LSU-Florida Aftermath: Talking Tiger Fans Off the Ledge

Most LSU fans seem to think the Tigers blitzed on every down last year, and that’s just not the case. The strategy was the same, but the intensity was nowhere to be found. This was 2006 all over again but without five turnovers hurting an offense with some firepower. This 2008 version of the Tiger offense is punchless without a running game.

Going back to my keys for the game:

1) LSU running the ball effectively? Heavens no.

2) LSU dominates the line of scrimmage? They did not. In fact, if you need something to worry about as a Tiger fan, this is it.

3) Jarrett Lee is efficient under center? Not really, but at the same token he’s the only reason we put up 21. I feel like I’m watching Brett Favre when I watch Lee, but more of late Favre than early Favre.

4) The Gators throw deep effectively? They did. Tebow actually had some pretty passes in this game. LSU’s coverage was inconsistent.

5) The Gator defense dominates? Charlie Strong put together a great game plan against the Tigers—give him credit.

6) LSU’s punt return woes continue? Despite getting nothing from the punt return unit, the real headline was special teams in general, which the Gators dominated.

So if you’re keeping score, LSU was 0-6. In the Swamp against a team like Florida when they are clicking, that’ll get you a 30-point loss.

The bonus X-factor never really came into play. While Miles had two weeks to prepare for Florida, I wouldn’t put Saturday’s loss on the coaches. That game was lost on the field.

If you feel its Miles’ job to make sure his players play with intensity, then maybe you think part of it was Les Miles’ fault. The players have to play the game in my opinion. Last year’s victory had less to do with “The Hat” and more to do with the will of the players—this year was the same.

So now the good news as I try to play the optimistic LSU fan.

First, despite what the scoreboard says, this was one loss. Just one “L” is the scoring column. It would look the exact same had we lost by three or 10 or 30 or 50.

LSU just hasn’t suffered a blowout like this in the Miles era. The last time LSU got spanked like this, it was a 45-16 drubbing at Athens in ’04 against UGA when Nick Saban was here, and that also was a revenge/rematch game of sorts. It was also on the road and a year after a National Championship.

In fact, as few losses as Miles has had at LSU, they’ve pretty much all been close except for the ’05 SEC Championship against UGA, and JaMarcus Russell got injured in that game.

No, basically besides looking bad two years in the Swamp, you won’t be able to find a bad loss under Miles. Two years ago. That’s a long time for Tiger fans to get spoiled.

Even when Nick Saban was in Baton Rouge he had a 31-0 loss to Bama, 31-7 and 34-17 losses to Auburn, a 26-8 loss to Virginia Tech, a 15-point bowl loss to Texas, a 44-15 loss to Florida, as well as a 41-9 loss to the Gators. I left off a few to conserve time.

Oh how quickly we forget those days.

It’s funny how your ex-girlfriend’s flaws fade after it’s over.

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