First Impressions: LSU 34, Texas A&M 10

This is the team we thought we would see all year. Dominating on defense, relentless on offense. A power run game that gets stronger as the game goes on, setting up a passing game that can make a big play at any moment.

I hate to quote Gary Danielson, but he nailed it perfectly. LSU plays 1970s football. You can have your fancy spread offenses and the like, but we'll take the smash and bash offense coupled with a defense that dares you to make the play. LSU is supposed to play big boy football.

One of the most frustrating things about this season has not just been the losses, but the fact that LSU has lost its identity. We're used to great defenses and an offense that does just enough to hold around these parts. Instead, we've been relying on the offense to make things happen.

There's nothing wrong with that. But it does make it more frustrating when the offense comes up just short. It's not just losing, it's losing in an entirely different way. This year, it felt like LSU was a different team than the one we have known the past few years.  Maybe Miles heard all the critics and tried to change who he, and who this program, is.

This was a return to old school football... to LSU football.

It helped that we got to ruin Johnny Football's Heisman chances in the process. He played pretty well, showing all of the elusiveness he is known for, but outside of one or two drives, he just couldn't take advantage of an LSU defense that pretty much everyone has taken advantage of.

That's the big story here. An LSU defense that has struggled all year came out and contained the best player in college football. You can quibble about some little things, but all in all, they came to play, and they were downright awesome all night long. We expected a shootout, and instead we got a blowout. That's almost entirely because A&M could not figure out the LSU defense. The young corners were outstanding in coverage, and we were able to get pressure with just four down lineman all night.

OK, it wasn't perfect. LSU seemed to set a record in procedure penalties. Over and over, LSU kept committing silly, preventable five yard penalties. But heck, we are used to that. Even those penalties were a return to LSU football as we know it.

Instead of complaining about the calls or the mistakes, LSU went out and gained over 500 yards and rushed for over 300. This was a flat out domination. No excuses, no BS. Just go out there and make plays. This was LSU football. Les Miles football.

This was the team we thought we'd see all year. Better late than never.