West Virginia vs LSU Football Preview

It’s funny how the winds of change can blow in such unexpected directions. When the LSU Tigers face the West Virginia Mountaineers in week four’s showcase showdown, the focus will be on a quarterback who wasn’t expected to even play this year, much less become the focal point of a team’s national championship hopes.

When LSU starting quarterback Jordan Jefferson got involved in a fight and further soiled his already-damaged reputation just before the regular season began, Tiger head coach Les Miles had to suspend his number one choice under center. He had to turn to Jarrett Lee, a historically shaky quarterback who had struggled to a degree that was beyond tolerable. Lee could barely find his own receivers and looked completely befuddled when he took live gameday reps for the Tigers over portions of the past two seasons. The LSU Nation was clearly worried before the season opener on September 3 against defending national runner-up Oregon. Would Lee be able to inherit the spotlight and become an efficient, disciplined custodian for an LSU team that can play defense and pound the rock between the tackles?

Through three games, the answer is a resounding yes. Lee has been magnificent for the Tigers, not because he’s lighting up the scoreboard, but because he isn’t making any crippling blunders. Lee is throwing a lot of safe and short passes, but he’s not committing the turnovers that can change the course of a game and take leverage away from an LSU squad that hangs its hat on defense. Lee completed 21 of his first 26 passes at Mississippi State on September 15. He took what the defensive gave him, and he engineered a clutch, game-sealing touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.

However, the question that LSU fans have to ask themselves, even with their team’s impressive start to the season, is this: Can Lee continue to exhibit first-rate ball security and make clearheaded decisions? LSU’s offense has to be a clean, low-mistake operation 12 times this season (13 if you want to count a possible appearance in the SEC Championship Game), not just a handful of occasions. Lee must summon forth a level of consistency that has eluded him in his collegiate career up to this point. Lee shows signs of becoming that kind of signal caller, but the journey is just beginning – we haven’t escaped the month of September just yet.

This game is not about West Virginia and its own quarterback, the formidably talented Geno Smith. It’s true that Smith is a quality playmaker – not brilliant, but with a better set of tools than most college quarterbacks. Nevertheless, LSU’s defense should be too physically dominant for the Mountaineers, who have struggled with their run blocking and do not figure to match up well in the trenches. West Virginia’s offense will find it hard to win this game. The contest comes down to the mistakes LSU does or doesn’t make on offense. If the Tigers somehow manage to hand-deliver a few touchdowns to WVU, the Mountaineers can win. If LSU gives nothing away, West Virginia is going to be tossed around like a rag doll.

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By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer