As this season evolved, you had to get the feeling that LSU was living on borrowed time. Close calls with Florida, Auburn and Alabama and the triple OT loss to UK showed that LSU was not a dominant team in the mold of the 2003 Tigers. So what happened? First off, let’s not forget that after 12 games LSU is 10-2 and ranked #7 in the BCS. Both of LSU’s losses were in triple OT to quality football teams. But to make it through the SEC in a position to win a National Championship, you must be special. At the very top of the football world, the margin for error is extremely thin. You must do the little things correctly and have a little good fortune along the way. The following are a few areas where LSU came up short.
* Injuries – Charles Alexander (DT) lost for the season. Beckwith (LB), Dorsey (DT), Flynn (QB), Doucet (WR) and Holliday (RB/KR) all missed time due to injuries.
*Flynn’s slow starts kept the opposition in games in the first half.
*Offensive line struggled at times to protect Flynn.
*Defense couldn’t get off the field.
*Pelini’s inability to adjust and attack at the right moment. I grade him out at a C+ this season. In LSU’s two loses, he refused to bring pressure on the quarterback by blitzing when it was obvious the front four was struggling. Sure it is easy to second guess some play calling, but at this level, as Miles has shown repeatedly on 4th down, some risk taking is essential. Perfect example in OT this Friday. 4th and ten for the Hogs and we rush four and play coverage. Dick stands back there forever and Hillis gets open to convert.
*LSU commits some of the dumbest penalties. Doucet lining up wrong against Arkansas and Tyson Jackson’s personal foul against OK’s Woodson in the Kentucky game are the two that really stick out. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
*Schedule – LSU played 8 BCS conference teams that have won 6 games or more. For a little perspective, the following list is the current BCS Standings with the number of games against teams with 6 wins is in parentheses.
1. Mizzu (6)
2. West Virginia (6)
3. Ohio State (7)
4. Georgia (8)
5. Kansas (4)
6. Virginia Tech (6)
7. LSU (8)
8. USC (5)
9. Oklahoma (6)
10. Florida (7)
I think people forget how difficult it is to win an SEC Championship and National Championship. As great as Spurrier was at Florida, he won ONE national title; and only after backing into a rematch with FSU in the Sugar Bowl. Tressell at Ohio State? He needed a horrific injury to Miami’s Willis Mcgahee and a HORRIBLE pass interference call in overtime to get his title. LSU was the beneficiary of a crazy sequence of events which landed them in the title game in 2003. You think Texas and Mack Brown win in the Rose Bowl without Vince Young? As fantastic as USC’s run has been the last few years, Pete Carroll has the same number of crystal footballs as Tennessee’s Phil Fulmer. Bob Stoops is well on his way to having his face carved on the Mt. Rushmore of Sooner football, but alas he has as many titles as Larry Coker.
I think Spurrier, Tressell, Carroll, Stoops, and Saban are all terrific coaches (I have mixed feelings on Brown and Fulmer). The comments above are not to knock them, only to make the point that so many events outside of a coach’s control can dictate their fates. Would Oregon be 10-1 if Dennis Dixon didn’t blow out his ACL? If Virginia Tech doesn’t give up two TD’s to BC in the last five minutes of the game, are they in line to play in New Orleans? If USC’s Booty doesn’t break his thumb against Stanford, is USC undefeated?
Les Miles is a damn good coach and I hope he stays at LSU (for the record though I think he is gone if Michigan makes him the offer). With Miles, LSU has an opportunity to have LONG TERM success and legitimate chances to win titles in the future. So every one needs to relax and get a grip. The man is 32-6 over three years. He is 10-4 against Auburn, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee and Arkansas. He’s won two divisional championships and two bowl games. He’s also BLASTED Arizona, Miami, Virginia Tech and Notre Dame out of conference.
Let’s just keep a little perspective.
Some other random thoughts:
*Darren McFadden is a stud. I would put him up there with Hershel Walker and Bo Jackson as the top three RB’s in SEC history.
*LSU has struggled with mobile QB’s all season and when McFadden lined up in that “wildcat” formation, the Tiger defense gave up a number of big plays.
*What was Miles doing calling those timeouts at the end of the game? He left a minute left on the clock out of sheer clock mismanagement. Someone want to volunteer to tutor him in late game timeout taking?
*Flynn is the epitome of streaky. After an awful first half, he came out looking sharp throwing three TD’s and rushing for another after the half.
*West Virginia hung 66 on UConn this weekend in a ‘de facto’ Big East Championship. Are you kidding me? The Big Least is joke and all I can do is hope that the Mountaineers don’t back into the BCS Championship game.
*Along that line of thought, Suckeyes vs. WVU would blow as a BCS Title game. But it would be nice to see the Suckeyes get abused by that spread offense.
*The SEC is flat out tough. You have to be great to go 12-1 much less 13-0. The teams are so talented and equally matched, it shouldn’t be a surprise that so many games go into OT and are decided in the final moments. I have heard that just means the SEC is mediocre with no truly great teams. I disagree. I won’t use the term “best” but I think the SEC is the “deepest” conference in the country.
*The BCS is in its tenth year. Thus far, the SEC has hoisted the crystal football three (3) times, Big Twelve (2), Pac 10 (1), Big East (1), ACC (1), and Big 11, (1).
*The firings have begun. Orgeron at Ole Piss and Callahan at Nebraska were terminated this weekend. Two disastrous hires have run these two programs into the ground. Worse than the hiring decisions was the firing of Cutcliff and Solich in the first place. Cutcliff had just led Ole Piss to their best season in 40 years and Solich won 9 games the year he was fired. Crazy.
*Not to toot my own horn…but check out my preseason picks for the SEC East and West.
*Florida and Georgia are going to beat the crap out whoever they play in their respective bowl games.
