Optimism run amuck for Tigers
Published 6:56 am Wednesday, November 2, 2016
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Easy to forget now, but a year ago LSU, undefeated and freshly ranked No. 2 in the season’s first College Football Playoff rankings, was heading into Tuscaloosa to play Alabama.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">It did not go well. The final score of 30-16 wasn’t really indicative of the Tide whipping.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Yet this year supposedly is the year, with optimism run amuck for some 5-2 Tigers.</span>
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<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">One LSU safety has even guaranteed the Tigers will “dominate,” and the earth, for some reason, did not immediately open up and swallow Dwayne Thomas whole.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">There’s far more anticipation than with last year, and some of it is loosely based in logic.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">But let’s examine the situation, point by counter point.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Myriad Pro’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">POINT:</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">LSU, newly invigorated with energized confidence, is jacked for this game. Tiger Stadium is going to be rocking. What is it they say? This is the reason you come to LSU, to play in games like this.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Myriad Pro’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">COUNTER POINT:</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Somewhere, probably Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide is yawning. You don’t think they hear this stuff every week? It’s part of being Alabama. You get everybody’s best shot before, during, and after the game. It’s why they come to play at Alabama.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Tennessee had about half its starters in the MASH unit, and yet the Vols fans were talking trash before the game (Bama, 49-10).</span>
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<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Texas A&M had the whole world behind it, with learned minds figuring out a way the Xs and Os matched up to the Aggies’ favor (Bama, 33-14).</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Even Arkansas thought it had a chance and got taken seriously.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">And they all had the rest of the SEC’s backing and blessings.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Myriad Pro’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">P:</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">LSU is really undefeated, 3-0, at least since Ed Orgeron took over as interim coach. Even Nick Saban just said he considers LSU to be an unbeaten team.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Myriad Pro’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">CP:</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Saban was being nice. Still 5-2 in the eyes of the world. But, OK, the LSU team that Orgeron has molded, the one that will play Saturday night, is 3-0. And it is a different team. But, really, the Tigers have beaten two bad teams (Missouri and Southern Miss) and a flawed team in Ole Miss. We’d know more if that Florida game had been played.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Myriad Pro’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">P:</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">But it just has a different “feel,” a different “look” under Orgeron.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Myriad Pro’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">CP:</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Can’t argue that. But so far, in reality — no matter how much better it looks — LSU still doesn’t have that signature win that Orgeron needs to really turn some heads. So, he’s held serve. Still waiting on that “wow” win against equal or better talent.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Myriad Pro’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">P:</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">LSU should have won the last two against Bama in Tiger Stadium. Late Tide scores cost them, one still went to overtime.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Myriad Pro’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">CP:</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Woulda, coulda, shoulda. Come of think of it, we have not seen O’s Tigers in close quarters yet. All three games were over by the fourth quarter. So that could be interesting.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Myriad Pro’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">P:</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">LSU is the one team with the talent to match up with Alabama.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Myriad Pro’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">CP:</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Match how? Closer, maybe, than most. The Tigers generally are ranked in the top 10 in recruiting every year. Alabama has had the</span> <span style="font-style: italic;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">No. 1-ranked</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">recruiting class</span> <span style="font-style: italic;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">for six years in a row</span><span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Myriad Pro’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">P:</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Leonard Fournette is healthy, and, what’s more, now he should be in condition enough for more than back-to-back carries, unlike in that Ole Miss game. He’s coming off of a school-record performance in his return against the Rebels, one of whom he knocked into You Tube immortality.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Myriad Pro’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">CP:</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Stop it. Don’t even go there. LSU may or may not beat Alabama, and Fournette will likely have more than 31 yards like last year. If the Tigers do happen to win, he’ll be a part of it. But — let me say this up front; read my lips — Fournette is not going to beat Alabama.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">If Nick Saban has a golden rule for his genius game-planning, it’s that the first thing he does is figure out what is most likely to beat him and then systematically eliminates it from any possible equation. Hence, Fournette’s game a year ago was no mere happenstance.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">In 2011, Tyrann Mathieu had the most dominant season by an LSU defensive player I’ve ever seen, with his fingerprints all over more LSU victories than any defensive player had a right to. But Saban figured that out. So the Honey Badger had his two most frustrating performances of the year in the regular season game against Alabama and in the rematch for the BCS national championship. Alabama kept an eye on that little rascal the entire time. Saban probably had to swallow hard and avoid eye contact with his special teams head hunters, but he even wimped out and punted out of bounds, away from Mathieu, the entire game.</span>
<span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Didn’t matter. LSU didn’t cross midfield until late in the game.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Myriad Pro’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">P:</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">But obsessing over Fournette should open up other things.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Myriad Pro’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">CP:</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Didn’t help much last year.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Myriad Pro’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">P:</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">But LSU didn’t have a quarterback last year. Danny Etling has played well, doesn’t panic in the pocket, gets the ball to the playmakers.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Myriad Pro’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">CP:</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">If they can keep him in one piece. This might be the best defense Saban has had.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Myriad Pro’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">P:</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">But Orgeron says the offensive line is finally healthy.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Myriad Pro’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">CP:</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Orgeron also says he has this recurring vision (nightmare) of this Alabama defensive tackle …</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Myriad Pro’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">P:</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">First time since the season opener the line will all be together.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Myriad Pro’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">CP:</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">… Fellow named Jonathan Allen. So this oversized bowling ball jumps clear over a blocking back and lands in the Aggie quarterback’s lap. He’d be illegal in some states.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Myriad Pro’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">P:</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">But Alabama always loses one game a year.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Myriad Pro’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">CP:</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Not this time of year. That train may have already left the station, barring some Kick Six foolishness.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Myriad Pro’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">P:</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">But five straight? It’s time. Law of averages. Something.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Myriad Pro’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">CP:</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Alabama once won 11 straight from the Tigers.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Myriad Pro’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">P:</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">But that was with Bear Bryant.</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: ‘Myriad Pro’;" class="R~sep~ACopyBody">CP:</span> <span class="R~sep~ACopyBody">Saban may be better. Certainly seems intent on proving it. Blasphemous as it sounds, even Alabama is starting to come to grips with that.</span>
