Out with a bang for LSU's Fisher?
NEW ORLEANS -- If that was offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher's last game at LSU Wednesday, he went out strong with a season-high 577 yards of total offense.
In classic Fisher fashion, the Tigers were balanced -- 332 yards passing and 245 on the ground -- and used the element of surprise in a 41-14 victory over Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl Wednesday night at the Louisiana Superdome.
"They definitely ran a little bit more than what we were expecting," Notre Dame safety Tom Zbikowski said. "I'm not sure what was going on with the defensive line, but obviously we were giving them too much space to throw the ball. Receivers were too open. Their quarterback was just dropping back and throwing off timing, and he'd hit his receivers."
LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell threw for a career-high 332 yards on 21-of-34 passing with two touchdowns and set the school record for completions in a season with 232. He also became the No. 2 single season passer in LSU history with 3,129 yards. Rohan Davey, who also quarterbacked under Fisher, is No. 1 with 3,347 yards in the 2001 season. Russell's lone interception against the Irish was his first after 119 straight passes.
Meanwhile, LSU tailback Keiland Williams gained 107 yards on 14 carries, and tailback Justin Vincent gained 71 yards on 12 carries and caught two passes for 19 yards.
Florida State and Alabama are interested in such numbers for their struggling offenses. Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden's son Jeff Bowden was let go from his offensive coordinator position after last season, and new Alabama coach Nick Saban was busy trying to hire a staff in his second day on the job Thursday.
Florida State officials told media in the state of Florida on Thursday that they felt Fisher was entertaining offers from both Alabama and Florida State. Saban was expected to speak to Fisher Thursday.
Fisher ran Saban's offense through the 2004 season. Fisher nearly joined Saban with the Miami Dolphins for the 2005 season, but he chose to remain at LSU under new coach Les Miles.
Fisher said over the weekend that he never had a problem working for Saban, who has not had many assistants work for him a second time.
What is attractive to Fisher about the Alabama opening is that Saban lets his offensive coordinator totally run the offense. Saban, whose background is all defense, rarely even goes on the offensive side of the ball at practice, whereas Miles works a lot with the offense as his background is virtually all offense.
Appealing to Fisher about the Florida State position are his strong connections to the Bowden family, a pledge by Bobby Bowden to give Fisher control of the offense and the likelihood that Fisher would have a chance to replace Bowden, who is not expected to coach much longer.
RUSSELL FOR HEISMAN? First, LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell has to stay for his senior year, but in case he does, LSU coach Les Miles suggested that the sports information department start working now.
"He will be offered a pile of money (from the NFL), and he'll have to make a very independent, personal decision," Miles said. "But if he returns, he certainly will be a Heisman Trophy candidate. Michael Bonnette, the SID, had better get the mock-ups ready."
Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe praised Russell as well.
"If it's his last game, he went out on a positive note," Bowe said. "I'm proud of him. He's the best quarterback that's ever stepped on the field in Tiger Stadium. I'm sure of that."
CANDID IN DEFEAT: Notre Dame did not mince words after getting blown out by the Tigers.
"It sucks," Irish wide receiver Jeff Samardzija said. "Any time you put that much work into one game, where you're about putting in five regular season weeks of work into one game, you expect more than that."
Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis noticed the huge change in play after Notre Dame tied it 14-14 late in the first half. LSU scored 27 unanswered points after that and outgained the Irish 333-30 in the second half.
"For the rest of the game they really laid the wood on us," Weis said. "It was a completely crummy second half."
WINNINGEST CLASS: The senior class that finished its football careers with the win over Notre Dame walks away with more wins than any class in LSU history at 44-8. The previous senior class of 2005 finished with a 41-11 mark.
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