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LSU Football Preview with Chris Blair · The Craig Way Show

0:04
Speaker 1: A yacht Rock Wednesday here on Sports Radio AM thirteen
0:07
Speaker 1: under the Zone. Doobie Brothers past and present have some
0:13
Speaker 1: that fall into the category, and that includes listen to music.
0:16
Speaker 1: The Doobies will be here next week without Michael McDonald,
0:19
Speaker 1: so I imagine this will be on the.
0:20
Speaker 2: Playlist for them. When they do that, we'll see.
0:23
Speaker 1: It's time for us to continue our SEC football previews.
0:28
Speaker 1: And whenever we have a guest, not necessarily just one
0:31
Speaker 1: of the play by play voices of the Southeastern Conference
0:34
Speaker 1: with us, as we're about to have, but whenever we
0:36
Speaker 1: have a guest and it's on a yacht Rock Wednesday,
0:38
Speaker 1: feel compelled to ask the guest if they have any
0:42
Speaker 1: interest or fandom whatsoever in yacht rock. Now, our guest
0:46
Speaker 1: is considerably younger than me. Chris Blair is the play
0:48
Speaker 1: by play voice of the LSU Tigers, so I don't
0:51
Speaker 1: even know does yacht rock even have any appeal for
0:55
Speaker 1: you whatsoever? And by the way, thanks for taking the
0:57
Speaker 1: time to join us to day.
0:58
Speaker 3: I appreciate it, no problem, Greig, thanks for having me,
1:01
Speaker 3: and you're being awfully.
1:02
Speaker 2: Kinda not a lot younger than anymore, but.
1:06
Speaker 3: In fact, yes you will find uh actually two versions,
1:09
Speaker 3: yacht rock and yacht country. Oh yes, just now a
1:12
Speaker 3: new format so you'll find that. In fact, I think
1:14
Speaker 3: if you turn my vehicle on right now, it's probably
1:17
Speaker 3: on yacht country.
1:18
Speaker 2: So between them both, yeah, yeah, I.
1:20
Speaker 1: Might be spinning through some islands in the sea or
1:23
Speaker 1: something in the stream. Excuse me, you know Little Dolly
1:26
Speaker 1: part and Kenny Rogers that sort of thing.
1:28
Speaker 3: Absolutely, I went on a heater last night. We had
1:30
Speaker 3: Charlie Rich followed by Conway Twitty, followed my uh pure
1:35
Speaker 3: Prairie League and then I think the original.
1:40
Speaker 2: Rhythm with.
1:43
Speaker 3: That.
1:44
Speaker 1: I absolutely love that. That's great stuff. Okay, let let
1:49
Speaker 1: me jump from one sort of entertainment to the other.
1:52
Speaker 1: Because somebody asked me when I was at SEC media
1:55
Speaker 1: Days a couple of weeks ago about what what I
1:59
Speaker 1: thought was the biggest or most what was going to
2:03
Speaker 1: be the most talked about theme in the Southeastern Conference
2:07
Speaker 1: this season? I said, not only in the SEC, but
2:10
Speaker 1: it's going to be, if not the most, it's gonna
2:11
Speaker 1: be one of the most talked about themes in all
2:13
Speaker 1: of college football. Is the arrival of your new head
2:16
Speaker 1: coach Lane Kiffin taking taking the reins of the program.
2:20
Speaker 1: A because of the drama that surrounded the departure from
2:23
Speaker 1: homent is to begin with, but just going into a
2:26
Speaker 1: program that has those galactic expectations like LSU does, just
2:30
Speaker 1: like Texas does, and several other programs as well. So
2:33
Speaker 1: I guess the first thing I wanted to ask is
2:36
Speaker 1: how's it.
2:36
Speaker 2: Been so far?
2:37
Speaker 1: And what's what's been your impressions, even as practice is
2:40
Speaker 1: just in its very early days, if you've noticed differences,
2:45
Speaker 1: marked differences in how coach Kiffin and his staff or
2:49
Speaker 1: attacking their new responsibilities.
