LSU will approach ’Bama game with different plan

    It was 10 months ago, but it seems like yesterday.
    In the BCS Championship Game, played a little more than an hour’s drive from the LSU campus, the Tigers were not only shut out by Alabama, 21-0, but they were embarrassed.
    That night, LSU totaled five first downs, rushed for only 39 yards and had the football for only 24:24. LSU could generate only 92 total yards. It seemed like the Alabama defense had 15 men on the field that night.
    Meantime, Alabama’s offensive plan worked brilliantly. Quarterback A.J. McCarron was given the liberty to throw, and he did so for 234 yards.
    The LSU defense did all it could, holding Alabama to five field goals and a touchdown run by Trent Richardson.
    Things were supposed to be different this season for the LSU offense. The quarterback whose first name starts with a “Z” was supposed to be the “X” factor. When Alabama and LSU meet in Baton Rouge on Nov. 3, Zach Mettenberger is supposed to be the quarterback who can make downfield plays in the passing game.
    Mettenberger strikes downfield would force Alabama to empty the tackle box, opening the running lanes for LSU’s talented backs.
    Ten months later, does that look like reality to you?
    Ten months later, Mettenberger is protected by an injury-riddled offensive line. LSU’s two starting tackles are missing. Left tackle Chris Faulk suffered a season-ending injury. And right tackle Alex Hurst left the team.
    Mettenberger also is throwing to what is a surprisingly pedestrian group of receivers. Sophomore Jarvis Landry of Lutcher and Odell Beckham of Newman were supposed to be difference makers.
    So, is the pre-Alabama picture bleak? Of course not.
    The LSU defense is terrific. LSU allowed 14 points on the road in a loss to Florida. South Carolina scored 21 points, but one touchdown was in garbage time, and the other came when the Gamecocks’ offense got the ball at the LSU 1-yard line after a Mettenberger interception.
    And against Texas A&M, quarterback Johnny Manziel, a.k.a. Johnny Football, had no answer for a Tiger defense that harassed him for the last 3 1/2 quarters.
    So, on the most-anticipated Saturday night in the history of Tiger Stadium, Les Miles will run the football (a lot), pass sparingly and depend on punter Brad Wing to change field position.
    Les will tell Mettenberger: “Take care of the ball, run the offense.”
    He will also tell Mettenberger to be extra careful with throws over the middle. Alabama loves to pressure the quarterback and free up a defensive back to roam the middle of the field.
    Les will also have a trick or two up his sleeve. Against A&M, Spencer Ware took the snap under center, faked a run to the middle of the pile and then pitched to tailback Michael Ford for a key fourth-down conversion.
    And, Les will remind his team of this very important fact: LSU has won the last two regular-season meetings against Alabama.
    Ed Daniels is sports director of ABC26 WGNO. He can be reached at edaniels@clarionherald.org.