LSU Suspends Spencer Ware, Tyrann Mathieu and Tharold Simon for Auburn Game

BREAKING: The game between No. 1 LSU and No. 20 Auburn will apparently become a lot more interesting. As first reported by the LSU Reveille, LSU’s student newspaper, Spencer Ware and Tyrann Mathieu will be suspended for the game after reportedly failing a drug test.

ESPN has since confirmed the report and also added defensive back Tharold Simon to the list.

It is expected that head coach Les Miles will address the situation in his previously scheduled 6:15 p.m. press conference (7:15 EST.)

Ware is the Tigers' leading rusher with 512 yards and also has 52 receiving yards and seven total touchdowns.

Mathieu aka the Honey Badger, has the school record for forced fumbles and is personally responsible for six takeaways. He also broke up five passes, returns punts and is considered to be in the running for the Heisman Trophy.

Simon has 29 total tackles on the season and an interception.

If drugs are the reason behind these suspensions, both players could miss multiple games and possibly the rest of the season. Per the LSU Code of Student Conduct, “sanctions may include, but not be limited to, probation, suspension, expulsion, and mandated educational intervention.”

This is Ware and Mathieu's second violation which mean they could be facing a 30-day suspension.

This could be a huge blow for the Tigers, especially on defense. Ware is among a trio of backs who are receiving time at running back—Michael Ford and Alfred Blue are the other two—and he was the least productive of all of them with a 4.0 yards-per-carry average. Ford has been averaging 5.4 ypc and Blue has a 4.5 ypc average.

LSU is deep in the secondary but it got absolutely torched by West Virginia’s air attack. Additionally, a lot of their offense is based off of turnovers.

The Tigers rank 80th in the country in total yards per game with 369 but are scoring a whopping 38 points per game which is good for 20th. That tends to happen when you’re winning the turnover battle by nearly two a game.

There are not any stars on this defense besides Mathieu and the sophomore’s confidence has to be inspiring for the other players. Without him or Simon on the field, LSU could see more points scored against them and a lot less points scored for them.

Within 20 minutes after the report was first released, Bodog.com withdrew the line on their game this weekend against Auburn and other sites have taken the line down from LSU -23 to 21.5. As more people find out about the news, the line will likely continue to drop.

Auburn will be starting a new quarterback on the road but their defense has seriously stepped up their game, allowing 14 or less points in three of the last four games while bottling up a healthy Marcus Lattimore and Chris Rainey.

If they can force LSU into obvious throwing situations, the loss of Mathieu and Simon could be potentially devastating. In a defensive struggle, one big defensive or special teams play could make or break the game.

But if the suspensions last longer than two weeks—the Tigers get a bye week after Auburn before facing Alabama—LSU could be in a world of trouble against the Tide. That game was almost guaranteed to be a hard-nosed, defensive game that comes down to the wire and losing the primary source of their turnovers could doom them before the game even starts.