LSU Football: 10 Ways Jarrett Lee or Jordan Jefferson Can Bring a National Title

Imagine if the NCAA basketball tournament began with one of the finalists already set. That’s basically the situation in college football this year.

If LSU can get past one tough test—their November 5 game at Alabama—and can avoid an upset in the SEC Championship Game, the Tigers are already virtually assured a spot in the BCS Championship Game.

Do you think other teams could interrupt the Tigers’ journey to glory?

Here are 10 reasons why they won’t.

1. It’s not just Jarrett Lee

The Tigers have depth at every position. They have two defensive lines, two complete secondaries, two units of wide receivers and three sets of running backs. When left tackle Chris Faulk, the key to the Tigers’ vaunted offensive line, went out against Mississippi State, he was replaced by senior Alex Hurst. After one bad series that included a false start and a missed block, nobody noticed the difference.

As for backup quarterback Jarrett Lee, he elevated his game when Jordan Jefferson ran into legal troubles before the season, and he already has more 100-yard passing games than Jefferson had all of last season. He's also thrown just one interception.

2. Balanced attack

Through four games, here are the run versus pass statistics for LSU:

Oregon: 48 rushes for 240 yards; 22 passes for 95 yards.

Northwestern State: 45 rushes for 175 yards; 21 passes for 225 yards.

Mississippi State: 38 rushes for 148 yards; 27 passes for 213 yards.

West Virginia: 41 rushes for 186 yards; 28 passes for 180 yards.

The value of this balance was never clearer than Saturday night at West Virginia midway through the second quarter as LSU faced third-and-six at its own 48.

The Tigers brought in a jumbo package, which West Virginia had to respect, given that LSU had converted five of seven third downs at that point—all but two by the run. So Lee faked into the line, then threw deep down the middle to Odell Beckham, Jr., who raced untouched into the end zone for a 20-7 lead.

3. Veteran offensive line

Tiger fans will bitterly remember Lee’s first stint as starting quarterback, when he took over as a redshirt freshman after head coach Les Miles dismissed Ryan Perrilloux shortly before August practice.

Lee threw 14 interceptions, eight of which were returned for touchdowns. What is not as clearly remembered is that four of the five linemen blocking for him also were seeing their first action.

Those four—Hurst, T-Bob Hebert, Will Blackwell and Patrick Lonergan—are still there. Today they team with Faulk, a prep All-American, and can plow holes for runners. The Tigers average 150 rushing yards per game and protect Lee.

And veteran offensive lines win big games.  

4. "Freakish" talent along defensive line

Fans love it when their team signs someone – anyone – whose nickname is "The Freak," and LSU did that when it inked Anthony Johnson, the country's top-rated prep defensive lineman last year. Johnson, Kendrick Adams, Sam Montgomery and Benny Logan comprise one of the top five defensive lines in the country.

The problem for LSU’s opponents is that Barkevious Mingo, Michael Brockers, Ego Ferguson and Josh Downs also comprise one of the top five defensive lines in the country.  

5. A secondary unrivaled

No team in America can cover as many top receivers one-on-one as LSU. Ask Oregon.

The Ducks thrive on 40 and 50-yard gashes through their opponents. They had one play as long as 18 yards against LSU compared to nine such plays in their 56-31 victory over Arizona last week.

Except for two plays, the LSU secondary kept West Virginia’s vaunted trio of Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey and Ivan McCartney underneath, and the Tigers will not likely face as talented a threesome again this season, not even against Alabama.  

6. Kicking and punting

Fans feared both could be areas of weakness, but they have proven to be strengths so far.

Kicker Drew Alleman has made eight of 10 field goals and, although he has missed two extra points (a bad snap caused one; first-game jitters the other), he has become increasingly reliable.

Punter Brad Wing pinned West Virginia on their 3-yard line twice, as well as the five, the seven and the 10. The joke now is that Wing should change his name to Leg.  

7. Big plays from special teams

Of course, none were bigger than last Saturday, when Morris Claiborne turned in the longest kickoff return for LSU since 1986 to pave the way for their 47-20 victory over West Virginia. The Mountaineers had crept within six and had momentum, but Claiborne’s return ended the comeback and paved the way for two easy late touchdowns.  

8. Better coaching

Yes, Les Miles is still the head coach, but the people around him have changed for the better.

John Chavis has settled in as defensive coordinator. His bend-but-don’t-break style keeps Tiger fans on pins and needles, but the team is 16-1 since he came to town. 

LSU’s national title hopes—and Gary Crowton’s hopes of remaining as offensive coordinator—ended last year when Crowton failed to get a play called (coming out of the Tigers’ final timeout, no less) on the disastrous 4th-and-7 play that ended their 24-17 loss to eventual national champ Auburn.

This year, they are organized, clock-aware, efficient and diverse, thanks to new QB coach Steve Kragthorpe and offensive coordinator Greg Studrawa (promoted from offensive line coach when Kragthorpe announced he had Parkinson’s disease).

They even executed a two-minute drill to score before halftime against Northwestern State. Yes, it was Northwestern State, but the Tigers seemed unable to accomplish this against any opponent during the Crowton era.  

9. Overcoming adversity

Few teams in America had a worse August than LSU. The Tigers lost their starting quarterback and a backup defensive lineman to criminal charges stemming from a bar fight. Their best receiver, Russell Shepard, didn’t play until their fourth game because of an NCAA suspension.

However, the team bonded in the face of this adversity. 

If you look carefully you can see the numbers of the missing chalked onto the biceps of the defensive backs, 10 until Shepherd returned, nine until Jefferson returns.

10. The schedule

LSU still must play Florida, a Tennessee squad that seems to have its number, Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas and their rivalry match with Ole Miss. But all the big games are at home except Alabama, and road teams have enjoyed out-sized success in that rivalry.

Plus, consider what the Tigers already have been through: a victory over runner-up Oregon in Dallas, road victories at West Virginia and Mississippi State and the aforementioned suspensions, injuries and other setbacks.

The Tigers and their fans believe now.

They’ll be hard to stop.