Well, That Sucked
by Poseur on Nov 8, 2009 11:07 AM CST
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I returned home from the wedding a little drunk and on a positive vibe. I had listened to the LSU-Alabama game in the car and as far as I knew, the game was 15-10 LSU late in the third and I was pretty excited to watch an epic fourth quarter.
Yeah, not so much.
Watching just the fourth quarter of the game was a bitter, bitter experience. Alabama had three drives which went FG, TD, FG while LSU's offense sputtered and failed to even gain a first down. I want to bitch about The Call, which was awful but entirely expected given the SEC's track record this season, but it looks like people already beat me to the punch.
But when you just watch the fourth quarter, it's impossible to blame this on one call. LSU went into the tank when the game mattered most. No first downs in the fourth quarter. The officials didn't do that, LSU's offense did. Julio Jones getting a long TD catch off a screen pass untouched, that wasn't the officials doing, that was the LSU defense.
Patrick Peterson's non-interception was a key play, but not nearly as big as LSU's failure to get two yards on 3rd and 2 up 15-13. If LSU converts there, maybe they can put together a drive, or at least give the defense a much needed breather. Instead, LSU punted and then Julio Jones made his big catch. With Peterson sitting on the bench, still trying to recover from injury.
There is the key to the game. LSU just suffered too many injuries in the course of the game to recover. Charles Scott has a broken collarbone and is likely out for the rest of the season. Jordan Jefferson went down with a hurt ankle and Jarrett Lee was not exactly stellar coming in relief. Peterson missed a lot of the second half with cramps but kept gamely trying to compete. Patrick Peterson is an absolute stud and this game was his national coming out party. If he's not already the best cornerback in the country, I'd hate to see the guy who is better. Ciron Black, Al Woods, and Perry Riley also all missed time due to injury. That's not just six starters, it's six of our most irreplaceable players.
This sucks, because I don't feel that Alabama is a better team. They didn't beat us like Florida did. For the first time all year, our offensive line looked pretty good. I want to blame the officials but I can't. It was just too many injuries, and too much to overcome. If only, if only, if only. But if doesn't matter. LSU lost. Scott is out for the year. And Alabama is the SEC West champs.
And we're still waiting for our first first down of the fourth quarter. 3rd and 2. 15-13. One yard. We didn't know it at the time, but we lost the game on that play.
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To add to my own post...
… two things.
ONE. If you want to see truly awful officiating, watch the Iowa-Indiana game last week. That was a hose job.
TWO. The officials were uniformly terrible all game. They missed the spearing on Jefferson, Bama fans are apparently bitching about the safety, but most importantly: CALL HOLDING. Jesus. It was out of control in that game. Both lines were allowed to tackle the defensive players. It was awful.
Fake Pundit. Real Fan.
http://www.andthevalleyshook.com
This sucks, because I don’t feel that Alabama is a better team. They didn’t beat us like Florida did
You’re right. Bama beat you WORSE than UF.. UF only had 327 total yards offense while Bama had 452 against your “better” team.
LSU injuries had nothing to do with the conditioning of the two teams, right? Wrong. Bama was more prepared physically for this game than LSU.
But I do agree with you on the holding by both teams.
Now the “OMG THE REFS SCREWED US” comments will commence…
To say Bama beat us worse that Florida is ridiculous. Florida suffocated our team with ball control and long possessions, and when we did get the ball, their defense was too much. Against Alabama, we had a lead in the 4th quarter. I think brandonh doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Both of these teams beat us. In one game we had the lead almost three quarters. In the other game, we never had the lead and only scored a field goal. Maybe he’s celebrating the win by getting silly.
I’m not sure which team was better, and while the refs were bad and affected the game, I won’t go so far as to say Alabama’s win is tainted. They won and it’s legit. They made the plays that needed to be made in crunch time, and we didn’t.
