Crouching Tiger, Mad Duck!

I discovered something interesting as I've been checking around the net for predictions to the game. The farther away you get from the Bayou, the more predictions you get for Oregon.

In fact if you conducted a nationwide phone poll and asked three questions before you asked "Who do you think will win, Oregon or LSU?", you probably won't even need to ask that final question. Just ask them,

1) Have you eaten a crawdad in the past 30 days?
2) Do you dislike the French but speak French?
3) Is your pat answer for every problem in America, "Drill for more oil."?

If you  answered 'yes' to all three, you think LSU will win and ain't nobody gonna talk you out of it.  If you answered 'No' to the first two but 'Yes' to the third, you live in Alaska. But that's beside the point.

Here is a collection of five bloggers across the country all arriving at the same conclusion as most other non-cajuns.

The thing I see over and over again is that LSU is faced with some real and present problems. Ten days before the game, they suddenly found themselves without their starting wide receiver, their starting QB, and their second unit linebacker because of suspensions; plus they lost a starting all-SEC offensive guard to injury. Add to that they're working with a new offensive coordinator this season.

These are the kind of snafus you want to work out in a season opener against #300 Eastern Oregon, not #3 University of --. The folks in Louisiana just don't want to believe that they're facing the wrong team at the wrong time.

The Tigers say they have worn out the tape of the National Championship Game between Oregon and Auburn. They liked how Auburn's front seven controlled Oregon's offensive line and feel that they can do the same if not better.

What they don't realize is that Darron Thomas, along with the Oregon coaches, wore out that tape as well. This season, Thomas is coming back a little bigger, more athletic, more confident, and a lot more determined. I'm looking for him to throw more than what we saw in the Natty.

This Statesman Journal article: Oregon's Thomas ready for his Texas Homecoming, tells of the importance Thomas lays on this game. When I compare his words and focus to all the chaos coming out of Baton Rouge, I just get the same feeling that most of the rest of America gets.

ESPN's College Gameday will be at the game. 7am Pacific Time. 

Kickoff at 5pm Pacific on ABC.

I leave you with the following video from theSeanGshow to put steam in your stride.