2:52
Speaker 3: Yeah, Graig, I think you're one right, And it's a
2:55
Speaker 3: little uncomfortable for me to agree with you because it
2:58
Speaker 3: seems like, okay, everything centric to LSU. But and again
3:03
Speaker 3: obviously I'm I'm jaded when it comes to that. I
3:06
Speaker 3: look through everything to purple and gold lenses. However, my
3:09
Speaker 3: argument has been since the announcement and the run up
3:13
Speaker 3: through the college football playoffs, the Indiana becoming the national champion,
3:18
Speaker 3: and I would argue on a national level, while all
3:21
Speaker 3: of that is going on, if not the number one
3:23
Speaker 3: story one A was Lane Kiffin and LSU and the
3:27
Speaker 3: drama that you just described. So that's not just a
3:30
Speaker 3: biased opinion. I think that was top of mind for everybody,
3:34
Speaker 3: and I think the market difference that I have seen
3:37
Speaker 3: is there was a lot of that. You know, you
3:39
Speaker 3: could talk to coach Kiffin, you could talk to some
3:41
Speaker 3: of the returning Tigers who have decided to stay here
3:44
Speaker 3: and be part of this team. You can talk to
3:46
Speaker 3: the administration, and they're not backing away from it. They
3:50
Speaker 3: had a plan, they went and enacted that plan, and
3:53
Speaker 3: they got the guy they wanted. Is everybody happy about it?
3:56
Speaker 3: Obviously not everybody, but here at LSU they are. And
4:01
Speaker 3: I think the market difference that you refer to is
4:03
Speaker 3: that from about December through January February maybe to the
4:07
Speaker 3: start and run up of spring football, it was you know,
4:11
Speaker 3: ls you didn't back away from it.
4:12
Speaker 2: It is what it is.
4:13
Speaker 3: When somebody asks somebody a question, here's what our answer is.
4:16
Speaker 3: When spring football started, it almost looked like the football program,
4:21
Speaker 3: and again taking the lead from the head coach, went
4:23
Speaker 3: from an extroverted program to a little more introverted, and
4:28
Speaker 3: I think.
4:28
Speaker 2: That was by design.
4:29
Speaker 3: It was like, Okay, we had our fun and games,
4:32
Speaker 3: we got all the attention we possibly could couldn't even
4:35
Speaker 3: pay for. Now we got to go do the job.
4:38
Speaker 3: And I think that was kind of the example that
4:42
Speaker 3: Coach Kiffin said. And it's been fairly quiet. And that's
4:46
Speaker 3: believe me, being here on campus, being around the football
4:49
Speaker 3: operations building, that's not easy to do. But I think
4:52
Speaker 3: they've done a concerted effort to do that. Because now,
4:55
Speaker 3: whether they have a great season in twenty twenty six
4:58
Speaker 3: or you know, everybody gets the same back in you know,
5:00
Speaker 3: poke fun at LSU, there's no way they can do
5:03
Speaker 3: this season in any subtle form or fashion.
5:06
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's it's definitely going to be in the limelight,
5:08
Speaker 1: no doubt about it. Chris, what would you say was
5:15
Speaker 1: coach Kiffin's number one roll up the sleeves?
5:17
Speaker 2: This is what we have to address now.
5:19
Speaker 1: Obviously we've seen Sam Levitt come in as his quarterback,
5:22
Speaker 1: and we'll talk about him in a moment, But what
5:25
Speaker 1: really struck you about what he wanted to do to
5:28
Speaker 1: get this program from being seven and six a year
5:31
Speaker 1: ago to being at or near the top of the
5:34
Speaker 1: SEC where they have quite often been down through the years.
5:37
Speaker 2: I think it starts up front.
5:39
Speaker 3: And you know, again, I think you could ask any
5:41
Speaker 3: coach in the SEC this year, last year, five years ago,
5:44
Speaker 3: eight years ago, they're going to say that's where the
5:46
Speaker 3: battles are won and lost.