But what is the deal with Bama fans complaining about the safety? What was so bad about that call? Is someone going to claim that the lineman who was hit with the ball while his back was turned to the play was an eligible receiver?
Typical idiocy
Yes, Charles Scott breaking his collarbone on a fluke fall, after running through your defense for 35 yds, was the result of poor conditioning.
You're right
Bama was more prepared physically for this game than LSU.
It’s called getting a bye week the week before. While I think Bama and Florida are the better teams, it absolutely sucked that LSU had to play both of them after their byes. In the SEC, that’s a big deal.
As far as the yards, Florida was doing clock control; Bama wasn’t. Florida could have run up more yards against us, but seeing our Offense struggle, they just sapped time to make it even harder.
While I hate saying the refs cost us the game (I’m more inclined to say peterson’s cramps did; who the heck was in charge of keeping him hydrated?) there’s a huge difference between being down by 6 at the 40 with 5+ and being down by 9 at the 30 with 3 to go. Lee, as proved last year, doesn’t do well when it’s pass-only; we needed the run and for that we needed the time. and decent field position. The interception gave us both; we have a legitimate complaint that the bad officiating really hurt our chances to win this game.
I'm proud of my damn strong football team. Have a great day!
by Mikethetiger on Nov 8, 2009 12:29 PM CST up reply actions
Agreed
I concur with your assesment of what cost LSU the game, as the absences of Jefferson/Scott and Peterson really took the Tigers out of their game plan.
Unfortunately, the penalty was at a crucial time in the game. The replay official was put in a bad spot as it was obvious that the officials on the field had NO IDEA what to call. When they signaled “incomplete,” it left the replay official looking for indisputable evidence. While LSU fans will surely say there indeed was said evidence, that is a judgment call.
I happen to think it was an interception, but I also happen to think that Lee & Co. would not have been able to move the ball.
Great game. See y’all next year in BR.
Lee Corso: How would you describe tailgating at Alabama?
Kirk Herbstreit: Barbecue and Ralph Lauren
by animalcracker on Nov 8, 2009 8:08 PM CST up reply actions
Yeah
I guess Tommy Moffitt just does a bad job of getting players to separate their shoulders and twist their ankles so they know how to deal with it in a game. Piss poor conditioning.
Do me me a favor Brandon. Don’t have kids.
If you can’t see that your team was grossly mismatched in 4th qtr conditioning, that’s your own damn fault. LSU players were dropping like flies in the second half and while it was likely that unfortunate injuries caused your QB and RB to go down, there really wasn’t an excuse for the others.
Stay classy with the “kids” comment; we all know LSU fans exude class.
If you can't see
That the flu, twisted ankles and separated shoulders (or whatever injury Scott has) has have nothing to do with injuries, again, do me a favor. Don’t have kids.
I think Brandonh
was the bama female sitting next to me in the stadium. I can’t make this stuff up…When our players went down with an injury, she stood up and hollered as loud as she could:
“GET THEY’EM OFF OF OWER FEYELD. THEY ARE MESSIN UP OWER GRASS. THEY ARE BLEEDING AWALL OVER OWER FEYELD”
I probably won’t go back to Tuscaloosa.
i thought the booing
of injured players was absolutely appalling.
It wasn't just the booing of the injured players...
I think that was an isolated incident where the fans in the stadium thought that it was acting to stop the clock. And it may have been.
But they repeatedly started cheers, stadium wide cheers when our players were down. I was really floored by that.
And what I just described above was just ridiculous. I mean I really wouldn’t have believed it had I not witnesed it. I did stand up and openly mock her (to the delight of everyone around me including other bammers) but other bammers wouldn’t have said anything to her.
I won’t even get into what happened after the game. All minor incidents in and of themselves, just way to many. Nothing like what I’ve experienced in Auburn, Athens, Nashville, Oxford, Starkville, or Little Rock. Tuscaloosa is miles behind those places as far as class goes. I’m not comparing LSU to Bama, because I can’t unbiasedly do it, but compared to those other schools, Bama is dead least.
