Behind enemy lines report: Seatte Times' take on last night

quote:

---

BATON ROUGE, La. — In the festive hours before kickoff, this is the most hospitable place on Earth.

At one tailgating spot, LSU fans called over a few purple-clad Washington supporters and treated them to alligator jambalaya and fried catfish. Under another LSU canopy, a longtime Tiger season-ticket holder mixed margaritas in a gasoline-powered blender.

One Washington fan almost felt as if she would be insulting him if she didn't accept his drink. In the hours before kickoff, as a humid Saturday afternoon slowly turned into a breezy, beautiful Saturday night, the atmosphere on the LSU campus was as collegial and welcoming as a campaign fundraiser.

---

quote:

---

Tiger Stadium is nicknamed "Death Valley" for a reason. This is where game plans come to die. Playbooks are shredded. Hearts are broken. Hopes are quickly extinguished.

This vertiginous shrine to college football and its 92,804 fans were supposed to be barometers for Washington. LSU made sure the Huskies understood exactly how much work is ahead of them.

Price was hurried all night. Sam Montgomery came at him from one side; Barkevious Mingo came from the other. And because Washington couldn't run the ball (a net total of 26 yards rushing), LSU dared Price to throw, rushing him with no fear of repercussion.

This was a game that felt like a long, slow death. A Saturday that had too much Tiger, too little offense and not nearly enough alligator jambalaya.

---