5:48
Speaker 2: But for LSU specifically, it was a big, glaring need.
5:53
Speaker 3: And of course coach Kiffin is certainly intimately involved in
5:56
Speaker 3: the offense. Blake Baker remains as the defensive coordinator, and
6:00
Speaker 3: I think he was that was an excellent decision. I
6:03
Speaker 3: have a lot of faith in coach Baker. I like
6:04
Speaker 3: the way he coaches. I like his style, which is
6:08
Speaker 3: a college football world of dynamic and high flying offenses.
6:13
Speaker 3: You can't be reactive defensively. You've got to be proactive.
6:16
Speaker 3: You've got to disrupt it. You've got to throw a
6:18
Speaker 3: wrench in the gears. Do they have the horses to
6:20
Speaker 3: be able to do that week in and week out
6:22
Speaker 3: with the schedule they have.
6:23
Speaker 2: We'll have to wait and see.
6:24
Speaker 3: But I think coach Kiffin said, we've got to be bigger,
6:28
Speaker 3: we've got to be stronger, we've got to be faster,
6:30
Speaker 3: and we've got to be smarter up front on both
6:32
Speaker 3: sides of the football. Because again we all remember, you know,
6:36
Speaker 3: over the years, both at Alabama and then as a
6:38
Speaker 3: head coach at Ole, miss the plays that get all
6:40
Speaker 3: the clicks are the ones where the snap is made,
6:43
Speaker 3: you see the play start to roll and then inevitably
6:46
Speaker 3: you see Lane flip the clipboard up and you know
6:49
Speaker 3: there's a touchdown. But it's really an offense that wants
6:52
Speaker 3: to run the football so that they can get that
6:54
Speaker 3: clipboard play. And that's something that LSU really has not
6:58
Speaker 3: been able to do consistently to the standard that they
7:01
Speaker 3: need to in this league since really, guys, the twenty
7:05
Speaker 3: nineteen season, and that's you know, again, that was a
7:07
Speaker 3: magical year and everybody loves it, but that's a long
7:10
Speaker 3: time ago, no doubt. So I think that was the
7:12
Speaker 3: first need that he said we gotta address because we're
7:14
Speaker 3: not going to have those big, exciting plays if we
7:16
Speaker 3: can't run the football consistently.
7:18
Speaker 1: Well, since we're on that subject of running the football,
7:21
Speaker 1: take us through a little bit what you've seen so
7:23
Speaker 1: far with regards to the running back Harlan Berry, the sophomore. Obviously,
7:27
Speaker 1: Kyton Dorman is a guy I's called a couple of
7:29
Speaker 1: state championship games. He played with for television when he
7:32
Speaker 1: was at Duncanville there in the Dallas Fort Worth area.
7:35
Speaker 1: How about your thoughts on what you've seen from the
7:37
Speaker 1: running back spot.
7:38
Speaker 3: You know, it's interesting because when you look at the
7:41
Speaker 3: run game again on papers, we get in deeper into
7:43
Speaker 3: fall camp, you realize that of the twenty two, what
7:47
Speaker 3: I will say at this moment, are the starters or
7:50
Speaker 3: the depth chart number one on the depth chart, you know,
7:52
Speaker 3: eleven of those guys are new and the majority of
7:55
Speaker 3: them are are the skill positions offensively, In fact, when
7:59
Speaker 3: you look at returning position groups, maybe there's more returning
8:03
Speaker 3: on the offensive line, but specifically to the running backs.
8:07
Speaker 3: We have seen flashes from both Harlan Berry and Kate Durham.
8:11
Speaker 3: I mean Caid's freshman year. We really thought this might
8:13
Speaker 3: be the next Clyde Edwards. He layer because of his
8:16
Speaker 3: skill set. You know, he was going to be used
8:18
Speaker 3: more as a scat back than just to line up
8:21
Speaker 3: Leonard and Fournette style run you over, and he's done
8:24
Speaker 3: both again. You know, the inability to run the football
8:29
Speaker 3: was not necessarily always on the running backs. And I heard,
8:32
Speaker 3: you know, a previous offensive coordinator. I heard our previous
8:35
Speaker 3: head coach say there are times where it is on
8:38
Speaker 3: the running back. They're only going to have a small
8:41
Speaker 3: sliver to get through, and they got to get through it.
