Stopping Fournette still a top priority
When college football's irresistible force met his immovable object a year ago, Leonard Fournette ran into a wall in the form of the University of Alabama's defense.
LSU's accomplished running back was held to just 31 yards on 19 carries against the Crimson Tide. It was one of only two games where Fournette was held to less than 100 yards and one of just three that saw him run for than 150. In his other 11 starts, he averaged 175.8 yards per game.
Fournette will get another shot at Alabama on Saturday in Baton Rouge, La., when the top-ranked Crimson Tide visits No. 15 LSU. And he's looking forward to it.
"He's probably the most motivated guy on the team, to be honest with you. ... He has spoken to the team and will speak to the team again," LSU interim coach Ed Orgeron said this week on the SEC teleconference. "His want-to to have success against Alabama is as high as any other player that I've seen."
Fournette has missed three of LSU's seven games due to an ankle injury, and his numbers in the first three games where he did see action weren't quite as remarkable as last year's, although he did top the 100-yard mark all three times. After missing two games in a row, he returned to form two weekends ago in the Tigers' latest outing when he shredded Ole Miss for 284 yards and three touchdowns on just 16 attempts.
Coming into this weekend, he's back up to averaging 167.5 yards per game and 8.1 yards per carry.
And the 6-foot-1, 235-pound junior has Alabama's attention.
"He's a great running back as you've seen over the past couple of years," Alabama defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson said. "He's an explosive back, can make plays that happen anytime. ... I'm excited to play against him."
How did Alabama stop him last year? It gave him nowhere to run.
"Honestly, just dominating the line of scrimmage," defensive end Jonathan Allen said. "If you can dominate the line of scrimmage, you can stop almost every back. So as a defense we always plan on dominating and controlling the line of scrimmage.
"He's going to come with it now, but so are we. ... We can't wait to get it going."
Fournette fell out of the Heisman Trophy race last season after Alabama bottled him up. Orgeron believes he can get back into contention with a big game against UA, which leads the nation in rushing defense, allowing a little more than 70 yards per game.
"For sure," Orgeron said. "He's the best player in the country, no question.
"I don't know how all that works and all that stuff, but I know this: When I was at USC, Carson Palmer had a great last three games and we beat Notre Dame and he won the Heisman. So I think that when you look at the things that (Fournette) did last week, it puts him in consideration, obviously. It's not his fault that he was hurt, but if there's a better player in the country I'd like to see him."
Reach Tommy Deas at tommy@tidesports.com or at 205-722-0224. Ben Jones contributed to this report.