The Bengal identified an interesting number in his "The Season in Statistics."  LSU ranked 110th in kickoff returns. This is a great example of stats obscuring an important fact.  I looked at every kickoff LSU received this year, and the results were interesting, and reasonable given our opponent's reluctance to kick the ball deep to our speedsters.  LSU received 51 kickoffs in 2009. The average starting position on those kicks was the 33 yard line, and only once during the entire year did they start inside the 20. I have no idea how this ranks against other teams but I would be willing to bet it compares favorably...  

The following is a loose comparison, because NCAA statistics are based on return yards, not starting field position (they don't count touchbacks, KOs out of bounds, etc.), but if you estimate that an average "regular" college kickoff goes to the 5 yard line, then LSUs equivalent return yardage is 28 yards per kick. This would rank LSU as 3rd in the nation. Sometimes the reputation of a great return game is better than actually having one.

I know everybody is eager to start the Florida talk, but before the whole world moves on, I wanted to share my thoughts on how the Georgia game felt from inside Sanford Stadium.

Athens: This was my first trip to Athens, and I can confidently say it was one of the most pleasant away games I have ever experienced -- and I have been to most of the SEC sites and dozens of others.  I only hope that visitors to Baton Rouge come away with as many positive feelings as most Tiger fans did on Saturday. The Bulldog fans were great hosts before and after the game. We were congratulated by just about everybody we saw -- students, alumni, the young and the old, the drunk and the sober. Athens is really a great city and the downtown/stadium/campus nexus is hard to beat. But on to the game...

The Atmosphere: Jordy Hultberg described the atmosphere as "electric" on the pre-game broadcast. Of course it's hard to define when it's electric and when it's not, but for a day game I think this definitely qualified. The crowd was very fired up before kickoff. Our control of the first half kept them pretty quiet until well into the 3rd quarter, but they definitely came alive late. I'm sure you can imagine how the place exploded when AJ Green caught the go-ahead touchdown, and how quickly it got quiet when Trindon was finally run out of bounds on the ensuing kickoff. One thing I thought was humorous was the public address announcer's declaration of "It's Saturday afternoon in Sanford Stadium"...but the crowd seemed to like it and the Tiger fans all chuckled.

The Team's Attitude: I want to mention how the team handled themselves after the game was over because I think it speaks volumes about how important this win was and the growing confidence they have.  Every last person on the sideline was very fired up --  more so than in other close wins I've seen. I spoke with Harry Coleman after the team was released from the locker room, and I could tell he and the team were feeling both vindicated and hungry. Obviously there are problems that need addressing, but that is going to be true no matter how well they play. What can make a difference is the manner in which they go about it, and I think the "hungry" look is a great way to do so. Again, this is just my outside opinion, but these guys were wearing their emotions on their sleeves, and it portended good things.

Florida Week: This game is going to get massive attention in the coming week and hopefully the team will be ready for it (the attention and the game). I really think playing this game at Georgia was a benefit for a team trying to find itself. Now they have to do it in front of the home fans.

So hats off to the Georgia team and their fans for a good game. Congrats to the Tigers for a hard-fought win. Now bring on Florida.