8:42
Speaker 3: And once they get through it, then they can get
8:44
Speaker 3: up to speed, they can make a cut, and then
8:46
Speaker 3: big plays happen. Those chunk plays happened, So it was
8:49
Speaker 3: kind of both. The offensive line wasn't giving them much
8:52
Speaker 3: of a sliver, but yet the running backs weren't able
8:54
Speaker 3: to power through.
8:55
Speaker 2: That's going to have to change this year.
8:58
Speaker 3: And again, the young players that are going to be
9:00
Speaker 3: on that offensive line, I think two returners that I
9:03
Speaker 3: would expect to be starting on September fifth against Clemson
9:07
Speaker 3: are going to be asked to do their job much
9:09
Speaker 3: better than they have done over the last five six seasons.
9:13
Speaker 3: But I think we've seen enough from Harlan Berry from
9:16
Speaker 3: Cayden Durham and frankly the transferred Dylan Jones who's coming
9:19
Speaker 3: in from Wisconsin, who was banged up last year I
9:22
Speaker 3: think played maybe seven games. I think those guys have
9:25
Speaker 3: the ability to be outstanding running backs in the SEC.
9:29
Speaker 3: But again, it would be unfair to say, okay, it's
9:31
Speaker 3: all on them if they can't eclipse one hundred yards
9:34
Speaker 3: per game, it's all in the running backs. Most fans
9:36
Speaker 3: here at LSU will they've seen enough of it to
9:39
Speaker 3: know that there's more involved than just those players individually.
9:43
Speaker 1: Chris players played by Playboy. So the LSU Tigers joining
9:46
Speaker 1: us here for a few more minutes here on AM
9:48
Speaker 1: thirteen hundred the zone. Okay, wal morning fans got to
9:51
Speaker 1: see Sam Levin up close and personal two years ago
9:54
Speaker 1: in that landmark effort he gave Arizona State and that
9:56
Speaker 1: peach bullet went double overtime, and of course and he
9:59
Speaker 1: built on that last year with the Sun Devils. How
10:02
Speaker 1: about your impressions of him? What could be expected of
10:08
Speaker 1: him taking the reins at quarterback for LSU.
10:11
Speaker 3: I think anybody again that has followed his career at
10:14
Speaker 3: the collegiate level is going to really circle that twenty
10:16
Speaker 3: twenty four season where you know, I think he was
10:19
Speaker 3: closing in on three thousand passing yards, had twenty nine
10:22
Speaker 3: touchdowns and I think twenty four of those who were
10:24
Speaker 3: through the air, close to about five hundred yards on
10:28
Speaker 3: the season rushing. But I mean he was a guy that,
10:30
Speaker 3: again going back to Lane Kippen, wanting to be able
10:33
Speaker 3: to run the football. You know, if your quarterback is
10:36
Speaker 3: a part of that, which LSU the last two seasons,
10:38
Speaker 3: as we know, really did not have that mobile quarterback
10:42
Speaker 3: since Jaydan and Daniels won the Heisman Trophy and went on.
10:44
Speaker 2: To the NFL with Sam Levitt.
