Zach Mettenberger is one start into his LSU quarterback career and already knows what it's like to feel the heat from the media, as NOLA.com writes.
Mettenberger certainly wasn't bad in the Tigers' 41-14 rout of North Texas, completing 19 of 26 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown. But he also threw a pick deep in LSU territory when he should have thrown it away, drew a big intentional-grounding penalty and was knocked out of the game on a sack (he returned and recovered well, though, leading the team on a field goal drive and completing his final eight passes).
Mettenberger plays one of the visible position at one of the most visible programs in the country, and acknowledged he knows criticism will come with or without success.
"No one can criticize me as hard as I criticize myself," Mettenberger said when asked if he was his own worst critic. "Y'all have ripped me in the newspapers and stuff but that's part of it. I feel I could have played better. I wanted to be 26-for-26 with 300 yards but that's not how it goes. But we got the win and if I keep improving from here, we'll be good."
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