Very sorry
You had a bad experience in our fine college town.
Intense games with bitter rivals bring out the worst in some folks.
I’ll make sure to bring a smile and a pretty girl to Baton Rouge next year.
Lee Corso: How would you describe tailgating at Alabama?
Kirk Herbstreit: Barbecue and Ralph Lauren
by animalcracker on Nov 9, 2009 6:30 PM CST up reply actions
DISCLAIMER:
I’m not soulless, cold-hearted or barbaric; while I enjoy our delightful contact sport, I don’t like to see student athletes get injured. But the narrative of this game has spun out of control. Get your causal relationship right: random injuries, handed down by cruel fate, didn’t allow a lesser team to win this football game. An extremely powerful, if not always competent, team physically abused and decimated LSU, forcing their best players out of the game and thereby facilitating a lopsided fourth quarter. Alabama played stronger, harder, and with more intensity than any team LSU has faced, and that’s why LSU players were dropping like flies… chance plays a part, buts so does getting hit real damn hard a bunch of times (or in Peterson’s case, maybe conditioning).
Whatever else you may say about Alabama, they hit like planets colliding. Since arriving in Tuscaloosa, that’s what Saban has said he wants from his teams: a terrifying identity, with a reputation for being the hardest fighting (if not most successful) team in the nation. Seems like that was the case when he was at LSU, too. Boy, I didn’t like having to play his LSU teams.
The officiating was universally awful. Patterson made a great play and should have had the INT. Both teams got raked at various points in the game. Those in the blogosphere brain trust suspicious of an SEC officiating conspiracy need to take their meds.
The only injury that could be attributed to hard hitting
was the ankle injury to Jefferson. I’ll even give you that Peterson’s cramps may have been due to insufficient hydration. But Scott’s injury was a freak, I’ve never seen a collarbone break from a tackle from behind before.
The linemen injuries that I saw were mostly the result of people getting rolled up on or twisted in a pile.
But for you to claim the injuries didn’t affect the game is ridiculous. Force Bama to play the 4th quarter with Star Jackson and a combination of Richardson/Upchurch, and you guys would be saying what if same as us.
CHAD JONES! WOOOO!!!!
by The Bengal on Nov 8, 2009 12:39 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
Sure looked to me...
…like Scott was driven to the ground by simultaneous hits from two Bama defenders. Freak injury, sure, but it’s not like it shattered in a crisp breeze. (I hate it for Scott, too, and I’m glad he’s going to make money on Sundays.)
At what point did I imply injuries DIDN’T play a role? That’s sort of exactly the opposite of my point.
I call bullshit
If Alabama’s gameplan is to injure their opponents. Nick Saban should be expelled from coaching. I don’t believe for one second that is true. Alabama wants to tire the other team out so they will “give up” in the fourth quarter and they can out-physical the other team, resulting in big holes for Ingram to run though. I agree entirely.
But if you are actually arguing that injuring LSU’s star players was part of Nick Saban’s gameplan, which is essentially what your argument is, then Saban is far more evil than even his most delusional detractors believe.
This many injuries in one game is a fluke. I’m sorry, but it is. The fact that all if you made a list of LSU’s most irreplaceable players, all of them save Lafell were injured in this game is just a stunning piece of good fortune for Alabama.
Fake Pundit. Real Fan.
http://www.andthevalleyshook.com
Don't be a dumbass.
The gameplan isn’t to injure players. You’re setting up a straw man, and it’s a little sad.
Saban has said, publicly, time and time again, he wants to build a team identity that leaves people saying “We don’t want to play those guys.” He asks his players to “Dominate your opponent. Make his ass quit!” When your team ends up looking like this when the other team is popping back up, ready to go, it’s reasonable to say that you are not the tougher team. If you can’t fathom that, then you’re blinded by homerism.