10:47
Speaker 3: If he's a hundred percent healthy and he's the Sam
10:49
Speaker 3: Levitt we saw in twenty twenty four, then I think
10:52
Speaker 3: he's going to fit well into this offense, not only
10:54
Speaker 3: from a running standpoint, but the threat, the constant threat
10:58
Speaker 3: of his ability to tuck it down and run is
11:01
Speaker 3: going to be in the minds of defensive coordinators, which
11:03
Speaker 3: really the last two to three seasons, that just hasn't
11:06
Speaker 3: been the case, certainly the last two seasons. And I
11:10
Speaker 3: think more importantly his ability to stretch plays in the
11:13
Speaker 3: passing game, just his fact that the ability to improvise,
11:18
Speaker 3: you know, move the pocket, extend the play sideline to sideline,
11:22
Speaker 3: and then be at the mercy of somebody being overly
11:25
Speaker 3: aggressive and then he can run and beat you or
11:28
Speaker 3: just wait for a guy to get open. As you
11:30
Speaker 3: know in this league, at this level, you know, five
11:32
Speaker 3: to six, seven, eight seconds of trying to go one
11:35
Speaker 3: on one with any of the receivers you face is
11:37
Speaker 3: a tall task. I think Levitt gives you the ability. Again,
11:40
Speaker 3: if healthy, and we have all indications that he is
11:43
Speaker 3: that He's going to be able to give you that
11:44
Speaker 3: piece of weaponry that LSU has been without for the
11:47
Speaker 3: last two years.
11:47
Speaker 1: Well, you mentioned my receivers getting open, and here's another
11:50
Speaker 1: guy long worn fans became in their eyes unfortunately acquainted
11:55
Speaker 1: with last year, Eugene Wilson with the ballgame he had
11:57
Speaker 1: against Texas in the game in Gainesville for Florida as well.
12:01
Speaker 1: Is he, along with Jackson Harris, the two guys that
12:04
Speaker 1: you expect to be the clean, the lead guys in
12:09
Speaker 1: the pass catching department for the Tigers.
12:11
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think so.
12:12
Speaker 3: I think those are probably the first two on paper
12:14
Speaker 3: that everybody is excited about. I mean, this is the
12:16
Speaker 3: first time in a number of years, Craig that you know,
12:19
Speaker 3: wide receivers have had a pretty good success here at
12:22
Speaker 3: LSU for a long time and then gone to to
12:25
Speaker 3: have great careers and make a lot of money. This
12:28
Speaker 3: is really the first year that we're coming in where
12:30
Speaker 3: it's all new guys at least in what we expect
12:32
Speaker 3: to be the first, uh, you know, first string.
12:35
Speaker 2: On the depth chart.
12:36
Speaker 3: And I think those two lead it with what they
12:38
Speaker 3: did at Florida where you know, as a quarterback, DJ
12:41
Speaker 3: Lagway had his great moments, and then when he came
12:43
Speaker 3: to Baton Rouge last year was a complete disaster, but
12:46
Speaker 3: you could easily tell where Wilson was the guy they
12:49
Speaker 3: wanted to go to, put it that way, and and
12:53
Speaker 3: I think Harris will do the same thing with what
12:54
Speaker 3: he's done. I think the big part in the passing
12:57
Speaker 3: game that I'm most excited to see, I would imagine
13:00
Speaker 3: Tiger fans are in general, is how does coach Kiffen
13:04
Speaker 3: and coach Weiss utilize trade as Green who is listed
13:08
Speaker 3: as a tight end, but he was a wide receiver
13:10
Speaker 3: at nearby, at the high school here nearby and Baton Rouge,
13:13
Speaker 3: and he's just kind of a hybrid tight end, if
13:16
Speaker 3: you will. He's improved his tight end skills over the
13:19
Speaker 3: last two seasons. But make no mistake, we joke all
13:22
Speaker 3: the time that you get inside the ten yard line,
13:25
Speaker 3: it's gonna be a goal line fade.
13:26
Speaker 2: I know it.
13:27
Speaker 3: The opponent knows that, everybody in the stands knows it.
13:30
Speaker 3: The question is, do you have somebody who can match
13:32
Speaker 3: up with a trade as Green with his size, his
13:35
Speaker 3: leaping ability and his good hands.
13:37
Speaker 2: Can you stop it? You know it's coming, but can
13:39
Speaker 2: you stop it?
