Each week, we’ll look back on what our expert analysts thought each team needed to do to secure victory in our NCAA Football broadcasts, brought to you by Pennzoil.
- October 13th: Halftime score: South Carolina 7 – LSU 3
(Listen to Rocky Boiman’s Keys to the Second Half from our broadcast)
LSU: Rocky said the Tigers needed to finish drives and Zach Mettenberger needed to step up in the 2nd half.
LSU Verdict: The Tigers started the second half strong with Jeremy Hill’s 7-yd TD run capping a 6-play, 69-yard drive to give LSU a 14-10 edge early in the third quarter. Mettenberger was only 5 of 11 in the second half, but he avoided any costly mistakes and led several long scoring drives, which proved decisive in a close game.
South Carolina: Rocky’s key for the Gamecocks was to get the ball in the hands of star tailback Marcus Lattimore.
South Carolina Verdict: Lattimore scored a touchdown in the third quarter, but it was one of only three carries he had after halftime. For the game, Lattimore finished with just 35 yards on 13 attempts, which could be seen as a large reason why South Carolina suffered its first defeat of the season.
Final Score: LSU 23 – South Carolina 21
- October 13th: Halftime score: USC 24 – Washington 7
(Listen to Terry Donahue’s Keys to the Second Half from our broadcast)
USC: Terry’s thoughts on USC were simple – the Trojans needed to keep doing what they were doing.
USC Verdict: While the second half wasn’t a thing of beauty for the Trojans, they got the job done by continuing to play well on defense and avoiding costly mistakes.
Washington: Terry thought a key for the Huskies was finding star Kasen Williams in the passing game.
Washington Verdict: Williams had two catches for 22 yards and a touchdown in the first half. And those were also his final stats. While Washington wasn’t able to get Williams the ball after the break or really trouble the Trojans’ defense overall, they weren’t truly out of the game until Keith Price’s fumble with less than four minutes remaining ended the Huskies’ hopes.