You're argument is baseless
I pointed to injuries. You said essentially, “Well that’s just the way we play.” I call bullshit. I even conceded there is the “we want the other team to quit” type of physical play, but that many injuries to that many key players is luck. Pure and simple. It is nothing but luck. And if it is part of concerted strategy, Saban is far more evil than anyone honestly thinks.
Fortune smiled on Bama. And that’s fine. Most close games ARE decided by luck, whether we wish to admit or not.
Fake Pundit. Real Fan.
http://www.andthevalleyshook.com
Fair enough.
I think I understand where you’re coming from. When your players get taken out of a game, it’s usually either a result of bad luck or bad form (i.e., lack of technique on your guy’s part of something unsportsmanlike by the other guy). I suppose I was defensive because I was at the SECCG last year and saw us lose to Florida in the 4th quarter, at least in part because they were ready to play another half a game and we just couldn’t take it any more. I think Saban and the team vowed to never let that happen again, and it’s showed. I saw it at the VT game this year, when the situation had reversed itself. We were bouncing up and hitting the line ready to go and VT was gassed with their hands on their hips.
So, I still believe that the conventional Saban/Bama smashmouth style combined with the mentality to never tire out and “make his ass quit” had something to do with the laying on the field and LSU being dominated in the 4th quarter, I will readily concede your point that it was just pure bad luck that the players who were injured got injured. And to be perfectly clear, if I had my way no one would get hurt but they would all play hard, and I hope every one on your team makes a full recovery. Sorry to see you lose Scott, too, btw.
oops
Typed “Patterson,” meant Peterson. I’m well hanged-over.
I wonder which Mountain West school...
will embarrass Bama (and the SEC) this year?
Our fairly average team overcame horrible officiating and was leading the “terrifying” Bama team into the fourth quarter.
Your team is not championship caliber. Florida will win (again). Please represent better in the bowl. Thank you.
Sour
grapes
Lee Corso: How would you describe tailgating at Alabama?
Kirk Herbstreit: Barbecue and Ralph Lauren
by animalcracker on Nov 8, 2009 8:11 PM CST up reply actions
Which Mountain West team embarrassed Bama last year
If you are referring to Louisiana Monroe two years ago then know that we are over that and those comments don’t even sting anymore, they just come out as pathetic. You sound like a Barner when you make comments like that. To be honest, your team fought the good fight yesterday and deserve better from it’s fans than to suggest that the team that beat them, could be embarrassed again by the likes of Louisiana Monroe.
Just sad dude. You just sound like you are crying. Be a fan of your team.
"Hell, no! A tie is like kissing your sister!"
by LifelongBammer on Nov 8, 2009 9:06 PM CST up reply actions
I'm not agreeing with what he said
But Utah is in the Mountain West Conference. And they DID embarrass Alabama last year.
The spear on Jefferson was the worst
If you hit someone like that in the NFL you get thrown out of the game and fined. SEC football as a product is being ruined by terrible officiating and its pretty evident to the rest of the nation. Every big SEC game this season has had at least one absolutely terrible call that changed the outcome of the game.
It does not really matter how many yards Alabama racked up. They are the worst team in the SEC in redzone offense. LSU and Petterson earned the opportunity to get a offensive possession that was erroneously taken away from them by poor officiating.
If the oppossing team has a chance to win with 4 minutes left in the game, YOU HAVE NOT DOMINATED THE OPPONENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Far too many folks
are playing the “what if” game. Bottom line is, no one knows “what if”. WHAT IF Peterson’s interception goes LSU’s way. Next play, Lee throws a pick 6, Holliday fumbles the ensuing kick-off. Ingram takes it in after four straight wildcat snaps, then Lee throws another pick 6. Not saying it WOULD HAVE happened, but WHAT IF.
