Fournette motivated to rebound
BATON ROUGE, La. — Publicly, LSU running back Leonard Fournette has been largely silent about the perceived score he and the No. 13 Tigers have to settle with topranked Alabama.
LSU’s powerful and explosive star running back — who scored three touchdowns of 59 yards or longer in his previous game — was nowhere to be seen during designated times for media interviews this week. But when the cameras and microphones were gone, Fournette apparently had plenty to say to his teammates about facing a Crimson Tide squad that last year held him to 31 yards on 19 carries while defeating the Tigers for a fifth consecutive time .
“He’s probably the most motivated guy on the team,” LSU interim coach Ed Orgeron said this week. “He has spoken to the team and will speak to the team again. His want-to to have success against Alabama is as high as any other player I’ve seen.”
The Tigers’ confidence is surging as they aim to end their skid against their century-old nemesis from two states away Saturday night. LSU (5-2, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) has won three in a row since Orgeron took over for Les Miles in late September.
“This is obviously one of the biggest games of the year — always is,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said, adding the LSU is “probably as good a team as we’ve played all year, especially the way they’re playing now.”
Regardless of how the Crimson Tide (8-0, 5-0) ruined Fournette’s Heisman Trophy candidacy by bottling him up at Tuscaloosa last year, Saban asserted that LSU’s 6-1, 235-pound junior is “probably one of the most dynamic running backs that has played in college football for a while.”