Remember the mantra of Delusional Optimism: I do not care about moral victories, therefore, I do not care about moral losses.
But this was pushing it.
There's no way to call this a pretty, or even an impressive, win. LSU looked lost for long stretches of the game, and after finding themselves in a 24-7 hole, finally got to digging themselves out of it. Wins are wins, but LSU did not look like anything approaching a complete team.
Hell, I still don't know how we won this game. Wisconsin rushed for 268 yards on 39 carries which, not to put too fine a point on it, is not good from a defensive perspective. Melvin Gordon rushed for 140 yards on 16 carries. Why just 16 carries? You'll have to take that up with the Wisconsin coaching staff.
After getting dominated in the first half, the offense looked like a different unit in the second. After a first half with only one decent drive, and that was a one play 80-yard pass play, LSU became a different team in the second. Look at the second half drives:
9-50 FG
9-30 FG
8-59 TD
3-53 TD
6-20 Punt
5-7 End of game
An offense that couldn't do a thing right suddenly became a force. They scored 20 points in 4 possessions, and gained 192 yards in 29 plays. It was like a different team showed up.
The defense, which was clinging for dear life in first half, appreciated the help in the second, and slammed the door shut. They weren't the 2011 defense, and they gave up two huge drives at the beginning of each half (a combined 12 plays for 128 yards and two touchdowns), but they answered the bell.
Once the defense was given some help from the offense, they absolutely shut down the Wisconsin offense. Now, some of that was some mystifying playcalling which took Gordon out of the game, but in the second half, the Badgers had 19 plays for 32 yards after that opening drive. That also includes two interceptions.
It wasn't a work of art by any means. The offensive line, supposedly a team strength, was terrible for long stretches. Anthony Jennings only complete 9 of 21 pass attempts. Freshman sensation Leonard Fournette was a total non-factor, and more of a negative than anything.
But LSU rallied from a 17 point deficit to win the game 28-24 against a quality opponent. There are real concerns after this first week, but the most important thing is this: LSU is 1-0. The Tigers, with their back against the wall, found a way to rally from a huge hole and win the game.
It's a work in progress, but the results are what matters. One win down, fourteen to go.