Just three days after it was revealed that the LSU Tigers had edged the Alabama Crimson Tide in the first BCS rankings, the news turned bad for the squad. They will be hosting the Auburn Tigers in the Feline Bowl in Death Valley, and they will be doing it without three of its top players. According to reports from Baton Rouge, the team has suspended running back Spencer Ware and defensive backs Tyrann “Honey Badger” Mathieu and Tharold Simon for the game. LSU officials refused to confirm or deny the report, saying that the players were involved in an “internal matter” that would be handled by head coach Les Miles.
The Tigers, who have racked up some impressive victories this season over teams like Oregon and West Virginia in stern road tests, will likely be hurt by the suspensions. Ware is the team’s leading rusher, having picked up 512 yards and six touchdowns en route to helping his team to a 7-0 start. Mathieu, who has become a national darling with his “Honey Badger” moniker and rabid following, has been an important piece as well, picking off two passes and returning two fumbles for touchdowns this season. Simon has only started one game, but does have 29 tackles and according to USA Today leads the team with nine passes defended this season.
With games looming against Alabama in Tuscaloosa and the Arkansas Razorbacks in Baton Rouge, the Tigers don’t need news like this to continue to pop up. Earlier in the season, LSU suspended starting quarterback Jordan Jefferson and linebacker Josh Johns after they were charged with second-degree battery, and even though Jefferson has started 27 games for the Tigers, he has only seen the field enough this season to attempt seven passes. His replacement Jarrett Lee has had a stellar year, throwing for 11 touchdowns and 1085 yards, and it doesn’t appear as though Jefferson will see the field a lot this year.
Whether or not Miles’ program is in need of more drastic measures to rein in the craziness that has been happening in the Deep South remains to be seen, but the suspensions are one more reminder that the bigger the stage these kids play on, the more dangerous the risk of their failing becomes.