In early May, the LSU Tigers kicked quarterback Ryan Perriloux off the team following multiple legal and disciplinary problems. After SEC rival Georgia trounced LSU 52-38 on Saturday, it’s clear that Perriloux is still costing his team.
Perriloux was supposed to help the Tigers win another national championship this season. But because he couldn’t fly straight, sophomore Jarrett Lee has had to step into the starting quarterback role.
While Lee has been far from bad this year (he has thrown for over 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns), he clearly is no match against tougher SEC opponents like UGA. Although he did throw for three touchdowns, the Bulldogs befuddled Lee at times, forcing him into three interceptions and some rather costly mistakes.
But Lee deserves a pass this season. He was supposed to be on the sidelines watching Perriloux run the offense. And perhaps even worse than Lee having to play is the idea that Perriloux also drove away blue chip prospects who didn’t want to ride the bench because he would block their playing time.
Even though Les Miles has kept his team in contention much of this year, one got the feeling that eventually LSU’s inexperience on both sides of the ball would doom them. It did against Florida two weeks ago, and certainly did once again on Saturday vs. the Bulldogs. Matthew Stafford abused a young Tiger secondary, which opened up running lanes for Heisman candidate Knowshon Moreno, who rushed for 163 yards and a touchdown. All in all, it was an impressive performance by UGA.
