 |
| Leonard Fournette dashes for an 89 yard touchdown. |
In a trend that has become
all too familiar, an LSU opponent made a late drive to beat the Tigers at the
buzzer. Over the last three seasons, LSU
has lost to Clemson, Ole Miss and now Notre Dame on last second FG’s. Throw in the losses to Bama in ‘12 and ’14 and
you have a good heaping of late game misery.
While the defense must take a big chunk of the blame of those loses, LSU’s
inability on offense to put anyone away has repeatedly hurt them. Many of those tight games Miles was winning
early in his tenure at LSU are going the other way. LSU is only 6-5 the last two years in games
decided by 7 points or less.
Observations:
* The offense played well
enough to win but the defense was just atrocious. ND converted on 11 of 17 third down
conversions. SEVENTEEN third down plays!!
The Tigers could not get off the field.
*Jalen Collins was abused
all game. *Again, LSU got zero pressure with the front four.
*Jamal Adams is an
All-American type player.
*On offense, LSU had 9
drives, four TD’s, a blocked FG, a failed Fake FG and three punts. I’m tired of talking about Jennings and his
short comings. He did OK with the only
glaring mistake the fumble in the second half.
*I disagreed with the fake
FG at the end of the first half. If LSU
takes the points there, they get the ball to start the second half and take the
lead. Those 3 points were obviously huge
for the game. Had Miles saved that fake
FG he could have used it in the second half instead of trying a 40 yard FG that
ND blocked.
*I also disagreed with the
decision to punt on 4th and 1 with six minutes left in the game. Fournette was unstoppable and LSU would have
had an excellent chance to convert. Sure
enough, LSU punted and never saw the ball again.
*Miles is now 6-4 in bowl
games at LSU, 2-4 in the last six.
Some folks may be
optimistic about next season. I’m not in
that group. I saw zero growth at the QB
position. The offensive line will need
to be rebuilt with Collins and Porter departing (and possibly Alexander and
Hawkins leaving as well). The defense
has slowly slipped since the 2011 monster year.
LSU plays at Ole Miss and Alabama which I expect to be losses. The Tigers also travel to South Carolina,
Syracuse and State. There is probably
another loss amongst that group of games.
LSU’s home schedule is filled with Florida, Arkansas, A&M and
Auburn. Does anyone expect LSU to go 4-0
against that line-up?
Another 8-4 season in 2015
will put Miles squarely on the hot seat for 2016. In the last 7 years, Miles has delivered one division
title and one “BCS” bowl appearance. Is
that good enough? It will be interesting
to see how the next few years play out.
Keep the Faith.
Geaux Tigers.
