LSU-Florida Aftermath: Talking Tiger Fans Off the Ledge

I think the transitive property is used way too much in college football: “Well, if Florida lost to Ole Miss, then they’re not that good.”

But teams play different from week to week (I went over this before, people). LSU just picked a bad week to play Florida poorly. LSU had their worst showing of the season and the Gators had their best, and that’ll turn a three-point game into a 30-point one.

By a show of hands, who had LSU repeating as National Champions this year?

OK, if you raised your hand then your fandom greatly outweighs your college football intelligence, and you need to stop reading this.

Most Tiger fans had LSU losing three games or so this year. So how was Florida not one of those losses?

LSU fans looking at the long term know this:

1) Jarrett Lee has shown some promise at quarterback, but this was his first road start. He needs the experience he is going to get this year in order to play at a high level. He’s taking his knocks and learning from his bad decisions. This is a natural progression.

Someone please look up for me the last time a freshman quarterback won a National Championship. How about an SEC championship?

2) The Tigers will always have one of the better defenses in the country. Oklahoma and Texas got into a score-fest, and both teams have great defenses. The difference? Both teams have effective offenses and QBs, so I refer you back to No. 1. Is this year’s defense the best LSU D ever? No.

But things could be so much worse, trust me. This is still a quick, hard-hitting unit for which 110 other teams in the country would gladly trade us. No one, and I repeat no one, would’ve beaten Florida this past weekend in that game. Not Oklahoma, Texas, USC, Mizzou, Penn State, or Alabama. Hell, maybe not even the Detroit Lions.

3) The secondary will also get better with time. Overall they didn’t have a horrible night, but they were inconsistent, and that’ll happen with two new starting corners and a lack of production from the nickelback position.

LSU actually struggled more with Florida’s speedsters in space than in coverage and were victimized more by bad matchups. The Gators can create bigger matchup headaches than anyone else hands down. It’s just that they actually decided to do it for the LSU game.

Also, I think it’s time to start Chad Jones at nickelback. Poor Danny McCray has had too many strikes against him on the field now.

4) This isn’t LSU’s last loss of the season. Sorry. But I don’t mean that in a negative way, like the Bayou Bengals are going to totally tank it now. LSU has inexperience in key positions, and the 2009 version of the Tigers will be a better football team.

The goal in ’08 should be to compete for the West (which the Tide will make very difficult) and show up on New Year’s Day for a bowl.

Basically, it’s up to LSU to beat the teams they’re supposed to. They weren’t supposed to beat Florida.

Lastly, I’ll leave you with this. I’ll bet the majority of you Tiger fans thought when it was 20-14 that the Tigers could come back and win the game.

Think about that. After how poorly the Tigers played in the first half, it was a one-score game in the Swamp. Now it wasn’t in the cards this time, but think of how many other times Les and the crew have pulled out these kinds of games.

That feeling, that belief, that we could come back and win is a totally foreign feeling to Louisiana sports fans. Year after year seeing the Saints snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and seeing LSU ride the roller coaster of success and disappointment, we have it engrained in our psyche to be pessimistic. We never trust good fortune or believe that luck will find its way to us.

But admit it, when it was 20-14, you thought LSU could come back despite all the signs that pointed against it. The thought crossed your mind. Your way of thinking has changed.

Although the ball didn’t bounce the Tigers’ way this time, I’d like you to think about the fact that Les Miles had a lot to do with that particular change in the framework of your mind. He rewired your outlook and how you root for your team.

Just something to think about—it was one of the few positives I took from Saturday night as I realized that there’s much more to being a fan of a team than the outcome of one game on one particular night.

Stop sulking, Tiger fans—you have a chance to make Steve Spurrier unhappy this week. That should put a smile on your face.

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