13:39
Speaker 3: So when you mentioned those three guys, those two guys,
13:43
Speaker 3: especially that transfer in with the returning trade as Green,
13:46
Speaker 3: suddenly you hope if you're LSU that you're gonna have
13:50
Speaker 3: to pick your poison. Are you gonna bracket coverage one
13:52
Speaker 3: of these guys that you don't want getting loose over
13:54
Speaker 3: the top. Are you going to be able to account
13:57
Speaker 3: for a trade as Green, who more times than is
14:00
Speaker 3: going to be outside, is going to outsize whoever you
14:03
Speaker 3: put on him, whether it's a big time corner, whether
14:05
Speaker 3: it's one of your linebackers. That to me is where
14:09
Speaker 3: the passing game will have its strength, even though we
14:12
Speaker 3: don't have the quote unquote big name returning that we've
14:15
Speaker 3: had since really twenty sixteen.
14:19
Speaker 1: You mentioned Blake Baker. I wanted to get your thoughts
14:21
Speaker 1: on the defense, the things that strike you and if
14:24
Speaker 1: there is a question mark that if this pans out
14:28
Speaker 1: the way it has hoped and perhaps planned for, then
14:32
Speaker 1: the defense has a big season. What really strikes you
14:36
Speaker 1: about this defense of coach Bakers?
14:39
Speaker 3: Well, I mentioned the fact that there is eleven of
14:42
Speaker 3: twenty two of what I consider the first string as
14:44
Speaker 3: we sit here today are transfers. The majority of the
14:47
Speaker 3: returners who have skins on the wall, big moments, certainly,
14:51
Speaker 3: experience in hostile environments and big time games are on
14:54
Speaker 3: the back end of this defense. And if you look
14:56
Speaker 3: at really the last three seasons, the defense has been
15:00
Speaker 3: much maligned on teams just being able to gash them. Now,
15:03
Speaker 3: they haven't been great against the run either, but big
15:06
Speaker 3: plays have just killed LSU on the back end, which
15:08
Speaker 3: is certainly not what is expected here.
15:11
Speaker 2: That's not the expectation. They call it DBU for a reason.
15:15
Speaker 3: They brought back Corey Raymond, who was kind of the
15:17
Speaker 3: architect of that went away for a couple of seasons
15:19
Speaker 3: at Florida.
15:19
Speaker 2: He's now returned.
15:21
Speaker 3: And the guys who are returning on the back end
15:23
Speaker 3: of this defense, really from linebacker on back, are the
15:26
Speaker 3: guys who have the most experienced and some of these,
15:28
Speaker 3: like DJ Pickett, who was a true freshman they threw
15:31
Speaker 3: him into the deep end early last year, had really
15:35
Speaker 3: some great moments. So we're all expecting to see a
15:37
Speaker 3: great improvement in the offseason under coach Raymond's tutelage. And
15:42
Speaker 3: then you bring in a guy like Ty Bennifield, who
15:44
Speaker 3: was an absolute monster at the back end of the
15:47
Speaker 3: defense at Boise State for a number of years who
15:49
Speaker 3: has experience. Again, you've been able to your best returning
15:55
Speaker 3: players on the back end of your defense and the
15:57
Speaker 3: some of the key transfers that you've added even up front.
16:01
Speaker 3: And so the problem I think when you look at
16:04
Speaker 3: LSU's defense over the last two seasons was not necessarily
16:07
Speaker 3: boy our back end was awful. It really wasn't a
16:10
Speaker 3: whole lot of pressure coming on quarterbacks. They had all
16:12
Speaker 3: day to pick and choose where they would go with
16:14
Speaker 3: the football. I think some of the transfers that they've
16:17
Speaker 3: been able to bring in, a couple of them coming
16:19
Speaker 3: in DJ Dottary at linebacker to pair with with Weeks,
16:22
Speaker 3: I think is a good tandem with lots of sec
16:24
Speaker 3: big game experience.
16:26
Speaker 2: And then I mentioned TJ. Pickett.
16:29
Speaker 3: You know, Spears had a great season last year at safety.
