Matt Mauck’s Lisfranc injury should have never happened. It also spurred a title run a year later.
As LSU mauled the Florida Gators in The Swamp, 36-7, Mauck broke his foot running in the fourth quarter. He missed the rest of the 2002 season, but he spent the rehabilitation months transforming from a scrambling signal caller to a polished passer. In 2003, he set the school record for passing touchdowns and helped capture the BCS National Championship. When you can’t run, you have to throw.
Leavitt’s performance against Texas A&M was the microwaved version of Mauck’s 2002-03 recovery. The Tiger quarterback tweaked a hamstring in the first half and was anchored to the pocket the rest of the night.
He calmly surveyed the field play after play and ripped throw after throw on the money to a wide receiving corps playing without Trey’Dez Green.
Leavitt completed 74 percent of his throws. Nine of his 17 completions went for over 15 yards. The offensive line protected him, and he feasted on the Aggie secondary for 312 yards on 18 yards per completion.
His best throws went for scores to Harris.
With under two minutes left in the first half, Leavitt took a shot down the right sideline to a streaking Harris. Aggie defensive back Julio Humphrey never turned around, and Harris made the play falling to the Tiger Stadium turf. That capped a strong first half and put the Aggies on the ropes. The knockout blow came in the second half thanks to an aggressive call and brilliant execution.
LSU forced a three and out to get the ball back to the offense which faced a fourth and one from the LSU 43. Lane Kiffin decided to go for it, and Charlie Weis Jr. trusted his quarterback to take a shot. A playaction fake allowed Harris to blow by the Aggie secondary. Leavitt didn’t rush anything. He lofted a perfect strike to Harris who took it in for a 57-yard score.
Leavitt showed no sign of the head ducking and frantic scrambles that have been hallmarks of the first three weeks of the season. Kiffin and Weis have a way of coaching quarterbacks to marked improvement, and perhaps Saturday night was a big step in Leavitt’s development. That, or he just couldn’t run because of the hamstring.
The McNeese game comes at the perfect time. Leavitt can rest if he needs it. Landen Clark can take some reps. Clark can play all four quarters if need be. That said, Leavitt’s progression and production are paramount to LSU’s season-long goals, and Saturday night was a big step in the right direction.
With a ground game consistently averaging 206 yards per game, a pass rush that has dropped opposing quarterbacks 18 times, the nation’s top run defense and a coverage unit that yielded just a 37 percent completion percentage on Saturday, the Tigers have a lot of quality pieces.
Leavitt’s impatience and inaccuracy cost he team in Oxford. Not Saturday night.
The Tigers enter October 3-1 and need a perfect month to stay on track for a playoff berth. That will be easier said than done as Kentucky looks like a scrappy club, Mississippi State is unbeaten, and Jordan Hare figures to be full when the purple and gold show up on The Plains.
To get where the Tigers would like to go, Leavitt needs to play at an elite level.
Even if Saturday night’s steps were painful, they were in the right direction.
