LSU vs. Auburn 2013 reaction: Purple and gold Tigers come out victorious
LSU stormed out to a 21-0 lead early. What did we really learn about the Tigers over the weekend?
Our LSU blog, And The Valley Shook, was pleased with the final outcome, but they still feel there are a lot of question marks when it comes to their Tigers:
Everything else? Still a question mark. We might have nice answers, but there’s reason for both optimism and concern with just about everything. The defense shut down Auburn in the first half, but in the second allowed the Plainsmen to put together four separate drives of over 50 yards, three of those with at least 10 plays. That’s the old bugaboo of letting a team up off the mat. Is talent? Lack of depth? A vanilla defense protecting a big lead? Or just a lack of focus? We honestly have no better idea than we did in Week One.
The folks over at College and Magnolia examined the play of quarterback Nick Marshall, who was unable to get into a groove for more than a series or two for most of the evening:
After an impressive performance against Mississippi State, Nick Marshall looked timid early. He struggled badly with his accuracy and struggled with decisions in the first half. A lot of those accuracy issues could have been due to the rain, but Marshall just didn’t look comfortable.
That said -- aside from the final interception down by 14 -- Marshall looked much better in the second half. He was much more accurate, including a couple of great long throws to Sammie Coates. He looked much more decisive running in the final two quarters.
While our SEC gurus at Team Speed Kills were impressed by what LSU was able to do, they still want to see more of the Tigers before they can call them a serious contender for the SEC title:
Auburn gained 437 yards against LSU's vaunted defense, which allowed the Orange and Blue Tigers to get back into the game and make it closer than it should have been in the final minutes. Nick Marshall wasn't particularly sharp (17-of-33, 224 yards, two interceptions), but Tre Mason ran for 132 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries. Were it not for a debatable illegal touching call on an on-sides kick (which I thought the referees got right), Auburn would have had the ball in good field position down 14 points with 6:33 to go.
Which might tell us as much about Auburn as it does about LSU. After all, we can still only guess at the ceiling for the Orange and Blue Tigers until we see a bit more information.
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