The BIGGEST advantage of Harris

By this point even Les Miles' himself knows that Harris is the better of the two quarterbacks, so this post will not argue the point of who should be starting. Rather, it's worth discussing the difference between the two and the biggest advantage LSU has with Harris as the QB and why it will have a dramatic impact on the remainder of the season.

Wether you noticed it or not, Harris' first series as a QB last night featured exactly zero passes. The same offense that could barely muster a touchdown in an entire quarter all the sudden became a running powerhouse. Why? The answer is simple, the THREAT of the pass.

Defenses study game film and the reality of Jennings passing prowess was that he really isn't very good. A good deep ball, but very poor on the screens, below average crossing patterns and doesn't really see the field very well. In short, stack the box and dare him to throw it. Unfortunately for Jennings, he wasn't fleet enough of foot to run away from the defenses either, which meant when he's in LSU is going to pound the ball. So load the box and take your chances with them beating you with the long ball. If any of this sounds familiar, it should. It was the entire premise of the JJ vs. JL arguement.

This story has a different twist though. Brandon Harris isn't just a better passer than Jennings, he's a much bigger threat running the ball. Fast, shifty, elusive. Whereas Jennings runs like a Mack truck, Harris runs like a deer and not of the John variety.

In short, what you get with Harris is the respect of the defense. Wether he passes or not, they know he can and that knowledge will force them to open up the defensive front. We saw it last week, last night and we will the remainder of the season. And if LSU can continue to effectively run the ball this year we are going to surprise some teams.

I like the idea that our best QB, best RB and best WR's are all true freshmen. The reality is that we probably aren't good enough defensively to win a NC this year, but I have no doubt we'll get better. The future is bright though Tiger fans and I'm looking forward to our trio of super frosh and the show they'll be putting on for the next few years. We'll take our lumps this year, but the future looks bright.