Um...I just stopped by to say what a great game, instant classic it was, and to say enjoy your win in Tiger Stadium next year, as I picked the visitors to win both games, and I'm not often wrong about LSU. Except last year. Ignore last year. I picked wrong in several big games last year. But for the same reasons I took LSU in this one, I'm taking Texas in the next one.
I see you have the same skepticism as the Horns who have since flooded our boards. I'm hesitant to even put in the effort here because I imagine it will have about the same effect here as it's had with the rest of the Horns. Most fans just want to believe what they want to believe and don't care to consider anything they don't already think. Still, I'm a stickler for sticking up for my team
Keep in mind none of you know what happened in each incident, and I don't either. But here's what I can tell you.
1) LSU is not used to this type of game. They had 85 plays ran against them and I can't tell you the last time that happened. LSU is used to winning TOP handily and the defense is not used to being on the field that much. Even against the aggressive and creative offenses that we do routinely see, teams can't usually stay on the field THAT much against us. They clearly weren't ready for it, one way or the other.
2) Austin is not dry compared to, say, San Diego, but it's a lot dryer heat than what these guys are used to, and it's easier to dehydrate in that climate than anywhere else they usually play. This is just sports medicine 101, not my opinion about Austin. Plus, I've done plenty of physical labor in both places, and I'm personally familiar with how much more water I have to drink around Austin than back home. I did the same dumb thing myself last weekend at DKR at the La. Tech game. Drank my "usual" amount of water for being outside and wound up in the shaded deck suffering from heat exhaustion, because I forgot just how much water I needed there. O took some heat for our guys not hydrating better at the half, and if he's lying about the AC, maybe that's his deflection.
3) Faking injuries is not a new thing, this has been going on for over 12 years, so stop acting like "this is where we're headed." The teams who do it already are doing it, and have been doing it. I've never known LSU to do it. I HAVE seen LSU defenders drop like flies during games they get exhausted, especially ones that are physical. By your own admissions, you don't watch a lot of LSU football, so hey, maybe in all that football you don't watch, you missed how non-mysterious it really all is. Also, you can usually tell when a guy is faking it, there's pretty obvious signs when you see it, but I won't discount that we're just great actors.
4) If you fake injuries, you do it with players you think you can afford to lose. You don't do it with the players we had going down. You guys seem happy to admit you don't know much about LSU stuff, so that said, here's the players who went down and their current status.
Lawrence--our best DL, did not return to the game, thanks for booing him you classless jerks. Has fought through a nagging leg injury his entire career with us and missed almost all of 2017 because of it, re-aggravated it on a play and--and I can't stress this enough--did not return to the game and will miss at least this coming week. Did I mention he's our best defensive lineman and that as bad as things were when he was in, they got worse when he left?
Logan--a very good DL, also will not play this coming week, per said injury. I'm pretty sure he did not return to the game, but I'm not positive. I do know he's not cleared to play this week and will be evaluated thereafter. Thanks for booing.
Shelvin--claimed to cramp. Not novel news. 370 lb boy who has battled his weight (he came to us a 400+ pounder), you bet your ass he was tired in a game like this. He's cramped up in games of lesser pace than this one. Wasn't his first time, won't be his last. Clearly weren't comfortable with his backup in this game, he had to have seen a good 75 of those snaps. That's a TON for him. Thanks for booing.
Divinity--easily our best linebacker. Went down twice. Had off-season shoulder surgery, claimed to get a stinger in that shoulder and aggravate the area, although replay looks like a hyper-extended elbow, I thought he was lucky not to break his arm on the play, but whatever. The other time he claimed to cramp. Hey, you know what? If you fake stuff, then we'd send a guy like Damone Clark or Jacob Phillips out of the game because screw those guys, they're okay but they're not Divinity or Queen. You don't let your best LB off the field when your defense needs you. A serious competitor who I highly doubt would let himself be used that way. Current status unclear....he says he'll play this weekend but medical staff have not cleared him. We'll see, and thanks for booing.
Chaisson--our best pass rusher, apparently winked at UT staff, which is damning proof in all courts of law. He's in a boot this week, thanks for asking, and may or may not be cleared to play this weekend. Thanks for your boos, he appreciated it.
Fulton--one of two corners we were comfortable with, we have more, but even though UT got licks in against him, it was worse when he was out of the game....as well any LSU fan or staff could've told you before-hand. Like Divinity, he also had surgery on his foot this off-season, missed the A&M game and bowl game last year because of it. Replay shows the awkward fall that aggravated that foot injury. He did return hopefully no worse for wear in the long run...docs said he would only be 90% this season anyway. As far as I know he will play this weekend, but thanks for booing just the same.
Delpit--the best defensive player in the nation. Yeah, that's who we want off the field. Claimed to cramp and not feel well, left the field to go get an IV in the locker room. Did return to the game. After an IV. In the locker room. He probably feels cheated because the boos actually turned to applause when they saw him head for the locker room. But he does appreciate those initial boos, so keep 'em coming.
Yes, IT'S ALL SO MYSTERIOUS!!!
Miss me with all that bullshit, it doens't add up, and it's not LSU. If you were clueless about LSU, then sure, on the surface, blame a bunch of SCORING DRIVES on LSU players faking injuries, for whatever sense that makes. It's like Texas trying the same thing and telling Caden Sterns to take a dive instead of Kobe Boyce. Is Sterns who you want off the field? It's a bunch of Longhorns who appear very ignorant about LSU and our personnel and want to gripe about something. People who think O is some sneaky d-bag telling low character players to be pricks in order to.....in order to what, exactly? Let Texas score more slowly and keep us out there longer and let our offense get cold on the bench? Sure. It sounds JUST LIKE lsu if you watch their games and it all makes SO MUCH SENSE. Hard to believe I couldn't see it at the time. If only we'd thought of getting rid of our best defensive players in a tough game years ago, I wonder how many NCs we could have by now.
I hope any Longhorn players visiting us next year (in their win) who happen to get hurt are treated better by the crowd and message board know-it-alls who assume they know all the pertinent information. I'd rather err on the side of caution, and while I don't like booing anything, I sure don't want to boo people who could be hurt. I'd rather have talked about the game and how I think the secondaries played better than they're getting credit for, and how the QBs just dimed their opponents all night, and how sometimes guys catch fire and you can't do anything about it...how the perfect pass will beat perfect defense and sometimes you just have to live with that. But instead it's turned into this big burnt orange injury conspiracy, and it's just stupid.
You guys think what you want. It's a ridiculous conversation that has no evidence other than what Longhorn fans want to be true.
Enjoy your win next year. When you beat us, it won't be because UT players pulled some bush league bullshit on us, it will be because they're the better team.
