Andrew Hatch: How Soon We Forget the First Half of the Year

Let's get something straight right now--Andrew Hatch was more than just a good kid, he was an SEC-caliber QB relative to what else was out there this season, and he DEFINITELY fricking earned his scholarship and proved himself a proud Tiger. Hell, a good case can be made that he was the MVP for the first half of the season just for keeping things relatively calm on offense.

He played in 5 of LSU's first 6 games, during which the very worst the offense did was scoring 21 points against Florida in The Swamp. Note that's more than any team scored against Florida all season, with the sole exception of Ole Miss. Just ask Georgia, Florida State, Alabama, and Oklahoma how easy it is to score on Florida away from The Swamp.

Who saved the day against Auburn and South Carolina? When Lee threw his pick 6's against Auburn, UF, and SC, who was there to come into the game and settle the team down? Who generated most of the offense for LSU at Auburn on the ground before Charles Scott got going in the second half? How much did LSU miss Hatch when it went 2-4 to finish the season with an ugly win over Tulane and a near loss to Troy?

Andrew Hatch last season >>> Chris Smelley, Kodi Burns, Casey Dick, Nick Stephens, Jonathan Crompton, Chris Todd, Tyson Lee, Mackenzi Adams, Randall Cobb, Chris Nickson, Wesley Carroll, etc., etc., etc.

When LSU couldn't pass, the Tigers' only hope before the Arkansas game was to just run Hatch, and he was pretty damn reliable.

For those with shitty memories, here are Hatch's SEC stats:
22 rushes, 94 yards, 8-14 passing, 80 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT

Here's what he did in the first half on the road starting against Auburn when LSU struggled to gain 105 yards and stay within 14-3 at halftime ( LINK):
6 rushes, 31 yards, 2-6, 16 yards, 0 INT
(when not getting sacked twice by Sen'Derrick Marks)

Here's what he did in the first half on the road against South Carolina, helping to keep LSU within a TD at halftime ( LINK):
3 rushes, 16 yards, 1-2, 3 yards, 0 INT

Not spectacular, obviously, but I think it's pretty obvious looking at the first half of the season versus the second half that he played a very useful role in changing things up and giving other teams something else to look at so they couldn't just start teeing off on our passing game because we couldn't block and pass for shite.

So all the haters, please STFU.