To me, both teams appeared pretty evenly matched talent-wise. We got some bounces our way, LSU got some there way. Jefferson (and Crowton) have made leaps since playing Florida, so there’s no telling what would’ve happened had Alabama and Florida been transposed on the LSU schedule this year. Just enough with the “what if”.
by HarveyBirdmanAAL on Nov 8, 2009 1:18 PM CST reply actions
Here is a "what if" for you
The INT goes LSU’s way. LSU drives down the field for a touchdown and then get the two point conversion. Guess what? LSU still loses by a point. I think LSU fought hard yesterday. I left that game both drunk and with a healthy respect for the Tigers.
A classic SEC matchup. But not one that was decided by a bad call.
"Hell, no! A tie is like kissing your sister!"
by LifelongBammer on Nov 8, 2009 9:12 PM CST up reply actions
Umm.. did you watch the game? Or just see the final score?
Father. Husband. Lawyer. Nerd.
by Richard Pittman on Nov 8, 2009 9:12 PM CST up reply actions
Good point.
He probably forgot that LSU stopped being able to move the ball when the 4th quarter started. You’re right. There’s no way LSU would have driven down for the touchdown.
But seriously though. What was your point? That we didn’t score the field goal until later in that drive? You don’t think we could have at least gotten one before the end of the game to win by one?
I think the worst part about it
Is obviously we don’t know. It was a great game up to that point, and now we have to sit here and say what if. I hope that replay official never works another game. To me, that was the worst of any of the SEC calls this year. The other ones were all made by officials on the field, in the heat of the moment, and were non reviewable. To be sitting in the press box, watching that play, and to not see how that is a pick, is unbelievable to me. That being said, we DID have other opportunities to win the game.
If we get the ball with about 5 minutes to play
63 yards to go, and enough time on the clock to mix in run and pass, maybe you don’t get the ball back until under a minute or so to go. You just never know, and we never will.
Father. Husband. Lawyer. Nerd.
by Richard Pittman on Nov 8, 2009 10:07 PM CST up reply actions
Honestly cruising the boards
I’m really disappointed in LSU fans today. This team played their ass off and I’m damn proud. The injuries really were more costly than the officiating — though I would still like an apology from Rogers Redding for that interception. You just can’t lose a starting quarterback (and honestly the “should Jarrett Lee start” crowd needs to shut up because we saw exactly why he’s not starting on Saturday), a top-shelf running back who was starting to really get revved up and your best defensive player and win most games, nevermind against a good team.
Here’s hoping Mal Moore left those boys a nice tip.
+1
Totally agree with you, Billy. I’m disappointed the team didn’t get a chance to get the ball with 5+ minutes in good field position, but I agree that’s not what cost us the game. To me, the turning point was JJ’s injury. Once he went out, the offense wasn’t the same.
I really expect this team to get on a roll now. Losing Scott was a big blow, but Ridley is looking good and Shepard and should allow us to keep Ford’s redshirt on. The offense is finally starting to show some life, as long as JJ’s ankle is healthy enough to get back for the Ole Miss game. For the first time this season, I think 10-2 is a reasonable expectation, 9-3 at worst.
CHAD JONES! WOOOO!!!!
I don’t check other message boards, just this site, so I can’t say anything about what other people are saying.
I do feel good about this team, though. It’s normal to feel bad about losing, but we’re definitely an improved team compared to last year and we can end up with a good record and a good bowl game.
I was a bit afraid that we might get beaten badly yesterday, but that never materialized. We went toe to toe with what I thought might be the best defense in the country (now, I don’t think they are, but they’re still really, really good).
+2 Almost
Until you got to the end and could not resist the insinuation that Bama was paying the officials. Negated everything you said before and left you just sounding like an Auburn dude. I am sure you meant that in jest though so I will stop being so sensitive.
Great game yesterday guys. It is always fun when these two teams collide on a Saturday.
Roll Tide!!!!
