had come a month ago, it would be a different story. As it is, LSU takes a huge offensive hit because of the lack of preparation time that their two backup quarterback options can take.

Who loses more? Oregon.