The storyline for Saturday's battle between LSU and Oregon should be about the rebirth of college football in the Northwest and Les Miles' LSU team escaping from the shadows of Alabama in the SEC.
But a battle between two teams in the Top 5, one that should be a much-needed dose of positive publicity for a troubled sport, has been upstaged by two offseason incidents that cost one team its starting quarterback and has tarnished the reputation of the other.
Miles had no choice but to name senior Jarrett Lee his starting quarterback after Jordan Jefferson - along with linebacker Josh Johns - was suspended indefinitely earlier in the week after being arrested on second degree felony charges stemming from a vicious early morning melee outside a Baton Rouge bar on Aug. 19.
According to sources close to the investigation, Andrew Lowery, the man witnesses say was kicked in the face by Jefferson, suffered a concussion, fractured teeth and facial and body bruises in the attack. Baton Rouge police executed a search warrant of Jefferson's apartment and took 49 pairs of shoes with them to review physical evidence before charging the men. Jefferson's lawyer has been lobbying for Miles to re-instate Jefferson while the case works itself through the legal system. But that's not going to happen. If there is any proof of these damaging allegations, Jefferson can kiss his college career goodbye and hope the other shoe doesn't drop if this case goes to court.
At Oregon, quarterback Darron Thomas, who threw for 30 touchdowns for a team that reached the BCS title game last season, was also involved in an offseason incident, but will play. Thomas claims he was asleep in the car when cornerback Cliff Harris was pulled over by Oregon police for driving 118 miles per hour this summer.
Thomas also denies he was smoking marijuana. A police dashboard-camera video reveals that the officer who pulled Harris over thought he smelled the odor of marijuana coming from the car. Harris, who was cited for speeding and driving with a suspended license, has been suspended for this game. Thomas was disciplined, but will play. "I'm not punishing someone for being a messenger," Oregon coach Chip Kelly said.
Oregon and LSU have both been haunted all spring by the fact that they are both being investigated by the NCAA because of their connections to Willie Lyles, the director of a scouting service and a purported street agent from South Houston who is alleged to have steered players to schools for cash. Investigators are looking into allegations Oregon paid Lyles $25,000 for his scouting service and then Lyles pushed running back Lache Seastrunk from Temple, Tex., with whom he had a mentoring relationship, to that Pac-10 championship program. Seastrunk signed with the Ducks in 2010 but has since left, enrolling at Baylor.
Last February, LSU, which paid Lyles $6,000 for materials last year, signed linebacker Trevon Randle,who has also been linked to Lyles. LSU starting receiver Russell Shepard has also been suspended for the opener and could miss a number of games for reportedly discussing an NCAA inquiry into Lyles with a teammate who was scheduled to be interviewed about the same matter.
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