I’m tired.
I’m not reviewing this game. Not rewatching it. Not that. I don’t have the energy for it when it comes to this game. It took me two weeks to preview it, knowing — and I tried to downplay the expectations as much as I could, if you couldn’t tell — what was probably going to happen. Partly because I’m tired of hearing it when things don’t go well.
I’m tired of Alabama.
I’m tired of the vacuum they’ve created in the minds of LSU fans, and the absolutely insanity losing to them creates. And I’m not participating in it. I’m not litigating the state of the program right now, I’m not debating who needs to be fired — firing somebody based off losing to Alabama is completely fucking stupid.
In the parlance of our times, don’t @ me.
There are three games left, all three of them varying degrees of winnable. LSU has a chance to finish with at least 10 regular season wins for the first time in six seasons, and possibly clinch a spot in a New Year’s Six bowl, maybe even the Sugar Bowl against a marquee opponent.
With a team that was picked to win seven games this summer and finish fifth place in the SEC West. That’s a successful season, by any measure, especially in year two for Ed Orgeron. And it’s a chance for this coaching staff to continue to build, work to close the gap and show if they are capable of competing for championships.
Whether they are, or whether they aren’t, shouldn’t, and isn’t determined by what happened on Saturday. If that was enough for you, I doubt that game proved anything you didn’t think you knew on Friday.
That’s my piece. I’m tired. I’m not talking about it anymore. I’m moving on.
The game itself? My analysis is that Alabama is good. Ridiculously good. They’ve reached a level of talent that makes it difficult to truly evaluate the individual, like those mid-aughts USC teams, or some of the late 90s Florida State squads. When everybody around you is good, and almost everything you see is a simple one-on-one matchup, all you have to do is let your talent ride. If you stop Jerry Jeudy, Alabama has other receivers, or their running backs. The individual is irrelevant against the collective.
I can’t even say if I know that I found Tua all that impressive. He looked a lot like Matt Leinart, who many believed was the next great pro quarterback during his days at USC. And like Leinart, Dwayne Jarrett, Keith Rivers, Darnell Bing, Taylor Mays, Sean Cody, Steve Smith — insert the name of the dominant college player who didn’t look quite so dominant without a team of superstars round him.
Could LSU have played a whole lot better? Sure. Could they have had a better gameplan? Sure. When a nose tackle has 10 tackles and 2.5 sacks — A NOSE TACKLE — the offense is probably going to be screwed from the onset. There’s no scheming around that kind of dominance from the A-gap out.
I think Joe Burrow looked a lot like Danny Etling his first time against them — overwhelmed by the moment. Whether that’s on him, or his preparation, I leave to hotter takes.
LSU’s only shot was to get Alabama’s B or C game and play their A game. LSU played significantly worse and Alabama brought their A-game, as they always do in this matchup. Until that talent gap begins to lessen, nothing else will matter. Not a scheme change, or a strength & conditioning coach, or any of the myriad of rationalizations people are coming up with right now.
I’m moving on to Arkansas. I suggest you do as well. I’m done with this.