LSU Begins to See Les Wins and Les Respect

It wasn't supposed to happen this year. The momentum from the Saban era was supposed to last at least through the end of the year. But when Saban showed up with his new team and reclaimed Tiger Stadium as his own again, the fortunes of the Tigers collapsed into something "Les than spectacular."

It appears that Saban took the last bit of magic he left there when he returned. Granted, the late-game heroics to beat a pitiful Troy team was exciting, but what the heck was LSU doing being down by 31-3 to them in the first place?

Then there was was this "Les than inspired" game Ole Miss where they were, well, completely dominated. Oh well, Nashville is nice this time of year and you can do a day trip by going to Shreveport. That is, unless you manage to do better against cellar dweller Arkansas.

It will be interesting to see how many LSU fans will be saying, "Wait till next year." What exactly are they expecting to happen next year?

The good news for them is they'll have the same coaching staff. The bad news is it's because nobody else wants them.

The good news is they'll have an experienced quarterback at the helm. The bad news is he's the same "throw to anybody no matter what color jersey" passer they had this year.

The good news is they'll have new recruits coming in to help. The bad news is, after seeing the way this season is ending, the good ones will have bailed out by season's end.

LSU will remain a bowl team for a few more years, and it won't be until the Tigers realize that they're actually HOPING to go to Shreveport that the administration will be begin to wonder why coach Les Miles is the highest paid coach in the SEC.  

They're not getting more for less, they're getting less from Les.

Next year they should beat Washington, Vandy, UL Lafayette, Tulane, Louisiana Tech and Arkansas. They might beat Mississippi State. They will get beat by everyone with a winning record such as Georgia, Florida, Auburn, Alabama and Ole Miss.

So they should start getting used to those 7-5 seasons. If Auburn doesn't improve they might make it to 8-4, but that's about the height of anyone's expectations.

I guess when have Les you can just expect less. The Saban magic is gone like the recruits he brought in and LSU is left standing with Les in one hand and less in the other.