LINK

Former LSU quarterback Jarrett Lee set a good example for current signal caller Zach Mettenberger to follow.
Written by

Glenn Guilbeau

BATON ROUGE - At this time last year, LSU was 5-0 and No. 1 in the nation going into a game with a ranked Florida team. The Tigers had beaten No. 3 Oregon, No. 25 Mississippi State and No. 16 West Virginia by an average of 17 points.

LSU fifth-year senior quarterback, Jarrett Lee, was No. 5 in the Southeastern Conference in passing efficiency with a 140.5 rating on 64-of-108 passing for 793 yards and seven touchdowns with one interception. Of Lee's seven touchdown passes, six were in the first half, which was a major reason why LSU was blowing people away by halftime and finishing them off with tailback tracks in the second half.

Lee was just a few weeks away from rising to No. 1 in the SEC in passing efficiency and to 13th nationally at 157.4 on 98-of-155 passing for 1,250 yards and 13 touchdowns against one interception entering the Alabama game. This was an extremely far cry from the freshman in 2008 who led the nation in interceptions per attempt and could not escape the boos even when he went to class.

All the while, LSU transfer reserve quarterback Zach Mettenberger was watching Jarrett Lee.

"No one really has gone through adversity like he did in his LSU career," Mettenberger said after experiencing boos from LSU fans for the first time in his career Saturday during the Tigers' lackluster win over Towson. "He went from being booed out of classrooms in his freshman year to everybody loving him last year."

Lee eventually lost his starting job to Jordan Jefferson, but he held onto his No. 1 efficiency rating in the SEC at 152 and to Mettenberger's admiration.

"If I can just be half the quarterback that Jarrett Lee was last year for this team and really lead us like he did, I'd be happy," Mettenberger said.

Mettenberger will lead the No. 4 Tigers (5-0, 1-0 SEC) against No. 10 Florida (4-0, 3-0 SEC) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday on CBS in Gainesville, Fla.

Mettenberger actually is coming off his best game as far as yards. Against Towson, he completed 15 of 26 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. He has thrown only two interceptions on the season and has better efficiency numbers than Lee did after five games last year. Mettenberger is seventh in the SEC in efficiency at 150.5 on 78-of-119 passing for 1,016 yards and six touchdowns.

But Mettenberger has lost three fumbles and has been sacked 11 times. Coach Les Miles said this is partly due to Mettenberger trying to extend plays too often. Lee rarely extended plays. He got rid of it very quickly, which is why he was sacked just four times in 13 games last season and rarely fumbled while Jefferson was sacked 14 times in 10 games and fumbled six times.

"We are coaching him to get it out of his hands," LSU coach Les Miles said. "It is coming. I think our quarterback play is by and large very good. I like Zach, and I think his effort and energy are good for this team. I think he will continue to improve. Just remember that he has not really started in major college football before. Now, he is onto a nice start, and some things are out of the way. Let's get to the veteran play as we move toward the back end of the year. It is very likely that he will play better and better each week."

LSU-Florida ratings bonanza

The SEC and CBS have plenty of reasons to keep LSU and Florida as permanent West-East opponents. And none of them are because Alabama wants it that way, which is a popular belief amid the LSU Nation.

The LSU-Florida game has drawn the sixth and seventh highest ratings on CBS since the network started televising SEC games as its national package in 2001, according to Dan Sabreen of CBS Sports.

No. 1 Florida's 13-3 victory over No. 4 LSU on Oct. 10, 2009, in Tiger Stadium drew a 6.1/11 rating - CBS' sixth best since 2001. No. 1 LSU's 28-24 victory over No. 9 Florida on Oct. 6, 2007, drew a 5.3/10 rating - seventh best since 2001.

No. 4 LSU and No. 10 Florida will meet for the seventh time over the last eight years on CBS on Saturday. The game will mark the fourth time since 2006 that each team is in the top 10.

Stat of the Day

Kenny Hilliard's fumble in the first quarter against Towson on Saturday was the first fumble lost by an LSU running back in 225 carries, going back to the first quarter of the Arkansas game last year. But it must have been contagious because Hilliard fumbled again as did tailbacks Michael Ford and Spencer Ware as the game wore on.

This post was edited on 10/2/12 at 10:55 pm