THE GOOD
LSU's execution on the final drive of regulation
The Fighting Tigers were much more prepared this week then last week in Oxford. LSU's last timeout was used at the proper time, when Jordan Jefferson was sacked on the first play of the drive. Only seven seconds came off the clock, so there was no hesitation. Give a lot credit to Stevan Ridley for getting out of bounds, when LSU moved the ball to the Arkansas 40-yard line. It allowed LSU to attempt a game winning field goal with nine seconds left, instead of a desperation Hail Mary.
Josh "Money" Jasper
Jasper has been solid all season long, and was nails on Saturday night. He was 4 for 4 on field goal tries, three of his field goals were 40 yards or longer. The Memphis native also had a touchback on a kick-off. Nice job by the holder Derek Helton on the game tying field goal.
Stevan Ridley
The sophomore from Natchez, Mississippi, was huge on the final scoring drive. It appeared LSU didn't have any confidence in him on the final drive against Ole Miss, when they elected not to run the ball with Ridley in field goal range. But Ridley played a huge part in the Tigers game-tying drive against Arkansas. He caught two passes for 16 yards and also had a 9-yard rush.
Trindon Holliday
The senior's final game in Tiger Stadium was a memorable one. He returned a punt 87-yards for a touchdown and had 212 all-purpose yards. Holliday's 57 rushing yards sparked a running game that was missing its top three tailbacks.
BAD
LSU lost the Turnover Battle
The Tigers only committed two turnovers, but they were costly. Holliday's muffed punt in the 2nd quarter, gave Arkansas life. If Holliday handled the punt cleanly, LSU would have had the ball in Razorbacks territory up 17 to 3.
The other turnover took place on the opening drive of the 3rd quarter, as quarterback Jordan Jefferson threw behind his intended receiver Terrance Toliver and into the waiting hands of Razorbacks linebacker Jerry Franklin. Arkansas converted the turnover into 3 points and cut LSU's lead down to 17 to 13.
Jefferson was able to put that interception behind him and play a strong second-half. He ended up completing 17 of 25 passes for 179 yards, two touchdowns, and just the one interception.
Rushing Three Defenders
I hate when defenses only rush three players, it just gives the quarterback plenty of time for a receiver to break open. LSU rushed only three players a couple of times during Arkansas' final drive that resulted in the go-ahead touchdown. Only three players rushed the QB, when Ryan Mallett stepped up in the pocket and found Joe Adams in the end zone for the go-ahead score.
LSU went back to blitzing in overtime, and the results were much better.
UGLY
The So-Called LSU Fans Who Left Early
The crowd was in the game at the beginning, especially when the Tigers were up 17 to 3. But when the tough got going in the second-half, thousands of fans left. Even the television commentators were surprised to see so many empty seats with the game still on the line.
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