Receivers dropped passes. The offense struggled to move the ball, put up points, play consistent, killed themselves with penalties and defensively failed to make key stops, and put much pressure on the quarterback.
LSU managed just nine first downs to Penn State’s 21. The Tigers were flagged 10 times for 64 yards, while the Nittany Lions had just two penalties for 10 yards. Jordan Jefferson and the LSU offense managed to convert just three of 12 third downs faced, while Daryll Clark helped Penn State convert seven of 19 third downs, including two on a 12 play, 5:57 drive that led to a game winning field goal.
Jefferson and the Tigers offense managed just a field goal in the first half, and didn’t seem to wake up until touchdowns at the end of the third and start of the fourth quarter. Jefferson hit receiver Brandon LaFell with a sweet strike splitting the seams for a 24 yard touchdown with 22 seconds left in the third to cut the Nittany Lion lead to 16-10. LaFell finished the day with five catches for 87 yards.
On the ensuing Tigers possession, Jefferson hit receiver Brandon Tolliver for 39 yards to set up a first and goal at the Penn State 1-yard line. Running back Steven Ridley would take it in a play later.
Ridley however had one of the three Tigers turnovers on the day, fumbling the ball in a play that head coach Les Miles decided to challenge. The play was upheld. Jefferson finished the day 13 of 24 for 202 yards, a touchdown and an interception. A horrible field due to heavy rain and shoddy sod, didn’t help the LSU ground game as they mustered just 41 yards rushing.
Penn State coach Joe Paterno got his record 24th bowl win and handed Les Miles his first loss in five bowls as LSU coach.
The 2009 season will be remembered for many of the reasons the Tigers lost on New Year’s day. LSU’s offense never found a true identity. The Tigers ground game never materialized during the season, and the passing game was sporadic at best. Quarterback Jordan Jefferson seemed to have regressed from his two starts last season, at times appearing un prepared, indecisive, and unable to move the team on scoring drives.
On defense, the Tigers defense at times failed to apply pressure to quarterbacks and struggled against the run.
Coaching also was questionable at best, with poor decision making against Alabama, Florida, and a national embarrassment at Ole Miss.
Miles will enter the 2010 season on the hot seat. Something hard to believe two seasons removed from winning a National Championship, but 8-5 last season and now 9-4 this season won’t cut it in Baton Rouge. It’s not so much even that the records are not good, but more of the fact of how the Tigers are playing. They appear to not be maximizing the potential of the talent of the players in the uniforms. LSU has way too many top level athletes to have nine losses in two seasons. Worst of all, LSU is 8-8 in SEC play the last two seasons, and oh by the way over in Tuscaloosa, Alabama just completed their second straight undefeated regular season, and are playing for the National Championship next week.
No doubt the offseason will be an interesting one. Will there be any changes on the coaching staff? Will getting top recruits be more difficult? How will the teams and Miles respond to the scrutiny they’ll endure the next couple of months? Only time will tell, but this much is certain. LSU is not atop the SEC WEST, and unless changes are made, they’ll continue to be a 3 loss team for the foreseeable future.
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