NEW ORLEANS -- For the better part of two months, as two-time No. 1 team LSU seemed to become progressively less dominant, losing two SEC games and barely surviving several others, we heard the same, repeated excuse: The Tigers were "banged up."
Only here's the thing: It wasn't an excuse.
It's no coincidence that LSU's last truly dominant performance -- a 48-7 rout of eventual ACC champion Virginia Tech on Sept. 8 -- was also the last time the Tigers had their full complement of weapons. It was during practice the week following that game that LSU's top receiver, Early Doucet, suffered a torn groin muscle, sidelining him for the next five games and touching off a staggering string of injuries to key players that ravaged the Tigers on both sides of the ball.
In the culminating moment, LSU played the Dec. 1 SEC championship game against Tennessee without both starting quarterback Matt Flynn and All-American defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey.
"The last game we were really healthy was the [Oct. 6] Florida game," defensive end Kirston Pittman said of his team's defense. "We didn't have a lot of the guys that were starters, and when they came back they weren't 100 percent. It took a toll on us."
Asked when LSU last fielded a fully healthy offense, center Brett Helms replied, "The beginning of the season."
Now, after having five weeks since their last game to heal, the Tigers head into Monday night's BCS Championship Game against Ohio State fielding their healthiest team since that long-ago Virginia Tech game, and the expectation among LSU followers is that their performance will reflect it.
"I really believe," said Pittman, "that when we're healthy, we can't be stopped."
Pittman was speaking specifically of the Tigers' defense, which was dominant enough early to finish the regular season ranked third nationally (283.9 yards per game), behind only Ohio State and USC, yet was unquestionably a shell of itself late in the season, allowing 466 yards to Ole Miss in a 41-24 win on Nov. 17, 513 yards to Arkansas in a triple-overtime defeat six days later.
It's no coincidence that nation's most decorated defensive player, Dorsey, who suffered a painful knee injury on an apparent chop-block in the Oct. 20 Auburn game, was not himself in those games. Known for his ability to shed double-teams with ease and disrupt opposing offenses, Dorsey attempted to play through the injury but was notably less explosive, eventually reaching the point where he had to sit out.
"I was in pain," said the reigning Lombardi, Outland and Nagurski winner. "There were plays where I could usually go destroy somebody, and I'm just watching it happen. Things I could normally do, I couldn't do them."
The magnitude of Dorsey's injury was only compounded by those to several other defensive starters.
Fellow defensive tackles Charles Alexander (knee) and Marlon Favorite (ankle) and middle linebacker Darry Beckwith (knee) all missed games, while safeties Craig Seltz and Curtis Taylor were banged up late. Cornerback Chevis Jackson missed most of the Alabama game with an eye injury.
LSU was forced to rely heavily on younger players, and at times it showed.
However, with the exception of Alexander, whose season ended in week three, all affected players -- including Dorsey -- are expected to be 100 percent for Monday night's game.
"It's going to be wonderful to put some guys on the field that haven't played full strength for quite some time," said head coach Les Miles. "We'll look forward to seeing some guys not only play, but play very well."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the ball, starting quarterback Flynn was never fully healthy after suffering an ankle injury against Virginia Tech (he missed the next week's game against Middle Tennessee) and a shoulder injury against Arkansas. He, too, says he'll be 100 percent against Ohio State, as does his coach.
"He's practiced every play as the first-team quarterback would have," said Miles, "and he's healthier than he's been, both ankle and shoulder."
LSU's injury rash was not without its upside, as it allowed the Tigers to develop several productive youngsters. Doucet's early injury threw several previously untested receivers into the fire, most notably junior college transfer Demetrius Byrd, who caught LSU's memorable game-winning touchdown against Auburn, and freshman Terrance Tolliver.
Doucet still led the team in catches (50 for 474 yards) and fellow starter Brandon LaFell in yards (641 on 48 catches), but five different players finished with at least 200 receiving yards.
"The corps of receivers was able to grow, and that's why you don't see any one guy with 100 catches for 1,200 yards," said offensive coordinator Gary Crowton. "Our team has developed because of the opportunity to play through a lot of injuries. Now, at the end of the year, we have a very confident and talented receiving corps going into the [national] championship game."
Meanwhile, on defense, youngsters like freshman defensive tackle Drake Nevis, sophomore tackle Al Woods and redshirt freshman cornerback Jai Eugene gained valuable experience, while sophomore defensive lineman Ricky Jean-Francois -- a freshman All-American last season who was suspended the entire regular season -- filled in for Favorite in the SEC title game and made a noticeable impact.
After struggling just to find two healthy bodies late in the season, the Tigers should be able to rotate a stable of healthy and experienced defensive tackles against Ohio State alongside ends Pittman and Tyson Jackson.
"Our defensive line is fresh," Miles said of what was once considered LSU's strongest area. "There were a number of guys that were nicked and not as full speed as they should have been."
While there's no denying the Tigers' defense was inordinately banged up late in the season, the question many are wondering heading into Monday night's game is whether that was truly the biggest factor contributing to LSU's uncharacteristic performances, which date back as far as its Oct. 13 triple-overtime loss at Kentucky.
Defensive coordinator Bo Pelini mostly downplayed the injuries in his comments this week, but also became notably defensive whenever a reporter brought up his unit's perceived "struggles" late in the season, insisting at one point that "nobody marched up and down the field on us."
Arkansas star Darren McFadden -- whose team ran for 385 yards (the most allowed by LSU in a game since 1993) in its 50-48 win on Nov. 23 -- would likely disagree with that assessment. Will Ohio State counterpart Chris Wells find significantly tougher resistance from Dorsey and the rest of the refreshed Tigers, or will he able to exploit the same holes as the Razorbacks and others?
"At the end of the day, we played good enough defense to get ourselves in this football game," said Pelini. "We feel we're the best defense in the country and we'll try to go out Monday night and prove it."
Only one thing is certain: The Tigers won't be able to use injuries as an excuse if that doesn't happen.
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