Sunday Morning 1-14

[Cincydawg]

I still wonder about the motivation thing.  They only get to play 13 or so games each season and work hard to get there.  How can a player not be "up" for any of them?  And sometimes a player can be too "up" at least early in a game and make mistakes as a result.

Maybe they slack off in game prep when the a season goes south and maybe that is sufficient to turn one L into Two.

[MikeDeTiger]

It's definitely a thing.  LSU had a "post-Bama" problem since 2012.  It's a main reason why Les was ultimately fired.  Popular narrative is he couldn't beat Alabama anymore, but that's not true.  His time ran out because his team kept losing to Arkansas and Ole Miss after Alabama when they lost interest in the season.  

LSU fans have a HUGE mental thing about Bama these days, and I know for sure it it's not lost on the players.  It's a toxic culture, but these days LSU's seasons are considered failures when they can't get over that hump.

O was considered in part because during his interim 8 games, his team bounced back from the Alabama loss and demolished the weak remaining teams, something LSU hadn't done in years.  We'll see if he can keep it up.  

There's plenty other teams/years where you can see the motivation leave them.  It's palpable.  

[Cincydawg]

Dawg fans have a huge thing about Bama also for some reason.  Same with Florida.  

And to a lesser degree USCe, Auburn, Tennessee, and LSU.

[OrangeAfroMan]

Programs like LSU aren't supposed to lose 8 straight to anybody.

[MikeDeTiger]

Programs like LSU aren't supposed to lose 8 straight to anybody.

Based on what?  
The fact Alabama spends more $ on their football program than LSU's entire athletic department budget?  Based on their 7 straight #1 recruiting classes, which created a wide talent gap even between the LSU's of the world?  
When you recruit better and your second team is still on par with an opponent's first team, and it's the one game of the year they bother to bring it full speed, you'll lose a LOT of games.  Let me be clear, Alabama has lapped the field on nearly everyone, talent-wise.  Every single game they lose is an upset and it means somebody didn't do their job.  Whether it's a coach, a player, or whoever.  Ole Miss and Auburn tag them every now and again when Alabama falls asleep, but this is something they simply don't do against LSU, for various reasons I already outlined.  
LSU will not compete with Alabama again until the talent gap closes.  And that's not going to happen until Saban is gone one day.  Many of Louisiana's best players from their classes were playing for the Crimson Tide last Saturday.  That's not changing because when kids leave the state their mantra these days is "Alabama wins championships."  It's a self-perpetuating cycle at this point.  LSU won't win that game and play for the SEC or get in the playoffs until those kids stop leaving us, and furthermore until we can pull 5-stars out of every other state in the union.  If it sounds like a longshot, it is.  It ain't happening.  
LSU is a good, healthy program.  
They'll still lose however many more games Saban coaches in their division.   

[MikeDeTiger]

Just off the top of my head, their 3rd string RB is a 5* from California.  They convinced a 4* ESPN Top 100 DE to GREYSHIRT.  He was from Louisiana, I believe.  He stated in an interview "It's better to go to Alabama and sit on the bench than start at LSU."  That seems dumb in a vacuum, but he elaborated that he knew he'd become a better player at Alabama, and that they play for championships, and no matter what LSU had going for it, they couldn't give him that.  He didn't want our scholarship.  

No, LSU cannot compete with that, when guys with offers to 20 other schools would essentially rather be a walk-on for a year.  

[OrangeAfroMan]

Yes, Alabama's roster the past 5 years has been the most talented of the scholarship-limit era.  But if Auburn, Ole Miss, and A&M can steal a win from the Tide here and there, LSU can as well.

[Cincydawg]

I think a Bama opponent has to have a versatile and capable offense to have a chance of winning.  LSU does not at this point.

Obviously, a good QB can make a huge difference for an otherwise decent team.  A mobile QB who can beat you with his arm is required to beat Bama, unless the opponent really does have the talent to match up in the lines and elsewhere.

For that reason, I think I would start Fields for the Dawgs against Bama, or at least play him a LOT more than they have done in the past and let him throw the ball.  Ohio State lined up toe to toe and beat Bama a few years back.  That is rare to see, and they had a big bruising QB of the Tebow ilk.  

Every so often a QB "gets hot" and makes those pinpoint throws and generally has the game of his life, and then Bama might lose or get tested.

[bamajoe]

There is little chance that Georgia will start Fields. Apparently there is some question about whether or not he can pass. I think Georgia has placed their success or failure on Fromm.

[Cincydawg]

Oh, I agree Fields won't start.  He can pass though, and he looks pretty good doing it.  I suspect he is not yet nearly as good at getting into the right play and reading coverages as is Fromm (which would make sense).

Fromm obviously is a competent passer, he's pretty accurate usually and has a decent arm and can zing the outs as well as all but the real rifles.

Fields has a stronger arm but likely is less accurate.

[Drew4UTk]

to beat Bama you've got to have a team properly manned, and even with that is simply leveling the field- THEN you have to be able to punch them somewhere they're not ready for.  this is getting increasingly difficult.  they'll rule until Saban retires. 

[rolltidefan]

Based on what?  
The fact Alabama spends more $ on their football program than LSU's entire athletic department budget? 

not sure if you're exaggerating to prove a point, just wanted to point out that this is incorrect.
bama, in 2017, expended 62.3 million on football, 158.7m in total. they had 174.3m i revenue, and 15.6 profit for the whole athletic dept. for football, revenue was 108.2m and profit 45.9m.
lsu, in 2017, had 147m in revenue for whole ath dept and 16m in profits. the football program had 86.2m in revenue, 30.1m in expenses for 56.1m in profit.
there's a significant diff in rev/exp in football between the 2, but not overall ad budget.

[MikeDeTiger]

Yes, proving a point.  That's over twice as much money spent. 

[MikeDeTiger]

Yes, Alabama's roster the past 5 years has been the most talented of the scholarship-limit era.  But if Auburn, Ole Miss, and A&M can steal a win from the Tide here and there, LSU can as well.

I imagine that's pretty easy to say as a fan of a team in division that never plays them.
You said it yourself, they steal one.  Alabama falls asleep, it happens, can't make 18-22 year old kids get their head out of their ass all the time.  
And for various stated reasons, Alabama is not going to fall asleep against LSU.  Their coach has said it multiple times.  Their players have said it multiple times.  Anyone watching the games can see it.  Alabama is going to bring it's A game first week of November.  
Now either of us can point to 2012 and 2014 and say that LSU should have won either or both of those games, and maybe so.  For a handful of reasons, they did not.  But that was back when the talent discrepancy wasn't so severe, and that's reflected by win totals.  
Pointing out how Ole Miss won the craziest flukiest games imaginable does nothing to change the fact that they have 5* on their two and three deep.  You're effectively saying a program like Florida should not lose that many games to them, but were your team in their division and they considered the Gators a threat, Florida wouldn't have won any games against them lately either.