We Have A New Contributor....

     A new member to the KB3 sports blog;  my dad Steve.  We will be making college football picks against the spread weekly.  These picks will be listed under the tab "Coach Bourque's Locks Of The Week."  We will try to get these picks in early enough in the week so our viewers can potentially play the movement in Vegas spreads to their advantage. I will also try to keep up with his overall record on picks along with a running tally of units wagered. Look for this new feature early next week, around Monday or Tuesday.

A few quick thoughts on the upcoming USC @ LSU game

     First off I have to say I am a little worried about this game.  I do like the fact that it's a home game for LSU and on top of that it's a night game. I do like the fact that USC rarely puts together consecutive great performances; USC has only won once in Death Valley at night (1984); also like the fact that Les Miles has only lost back to back games once in his entire career. However, I am still very concerned about the health and pass blocking ability of LSU's offensive line/RB picking up blitzes. Combine that with a very good Defensive line of USC and that begins to spell trouble in my mind. And once you add on a mobile QB that USC has; I think that could spell disaster late in the game for LSU.  Much like the Florida game, the ability to run the ball (both designed runs with RB and QB and the ability to scramble with the QB) and run it well will wear down the LSU front 7 especially late in the game.

     The more I think about it the more I start to believe that points will certainly come at a premium in this game.  I'm thinking a score somewhere around 17-14 type points. Maybe lower.  Not sure what the Vegas over/under is for this game but I would advise to put the money on the under.

     For LSU to be able to win this game, I feel that the field position battle will be the biggest and most important throughout the game.  Brad Wing must out punt the USC punter. To help in this battle, the LSU offense must get at least one first down at least every other possession in order to maintain good field position.  Of course LSU must take full advantage of good field position and score TD's when deep in the red zone, but in the end multiple FG's may win this game.

     In order to do all of that, LSU will need to have very manageable third downs and distances.  Somewhere around 3rd and 3 or less. I think with this down and distance it isn't quite necessary to pass.  With an established running game, this can open up to many different looks and plays that should help keep the defense on their heels.

     To be able to set up a 3rd and 3 yards or shorter, LSU must gain at least 7 yards on the first two downs combined.  There are many different ways to accomplish this, however I feel that utilizing screens, TE's down the seam, bubble screens to WR's, draw plays, and misdirections will greatly help in opening up the power run game between the tackles.  And of course that leads to the very most important aspect and that is establishing a power run game between the tackles.  Every available RB will need to rotate in to accomplish all of this.

    When it comes to LSU on defense, I'm not nearly as concerned. If the offense can execute their game plan then the defense will have time to rest between possessions. With a rested defense, keeping contain on Lattimore and Shaw is possible.  And besides, John Chavis is about as consistent and reliable of a defensive coordinator as you can get.   I feel very comfortable saying he finds a way to hold USC to under 20 points definitely and probably under 17.

     So there you have it folks.  The players that will win this game for LSU are Brad Wing and whichever defensive player can create a turnover deep in USC territory.  No pressure guys, time to let loose and have fun.  Just win baby!

It's been too long

     Way too long since I've posted last. In fact the college football landscape has changed drastically since then. Florida State was once considered a strong team to de-throne the mighty SEC. However NC State had other things in mind. USC was certainly pre-season champs until they got knocked off by Stanford. Of course Stanford was defeated by Washington and Washington was crushed by LSU. Nothing new to see here, just the same ole SEC > Pac12 segment of college football.
     Well, onto more recent events.  LSU host South Carolina this weekend in Death Valley. This should be a great match up of two great defenses. Scoring will most likely come at a premium. I like many others feel that it might be time for Coach Les Miles to let loose a little with the offensive play calling. It certainly seems that the routes receivers run are very vanilla (i.e. not many crossing routes, slants, posts, etc) and on top of everything else they rarely try to get the ball in the hands of Russell Shepard. I personally we have Shepard on the field about 90% of the offensive plays and he would be in motion on roughly 75% of those plays. I would make the defense adjust to his presence on the field. And I would like to include more jet sweeps to him just to get him the ball out of the backfield.
     I said it last week and I'll say it again this week: This will be a close ball game and LSU will have to do whatever it can to pull out the victory. I feel a fake fg/punt or go for it on fourth down type game coming up. As heart-stopping as those moments can be during the game, they sure to add tons of excitement. Regardless, I can't wait for kickoff. Geaux Tigers!!!

Worth Reading

     I would like to share a couple articles on LSU Football and one on college football in general, written by Kris Brauner on his blog, Saturday Night Slant.

     This article is about a few things he would like to change in the sport of college football.  It is entirely about recruiting and scholarships, and a great read if you're interested in that area.  He brings up some very good points on oversigning and a way to possibly eliminate it altogether.

     The next two articles take a look at future QB's and the current QB's on the roster.  He gives a very good breakdown of the current qb situation and what LSU fans have to look forward to in the coming season.

     All I know is, I am ready for football season to begin already!

The College Baseball Season Has Finally Started.

It's finally here; something to take the minds of the Tiger fans off of that horrible showing in the BCS National Championship game.  The LSU Tigers started the opening weekend on fire; winning all three games by considerable margins.  Granted, their competition wasn't exactly stellar.  It was still a great way to start the season.  In the process they moved from #8 to #7  in the rankings.  Looking forward to many more weekends like the one they just had. GEAUX TIGERS!!!

When it rains, it pours.

It sure has been a rough week for the LSU nation.
     First off, there was the debacle in New Orleans that some people called the BCS National Championship game. That was quite possibly the worst LSU bowl game ever and definitely the worst in recent memory, at least offensively it was.  The defense did everything they could to keep the team in the game. The offense however was very frustrating to watch to say the least.  Many would have liked to seen Jarrett Lee get a few snaps in the ball game, but it's hard to say he would have made much of a difference in the outcome of the final score.  Alabama's defensive line was beating the offensive line of LSU most of the night, making it extremely difficult for the running game to get going.  In my opinion, without an established running game the passing game didn't stand much of a chance with either Jefferson or Lee at the QB position. Well that's about as much of that game I can relive for now.  Maybe I'll discuss it more at a later date.
     Secondly, the Saints lost their playoff game to the San Francisco 49ers.  I wasn't really expecting them to win the Super Bowl, but it certainly would have been nice to get at least 1 playoff win.
     And of course last but not least, highly recruited QB Gunner Kiel backed out of his commitment to LSU and instead will be attending Notre Dame.  He is from Indiana and stated that he would like to attend college closer to home. It sure would have been nice to get the #1 QB recruit in the nation on the team but you can't really fault the kid for making a decision like that.
     All in all it has certainly been a rough 7-10 days but with plenty of returning talent on the 2012 football roster there are many reasons to look forward to next year.  Should be a great season again.

Breaking News on the Rumor Mill....

Word on the street is there might be an NFL style skills competition to determine selection order in the 2011 Bourque Family Dirty Santa Extravaganza.  No official press release has been announced but officials close to the source indicated that some of the events may include relay races, arguing about football, bake offs, excessive candy eating, high jump, and possibly who can simply talk the loudest. Other events are believed to be in negotiations at the moment. Stay tuned for further developments.

ETA: New word has been leaked that an endurance competition of most complaints may be added to the cycle.