FROM THE REAL ART SPORTS DESK
PEACH BOWL REDEMPTION

Well, kind of redeemed. I mean, 8-5 still ain't a championship season, if you know what I mean. Anyway, from the AP via ESPN:

Scott runs for three TDs as LSU wins easily

One year after winning a national championship, unranked LSU found renewed reason to hope for a return to glory.

Charles Scott ran for three touchdowns, freshman quarterback Jordan Jefferson completed his first nine passes and LSU made big plays on special teams in a surprisingly easy 38-3 victory win over Georgia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Bowl on Wednesday night.

LSU outscored the No. 14 Yellow Jackets 28-0 in the second quarter and led 35-3 at halftime. Scott, who had 65 yards rushing, had two touchdowns in the decisive quarter.

LSU (8-5) lost three of its last four regular-season games but regrouped for the dominant bowl victory.

"I was real comfortable," Jefferson said after only his second start. "I had faith in my line."

When asked if he believes he should start in 2009, Jefferson said "Possibly. We'll see."

Click here for the rest.

Well, I'm impressed. I watched the Yellow Jackets beat a very good Georgia Bulldogs team only a few weeks ago, a team that ran up fifty two points to beat LSU, in Baton Rouge, only a few weeks earlier. I fully expected Georgia Tech to beat the crap out of the Tigers.

So I'm very pleasantly surprised. Especially because this is the kind of game I love to watch when it's my team winning, that is, a total blowout, total dominance.

What happened here? For starters, the Tigers appear to have finally found a quarterback who can execute without turning the ball over. Obviously, this is key. But LSU also appears to have once again become serious about winning football games. They didn't fuck around. They didn't have lots of mistakes and unneeded penalties. The talking sports heads have been going on about how well Les Miles prepares his teams for bowl games, which is true, but that doesn't mean squat if you play sloppily. And the Tigers were tight, going in and beating the crap out of their opponent on what was essentially their home field, with the Tech campus being only a couple of miles away from the game site.

So things are looking good for next year. We've got a good QB. We've got a team playing expertly and efficiently. Really, I'm reminded of how LSU had a so-so season a couple of years back, but were good enough to make the Sugar Bowl, where they creamed Notre Dame in Jamarcus Russell's last college game. A season later, they won the national championship.

Next year, next year...


LSU running back Charles Scott gallops through a big hole in the Georgia Tech
defense for a touchdown as Jordan Jefferson celebrates in the background.
BILL FEIG/The Advocate

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