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Sunday, November 23, 2008
SPORTS BLOG
Sports Blog: Jockeying for position
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Virginia Tech and LSU both have reputations for stout defenses while employing offenses with question marks. Both teams matched those reputations in their openers.
With that said, the field-position struggle will be fun to watch Saturday night. Since both squads showed a knack for turnovers in the openers (LSU 7-0 turnover ratio, Virginia Tech 3-1), there will be even more importance on hanging on to the football.
Seven of LSU's 14 possessions last Thursday started in Mississippi State territory, and six of their seven scores came out of the seven that began on MSU ground. LSU's longest scoring drive was a 73-yard march to open the second half that culminated in Matt Flynn's 11-yard touchdown pass to Early Doucet.
The other LSU scoring drives in yardage: 35 (field goal), 38, 41, 8, 45 and 36. Best starting position: MSU 8; worst: LSU 1. On the flip side, all 14 MSU drives started in its own territory. Best starting position: MSU 47; worst: MSU 10.
Meanwhile, Virginia Tech (a 17-7 winner against East Carolina) started all 12 of its 13 drives in its own territory. The only Tech drive that didn't start that way came with the ball resting at the 50. And that series resulted in Sean Glennon's 21-yard touchdown lob pass to Sam Wheeler that pretty much sealed the Hokies' victory.
Tech's other touchdown was a 17-yard interception return by Victor Harris. The Hokies did a good job managing field position because 12 of 13 ECU possessions started in Pirate territory (the other one started at the 50). ECU drove 62 yards for Chris Johnson's 2-yard touchdown run in the first minute of the second quarter. Outside of that, ECU notched nothing.
Even if LSU controls field position and the turnover ratio, expecting seven takeaways is unreasonable. After all, Glennon is no Michael Henig.
In case you're interested, here's a look at Roscoe, the tiger who will eventually be known as Mike.
-- Rich Loup, 2theadvocate.com Sports Editor
With that said, the field-position struggle will be fun to watch Saturday night. Since both squads showed a knack for turnovers in the openers (LSU 7-0 turnover ratio, Virginia Tech 3-1), there will be even more importance on hanging on to the football.
Seven of LSU's 14 possessions last Thursday started in Mississippi State territory, and six of their seven scores came out of the seven that began on MSU ground. LSU's longest scoring drive was a 73-yard march to open the second half that culminated in Matt Flynn's 11-yard touchdown pass to Early Doucet.
The other LSU scoring drives in yardage: 35 (field goal), 38, 41, 8, 45 and 36. Best starting position: MSU 8; worst: LSU 1. On the flip side, all 14 MSU drives started in its own territory. Best starting position: MSU 47; worst: MSU 10.
Meanwhile, Virginia Tech (a 17-7 winner against East Carolina) started all 12 of its 13 drives in its own territory. The only Tech drive that didn't start that way came with the ball resting at the 50. And that series resulted in Sean Glennon's 21-yard touchdown lob pass to Sam Wheeler that pretty much sealed the Hokies' victory.
Tech's other touchdown was a 17-yard interception return by Victor Harris. The Hokies did a good job managing field position because 12 of 13 ECU possessions started in Pirate territory (the other one started at the 50). ECU drove 62 yards for Chris Johnson's 2-yard touchdown run in the first minute of the second quarter. Outside of that, ECU notched nothing.
Even if LSU controls field position and the turnover ratio, expecting seven takeaways is unreasonable. After all, Glennon is no Michael Henig.
In case you're interested, here's a look at Roscoe, the tiger who will eventually be known as Mike.
-- Rich Loup, 2theadvocate.com Sports Editor
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