16:32
Speaker 3: These guys are coming back, and as I mentioned earlier,
16:35
Speaker 3: Blake Baker is a guy that feels like you have
16:37
Speaker 3: to disrupt these high powered offenses. I think he's got
16:41
Speaker 3: the pieces, and I think there's a big chance that
16:44
Speaker 3: LSU's defense, you know, there's a long way to go
16:47
Speaker 3: because the standard had dropped so low, but I think
16:50
Speaker 3: there's going to be major steps forward with this year's defense,
16:53
Speaker 3: and I think it's going to be ball hawking.
16:56
Speaker 2: I think it's going to be aggressive. I think they're
16:57
Speaker 2: confident for the.
16:58
Speaker 3: First time in several years to leave guys on an
17:01
Speaker 3: island one on one man demand and to be able
17:04
Speaker 3: to go for the football and not get beat as
17:07
Speaker 3: bad as they have seen over the last three years.
17:09
Speaker 2: Chris, I got to ask you before I let you go.
17:11
Speaker 1: You know this will be the first time the long
17:13
Speaker 1: Horns had played in Baton Roue since nineteen fifty three.
17:17
Speaker 1: There was that incredible game in Austin that you brought
17:20
Speaker 1: up in twenty nineteen that didn't get to go have
17:22
Speaker 1: the return game in Baton Rouge due to the pandemic
17:25
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty. So I know there's I was just
17:27
Speaker 1: talking with somebody today about the price of tickets. It's
17:31
Speaker 1: lining up there kind of like the Texas Ohio State
17:34
Speaker 1: game will be here in Austin. What should Longhorn fans expect?
17:39
Speaker 1: And before you answer the question, I will tell you
17:40
Speaker 1: this every time, and you know this, having been to
17:43
Speaker 1: Omaha as much as you've been with Tiger Baseball, that
17:47
Speaker 1: LSU fans are incredibly hospitable. I remember in Omaha being
17:52
Speaker 1: invited by people who were tailgating the parking lot telling
17:55
Speaker 1: us to come down and have some gumbo and crawfish,
17:58
Speaker 1: and that was at nine point thirty in the more So,
18:01
Speaker 1: I can only imagine what it'll be like when they
18:04
Speaker 1: go down to Death Valley for that Saturday night game
18:07
Speaker 1: on November fourteenth.
18:09
Speaker 2: Real quickly.
18:10
Speaker 3: When that series was announced years ago, the home and
18:13
Speaker 3: home nineteen and twenty, I mean, that was an exciting
18:16
Speaker 3: That was what LSU fans, and I think college football
18:18
Speaker 3: fans in general wanted.
18:19
Speaker 2: Let's play these type of games.
18:21
Speaker 3: Now you move the fact that Texas is in the SEC,
18:24
Speaker 3: I think it's a potential, first of all, to get
18:26
Speaker 3: that game back and have it here at LSU. It's
18:29
Speaker 3: going to be a madhouse, there's no question about it.
18:31
Speaker 3: Where it falls in the schedule, to me makes it
18:34
Speaker 3: the potential to be just a huge monumental matchup depending
18:37
Speaker 3: on where the Longhorns are, depending on where LSU is
18:40
Speaker 3: at that point of the year. So the excitement level
18:43
Speaker 3: of that game, I don't even know how to explain that.
18:48
Speaker 3: I think it even supersedes some of the long term
18:50
Speaker 3: rivalries that LSU has had. Obviously, there's going to be
18:53
Speaker 3: a big crowd for the Alabama game here at Tiger Stadium.
18:57
Speaker 2: It always is. But outside of that and the opener
19:01
Speaker 2: against Clemson, to me.
19:03
Speaker 3: That's the game where you know, they told us to
19:04
Speaker 3: prepare for maybe two hundred, two hundred and fifty thousand
19:07
Speaker 3: people in and around Tiger Stadium on September fifth, With
19:10
Speaker 3: one hundred and two plus jammed into this stadium, I
19:13
Speaker 3: think there's a potential for it to be that or
19:15
Speaker 3: even bigger by the time we get around to Texas
19:19
Speaker 3: and LSU. And that's how that's how big that game is.
