Hugely frustrating loss, many times moreso than the Florida and Georgia games. Those became comical; this one was still very much winnable despite Lee. And against a No. 1 Alabama being brought to Baton Rouge for the first time under Saban in a last shot for redemption this year … just crushing.

I don’t know that I’d go all-caps OUTSTANDING for the defense (probably just shows how our expectations have dropped) because they gave Alabama nearly their average for yards and just 12 fewer than Arkansas State did, but they held when they had to (nine drives resulting in punts or turnovers) and absolutely did what they needed to do. That was a refreshing change.

And we do need to know where Jefferson was. Miles said this week he was getting him ready to play and planned to play him, but got snippy with Tracy at halftime about it. There’s got to be something more to the story of why he never got in.

I’d do some serious drinking tonight, then get up tomorrow, shake off the hangover, and move on. I agree that the loss weighs most on him, but, as has been mentioned earlier, he’s inexperienced, and JPW’s “seasoning” just emphasized that. I don’t want to throw Crayton under the bus any more than Lee, but I have to wonder about some of the playcalling late, given the events of Lee’s game. Easy to say in hindsight.

And I would agree with Cap’n, I won’t go so far as to say the defense was that great. It was definitely above average, and better than what we have seen from them all year. The secondary was much improved. The defense played well enough to win the game, but were put in difficult situations.

I keep thinking of the Will Rogers quote when I think of Lee and his problems. “Good judgement comes with experience and much of that comes from bad judgement.” Lee has a learning curve, thrown into the fire before anticipated. While I am also disappointed on one level, on the other, more realistic level, I am proud of our Tigers and their game tongiht. During the intensity of the game, I, like many others, thought that Lee should be benched. However, in retrospect, I think Lee learned much tonight and LSU did take the #1 team in the nation to Overtime.

It is extremely disappointing to watch one player lose an entire game for a team. I am a die hard LSU fan but I just cannot understand why Jarrett Lee was kept in the game.

He could not even complete a short pass with accuracy. LSU had open wide receivers all night and should have been able to see Saban off with a going away party he deserved.

I am even more disappointed in Les Miles for playing extremely passive. He should have put Jefferson in because Lee was not taking care of business.

Check out this funny site on Jarrett Lee as a LSU Quarterback

Kudos to LSU for the effort. I thought the game was not going to be as difficult for Bama, and I was proven wrong today.

But to be fair about one of your comments, two of the three LSU TD’s were fairly short drives. One started around LSU’s 45 and the other one started at around the 30. I think the main thing we learn from this basically is that both teams were playing solid defense and the offenses just had to capitalize on the mistakes that were made.

Again it was a great game. See ya next year.

our toughest game this year and I was proven right. LSU is a great team and I’m glad to have gotten out of BR with a W. Don’t be too hard on Jarrett Lee, nobody on your team tried harder than that kid. Maybe Miles didn’t put in the freshman, because he really sees something in redshirting him this year, or he really sees something in Lee. Please don’t treat him as badly as some did Jamie Howard after that horrible Auburn loss which was not his fault, but many blamed him for. Sometimes the coaches and their decisions are what puts a quarterback in a bad situation. I like LSU right after Bama and just want you to know I think it was a hell of a game.

I think you are overestimating the degree to which freshman quarterbacks are doomed to fail. Jartett Lee, bless his heart, simply does not appear very good at playing football. I don’t think there is a chance he will get much better. I hope hope hope I am wrong about this. I am holding out for Russell Sheppard.

And the sad thing is, with the exception of Lee’s play, this was our most complete performance of the season. The defense was OUTSTANDING. We were strong against the run all night, and we didn’t have the bad coverage breakdowns we’ve seen. Our secondary was at its best all night. Never was there a wide receiver open deep for Alabama.

i’m very glad you mentioned this. …i had a similar thought and i’ve been somewhat stunned that it’s not the general perception of the way LSU played yesterday.

reading the pundits this morning the common theme seemed to be how flawed Bama is due to the closeness of this contest. what seemed clear to me watching was that – outside of lee’s problems – this was the most formidable LSU has looked all year. coming out with a win against one of the most talented units in the land returning to their true level of play should be lauded, not derided.

these are two teams with a ton of talent who came into the game with a clear desire to win. there was no lack of intensity or focus on either side. despite the closeness of the score i turned off the television feeling more confident about my team than just about any contest this year. and i certainly don’t feel any more comfortable about playing LSU again any time soon.