LSU preview: Veteran Tigers on prowl for West title

Expectations at LSU are at their highest level in three years after the Tigers capped an 8-4 season with a 28-14 victory over Georgia Tech in the Peach Bowl.

The concern is that the last time LSU felt this way, it fell flat, going from a 9-3 record and a bowl victory in 1997 to a 4-7 mark the next year that hastened the advent of back-to-back losing seasons.

Coach Nick Saban wasn't around for that fiasco, but he's well aware of what could happen if the Tigers don't play with the same "competitive disposition" as they did in his first season last year.

After a two-year quarterback controversy that included the now-departed Josh Booty and Craig Nall, senior Rohan Davey is clearly the main man now.

Tigers at a glance

SportsLine.com rank: 19

2000: 8-4 overall; 5-3 SEC (2nd East)

Coach: Nick Saban -- 8-4 in one season at LSU; 51-30-1 ion seven years as a head coach

Returning starters: 19; 7 offense, 10 defense, kicker, punter

Players to watch:
QB Rohan Davey, 6-3, 239, Sr.
TB LaBrandon Toefield, 6-0, 224, So.
WR Josh Reed, 5-11, 200, Jr.
TE Robert Royal, 6-5, 231, Sr.
DE Jarvis Green, 6-3, 265, Sr.
LB Treverance Faulk, 6-3, 225, Jr.
LB Bradie James, 6-3, 228, Jr.
FS Ryan Clark, 5-11, 190, Sr.

Primary strengths: The Tigers are becoming a reflection of their head coach, who is known for his defensive coaching prowess. The group of linebackers ranks as one of the strongest in the country. On offense, all that experience and talent at the skill positions should pay off.

Potential problems: QB Rohan Davey has shown to be anything but durable, and he has no experienced backup. Holes must be filled on the offensive line and at fullback.

Overview: LSU is riding its biggest wave of optimism in years. How the Tigers handle adversity will dictate the success of their season.

Booty, who started 17 games in two years, chose to skip his senior year to enter the NFL draft. Nall decided to transfer and play his senior year at Northwestern (La.) State.

That left Davey as the lone experienced signal caller, backed up only by three freshmen. And considering that Davey's problems have been with consistency and durability ... well, this could be a nerve-wracking season for Saban and the Tigers.

Davey missed much of last season, first with tendinitis in a surgically repaired knee, and then with an ankle sprain.

The burly, strong-armed Davey has been at his best when faced with adversity. He came off the bench for the second half of the Peach Bowl to throw three touchdown passes in wiping out a 14-3 deficit.

Earlier in the season, Davey took over for a struggling Booty, started against then-No. 11 Tennessee and engineered a 38-31 overtime victory ... only to be injured and fall behind Booty.

"I have to show consistency night in and night out, not just under adversity, but for a whole game," said Davey, who completed 38 of 59 passes for seven touchdowns with one interception last year and was the Peach Bowl's most outstanding offensive player.

Davey certainly has the respect of his teammates, voted as a team co-captain for the second consecutive season.

He has plenty of good receivers. In his first full season at wide receiver last year, junior Josh Reed made all-SEC while having caught 65 passes for 1,127 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Junior Jerel Myers added 29 catches for 347 yards and three touchdowns after having caught an SEC freshman-record 64 passes the year before. Senior flanker Reggie Robinson followed Reed with 31 catches for 391 yards and two touchdowns.

In addition, senior co-captain Robert Royal set a school record for single-season touchdown catches from a tight end with five.

The Tigers aren't as deep at tailback, where sophomore LaBrandon Toefield should see the brunt of the action again after having led all SEC freshmen last year with 165 carries for 682 yards and five touchdowns.

"I'm told that I'll have to be an everyday back," said Toefield, hardly complaining.

The Tigers must replace four-year starting fullback Tommy Banks, as well center Louis Williams, a four-year starter, and right tackle Brandon Winey. Still, three returning starters up front are solid, and a couple of defensive linemen have moved to offense to bolster the depth.

LSU boasts of experience throughout the defense, having lost only cornerback Fred Booker. Nowhere is the veteran leadership more profound than at linebacker, where the Tigers boast one of the country's premier groups in Bradie James (the Peach Bowl's most outstanding defensive player) and juniors Treverance Faulk and Jeremy Lawrence.

The defensive front features ends Jarvis Green and Kendrick Allen, and tackles Chad Lavalais and Muskingum Barnes.

Ryan Clark spearheads the secondary after having started 23 consecutive games and having made 227 career tackles. Back, as well, are senior strong safety Lionel Thomas and senior cornerback Robert Davis.

"We were 3-8 (in 1999), and we had to prove otherwise last year," Clark said. "This year, people are going to circle us on the schedule. We have to be better than we were last year."

That goes, as well, for sophomore punter Donnie Jones, who averaged 38.1 yards last season, and junior kicker John Corbello, who made 10 of 18 field-goal attempts.

Return specialist Domanick Davis excelled by ranking fifth in the SEC with an average of 130.5 all-purpose yards per game. He's expected to be even more valuable this season, playing running back, defensive back and returning kicks.

It's all enough to have raised the level of expectations for an LSU team eager to distance itself from the past.

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