The SEC Forum at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

That's not the worst trait that a team can have, but it's a disappointing one. You're always waiting for something to go wrong.

We never have to wait long, in our case.  

Be on the lookout for LSU to put an early good drive together and get down near the goal and get stopped on 3rd and short.  When it's 4th and short, particularly near the goal line, Kelly has consistently gone for it and consistently gotten stopped, gaining no points from a good drive.  He never learns.  They couldn't do it in 2022, Jayden Daniels hid the problem in 2023, they couldn't do it in the opener against USC, they couldn't do it against {insert name of opponent, reiterate throughout season-schedule}, and they couldn't do it against Vanderbilt.  He.  Never.  Learns.  This team can't run the ball. 

It's so common I call it before the sequence happens to my wife and she thinks I'm clairvoyant.  I'm like no, I've just been watching this for three years. 

LSU so desperately wants to run the ball and be good at it.  It's in the program's DNA.  But they haven't been great at it since Miles was run off, and they've outright bad at it in Kelly's time.  If/when there's a 4th and short near the goal (or worse, mid-field, as Kelly is sometimes want to do, to the team's great detriment), if the pattern holds, he'll go for it, wanting to make a statement that dammit, there's improvement, and OU will push our $h!t in at the line and stuff us.  I just hope the crowd shows up like they did for Alabama, and not the checked-out, uninterested, half-full stadium that showed up for Vanderbilt.  I believe our only shot is if OU gets rattled.  

So, how 'bout Florida?  I thought Napier didn't cut it for Florida standards the first two seasons, and this year wasn't looking good, but they appear to be on an upswing.  They still lack some players, but that Lagway qb looks like he's going to be really something, and the team overall appears well-coached at the moment.  Not sure where their overall talent level is, but with obvious improvements and the AD firmly standing behind Napier so far, they stand to take a big leap forward next year. 

Wonder what the qb situation will be.  I haven't watched Mertz a ton, but even when he heals up, I think Lagway is the guy.  

According to one website--no idea if it's accurate or not because I care not a bit for figuring out CCG participants anymore--a lot of LSU fans are left wondering what might have been had played better two weeks ago in Gainseville, as a win against a beatable Florida would have created a three-way tie with Georgia and Tennessee for second place behind Texas, and by tie-breaker rules, LSU would have earned a spot in the CG to face Texas. 

Well, what might have been, is that Texas would've made Texas fans face-palm a number of times and wonder why LSU was still hanging around despite being pile-driven in most meaningful respects.  And LSU fans would've been harshly reminded they are not close to the realm of top teams. 

Still, it's good for a program to make games like those, and I hope Brian Kelly has heartburn, anxiety, and regret over his choices in life.  We didn't belong on the field with UGA in 2022 either, but it was good for the team.  I suspect that might be the last Kelly sniffs of Atlanta.  

I guess here is as good a place as any to mention how funny I found it to watch the Michigan players on the sideline after The Game wincing and grimacing as if crying, as I later found out they had been maced.  Rivalry weekend brought out the feels in a number of games I saw.  Plenty of fisticuffs over the weekend.  Michigan/OSU took the cake, though.  Not saying OSU should have responded, but trying to plant your flag on an opposing team's field is a dick move and if you get smacked for it, that's on you. 

I'm sure the schools get fined for all that, but really the school is barely liable or culpable for the idiocy of teenage imbeciles.  My first reaction is that in cases like that, if we're going to have NIL deals, in some cases massive sums of $, then the kids ought to be fined.  They wanna turn this into the NFL where it's pay-for-play?  Fine, your pay gets docked for dumb actions, just like NFL players.  

I watched that a couple of days ago, it's good stuff.

The biggest thing to me is how short-sighted and predictable the efforts of the elite programs/Big 2 conferences are.  Yes, you have every possible built-in advantage, so your race to the top is a foregone conclusion.  Yes, SEC, you're going to "win" the contest vs the ACC or XII.  Duh.  No shit, Sherlock.
Yes, OSU and USC and Texas and Michigan, you're going to "win" the contest vs the Minnesotas and Virginias and Stanfords of the world.  Duh.  No shit, Sherlock.

And yet the B1G/SEC and top programs are all frothing at the mouth, giving 110% in a competition they can't possibly lose.  They're greyhounds chasing the mechanical rabbit, but racing against bulldogs.  It's embarrassing, really.

For the haves to act so oblivious and not take into account the health of the sport as a whole is just plain stupid.  Aren't these supposed to be places of higher learning?  Tact?  Nuance?  Wisdom?  
Nope, just dogs scarfing down as much food as possible before being caught.  

Asinine.

At this point, who does Brian Kelly think he’s fooling?

“Following a convincing and, yes, impressive, 37-17 win over Oklahoma Saturday night, LSU coach Brian Kelly channeled his inner Deion Sanders…Never mind Oklahoma just finished 6-6.”

“The last two weeks, they listened to the narratives out there that, ‘They were not excited to play,’ and ‘The season was over,’ and they simply went out and played inspired football…So, whatever camp you want to jump into, go right ahead. We had five freshmen and two sophomores on defense today playing their tails off. So, you know, again, we’re taking receipts, and, you know, we’ll see you at the National Championship.”

A National Championship? Who does BK think he’s fooling? Yes, LSU has won two straight over 6-6 teams, but does that balance out earlier disappoints of losing to USC or losing three straight after climbing to a #8 ranking? Does it inspire National Title hopes?

In reality, next season is increasingly murkier after #1 recruit Bryce Underwood flipped to Michigan (followed by one or two other big decommits), and with no reason to believe the OL or RBs will be any better next year, does QB Nussmeier bother sticking around?

Already looking forward to BK’s postgame presser after next season’s opener Vs Clemson.


https://twitter.com/TigerRagMedia/status/1863128602180567316

Well, how did your recruiting go? 

We lost our prized QB to Michigan, Louisiana's top player to USC, and a prized CB to Texas, all of whom paid them more than our NIL collective would (or could). 

We finished 8th in recruiting according to the 247 composite, which is good, but there are 4 SEC teams who did better, which is bad. 

Even this is all dust in the wind, because half these kids won't be here in a year anyway.  They'll portal out, others will portal in, and I'll have no idea who this roster is when 2025 starts, or 2026. 

By habit I want LSU to be competitive and have a shot any given year.  By virtue of everything that once made me love the sport, I recognize this is some kind of bizarre professional league wearing the decaying skin-suit of cfb.  It's not even the NFL, it's the MLB, where Texas is the Yankees and my team is the Cincinnati Reds. 

Due to school history, history with other teams, and pure profitability of the Athletic Department, I think it's unlikely my team will be left behind in the Conference Realignment Wars, as has happened to some schools by this point.  It also means, I think, that my team will not be where they frequently stand a chance.  If we were left behind, we'd probably do well in the Big 12 for a while, or something.  In the age of MegaCon the All-Consuming, we're probably going to be also-rans. 

Is it better to serve in heaven or reign in hell? 

I'm liking this sport less and less.