"Hell, no! A tie is like kissing your sister!"
by LifelongBammer on Nov 8, 2009 9:20 PM CST up reply actions
One good thing that I hope can come out of Scott's injury
Would be for Keiland Williams to just take off the next 4 games. That would be sweet to see him explode and help his draft stock, especially after sticking with being a backup for 4 years.
Well
People will always find something wrong with a game, But for what it’s worth I do think that Peterson did catch the ball clean, now with that said there’s to many “what if’s” being thrown around, yes you have gotten the ball back with 5 mins or so, but who’s to say you score with a backup qb and rb, yes I see most fans point that they would atleast had a chance, that’s all I’ve seen and heard, what if this what if that, well what if we hit the 3 overthrown passes that was guranteed td’s, does’nt matter cause we did’nt, I don’t know if LSU players got injured from freak accidents or not, but you can’t say we did’nt have players get injured because of a bye week when we played 8 straight games including 5 sec teams in a row with 1 injury that came on a player putting his head into Hightowers knee, all in all we put up like 450 yds to LSU’s 250 give or take, and honestly I say we’re just as good as Fla. maybe even a slight bit better, I can’t wait for the game in BR next year honestly, I say both teams played hard but bama made the plays at the end, next year it’ll be the same kinda game with the same things at stake.
by bama_man on Nov 9, 2009 4:04 AM CST via mobile reply actions
The difference in the "what if's"
Is Alabama’s “what if’s” were determined by their own players, whereas this what if was determined by the referees. That’s not supposed to happen.
Great game...
plain and simple that could have gone either way. And let’s remember…AL was at home! They were favored for a reason. And to make things worse, we had key starters out and there’s no coincidence that this is the point in the game when our offense went south. All this talk about AL being better conditioned is just ridiculous—watch the tape and see Scott was starting to roll just like Ingram before he got hurt. If we have Jefferson, Scott, and Peterson in the game, it could have been totally different, and it has nothing to do with conditioning. They got hurt, not tired for crying out loud. And if I’m not mistaken, I saw Arenas get a little banged up, too. Both teams are absolutely tough and conditioned and would beat the crap out of most teams they play. I think anyone watching that game can say they saw 2 of the top 4 teams in the country play, a true playoff game and one that I enjoyed even in grief!
Great Thread!
This is the best football conversation I’ve seen in a long time. Minimum whining, reality-based comments, and people with some upbringing. Congratulations. No doubt there are idiots at Bama stadium every Saturday, but hopefully they are in much fewer numbers than some of the other schools. Threads on the Bama board are always visited by aubrun fans and quickly degrade into nyah-nyahs after a couple of stupid comments.
The interception call was bad, and holding wasn’t called the whole game. I’m not up on what constitues spearing, but it looked like a good, hard hit to me – the kind you hate to see your QB take. I remember seeing our guys on more than one occasion heading toward the ball carrier and getting pulled back by the jersey (no flag)! I wonder if the officiating has been told something, or if they are just naturally having the calls go for the higher-ranked team. Case in point, in SEC basketball, the home team has an average of 50% less fouls than the visiting team. My brother knows the replay official, and says he’s a straight-up guy – that there’s no way he would go in for anything unfair. I knew there was going to be trouble when they took so long to make the call on the field, because the “irrefutable evidence” is sometimes not there, even though it looked so to me.
Bama has been getting by with their average QB and weak offensive line because they do have a lot of talent on defense and at the offensive talent positions (Arenas (returns), Ingam, Jones). The other teams seem weaker this year also. Texas looks downright bad, and Florida is not dominant like before, living on a few talented positions much like Bama. Florida has to get the nod because of their QB, but we’ll see. Last year he was superhuman late in the game, as were his receivers. Miss St. and Auburn always play us tough – either one could upset us because we always leave the door open, scoring field goals instead of touchdowns. Our kicker has kept us in the win column.
I thought Scott was great before he got hurt – I’ve seen guys break a collarbone on a tackle from behind like that before. Something about how the body lands on the ball. Thanks again for the breath of fresh air!
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