19:22
Speaker 3: But it's going to be great to be here, and
19:24
Speaker 3: I think all fans, you know, when you look at
19:26
Speaker 3: the matchup Lane Kiffin against Texas defense and Arch Manning
19:30
Speaker 3: against Blake Baker's d I mean to me, the storylines
19:33
Speaker 3: will be there. And the fact that you know, I
19:36
Speaker 3: don't know how often we'll play this as we shift
19:38
Speaker 3: these schedules around every year was you know, the new members,
19:41
Speaker 3: but the fact that at least every once in a
19:43
Speaker 3: while this this matchup will come around either in Austin
19:46
Speaker 3: or Baton. Rouge's great for both schools, great for both
19:49
Speaker 3: fan bases and frankly, in this day and age, great
19:51
Speaker 3: for college football.
19:52
Speaker 2: Think about this, Chris.
19:53
Speaker 1: Under their formula, the SEC has said that every team
19:56
Speaker 1: will play every team at least once every couple of
19:59
Speaker 1: year years and that you would get to host a
20:02
Speaker 1: team once every four years. So if it's once every
20:04
Speaker 1: four years, it's like the Olympics. It's on that level, right.
20:07
Speaker 3: Yes, it is. And I think that's the type of
20:10
Speaker 3: atmosphere it will bring. And you know, it's funny because
20:14
Speaker 3: you mentioned the Omah story. I'm sure at nine am
20:16
Speaker 3: you were dressed, had to tow and burn orange, and
20:18
Speaker 3: you still were invited, probably to sullin gumbo and probably
20:21
Speaker 3: a beverage, and you probably said, hey, it's nine in
20:23
Speaker 3: the morning. But I've always told people, having been here
20:26
Speaker 3: eleven seasons, that yes, there is a lot of uh oh,
20:30
Speaker 3: I don't know if I want to go to Tiger
20:31
Speaker 3: Stadium as a visiting fan. You know this, that and
20:33
Speaker 3: the other, and literally I had to learn it when
20:36
Speaker 3: I got here. Won't you won't go hungry, you won't
20:39
Speaker 3: go thirsty, you will not die of thirst. If you're
20:41
Speaker 3: here all day. They will constantly be inviting you to,
20:45
Speaker 3: you know, partake of what they have. So the hospitality
20:48
Speaker 3: is great up until kickoff, and then at that point
20:52
Speaker 3: when I invite family and friends here or friends from
20:54
Speaker 3: other schools, all bets are off at kickoff. But you
20:57
Speaker 3: could say the same thing in Austin. Absolutely, that's why
21:00
Speaker 3: we both are lucky to be at the places we are,
21:02
Speaker 3: without question, no.
21:03
Speaker 2: Doubt about it.
21:03
Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to having opportunity to call my first
21:06
Speaker 1: game down at Tiger Stadium. Chris Player is play by
21:09
Speaker 1: play voice of those fighting Bengal Tigers from LSU. I
21:13
Speaker 1: really appreciate the time, Chris. I look forward to seeing
21:16
Speaker 1: you in November.
21:17
Speaker 2: Yes, absolutely looking forward to it.
21:19
Speaker 3: Craig, thanks for having me on and I appreciate your friendship,
21:22
Speaker 3: Appreciate the great work that you do. Listen to you
21:24
Speaker 3: all the time, and a week or two ahead of time.
21:27
Speaker 3: If you're looking for a great spot. If I don't
21:30
Speaker 3: know what I know people that do, so hit me up.
21:32
Speaker 2: I'll do it. Thank you, sir, appreciate it.
21:35
Speaker 1: That's Chris Blair, play by play voice of the LSU Tigers,
21:38
Speaker 1: outstanding play by play broadcaster and all around good dude.
21:42
Speaker 1: All right, up next we get to end conceivable here
21:46
Speaker 1: on You Got Rock Wednesday afternoon here on Sports Radio A.
21:49
Speaker 2: I'm thirteen under the zone of the IR radio app.