Don't you think Alabama hates LSU equally? I'm not concerned about the LSU game this year. It doesn't matter how much hate or emotion they conjure up. That only gets you so far and by the time the Alabama game comes I predict that most of their players and coaches are going to have quit on the season..
Aranda was Coach O's boss last year. He probably knows he's an idiot and has little respect. The new OC has probably figured it out too.
I think sometimes it is easy to loose track of how talented some SEC programs are, just because the on field results haven't shown it. Florida for example is often loaded with future NFL talent, just like LSU. That is the measure I hold them to. Alabama and Ohio State might do a far better job of turning NFL talent into college wins, but that doesn't mean Florida, LSU, and even Miami don't have enough talent to win game. Yes, LSU is a mess, but just start looking up the guys they do have. You'll see a lot of people recruited by Saban, 4 and 5 stars, they have the talent. I've had this discussion about Florida in the past. Poor on field results and unrealized potential in those cases doesn't mean they lack talent.
I think that it is fair to hold them to that standard as long as the expectation be something less than "win a championship or you have failed". LSU is in a rebuilding year - for LSU. That means that we shouldn't consider them a national championship contender with a first year head coach (to them), a new offensive coordinator and a bunch of new starters all over the field. But there is no excuse for their poor play.
I don't think so. I don't think that Alabama hates Auburn or TN equally, either. Those 3 teams really hate Alabama, and Alabama seems to be fairly ambivalent about them as opponents.
This is quite confusing to use Florida as an example of a loaded roster that under-performs on the field. McElwain is 16-3 in the SEC since joining UF and they've won the East the last 2 years.
Putting semantics aside the game is played between the white lines and not on emotion. How much did Michigan hate OSU when you guys beat them down 42-13? Emotion is part of the game but at some point it comes down to the players on the field and LSU does not have the players to keep it close with Bama this year..
Exactly! And when someone brings up CNS's first year at Bama and the loss to Louisiana Monroe, I remind them CNS didn't inherit much talent. CEO did, and still has a mess after 5 games.
Let me take the "wonder" out of it. These two players are being HAMMERED on local sports talk radio in Louisiana, or at least the part of Louisiana I'm in. There is a real concern coming out of the LSU camp that these two guys have packed it in for the season trying to keep themselves healthy for the NFL. I didn't watch most of the game. But obviously there were more than a few plays where Key took plays off "Randy Moss" style. Like did nothing.
Now, that’s true. The LSU team that’s being field is who they are this year. It’s a straight up win in my opinion. LSU seems to have trouble with Troy seemingly every time they play.
I agree with this completely. I think there's a big gap between expecting a team to perform up to their level of talent, and beating Saban for example.
It is a little more confusing since you compared LSU to Florida's talent, while saying LSU didn't have that much talent. My point was and is that both LSU and Florida are loaded, and yes relative to their talent Florida has under-performed since UM left. 22-9 ain't that great, but the talent has been.
I clearly stated that in my mind LSU and UF have similar talent this year due to UF's suspensions and injuries. If UF was completely healthy and didn't have any suspensions they'd clearly have a better roster than LSU this year. Also, you're comparison of average stars is completely flawed. You'd have to take out all the players from those recruiting classes who've left LSU and take out Guice and Key since they're not playing this year. Again, this is what my opinion of LSU this year is based upon - who they actually have playing on the field not who they recruited 3 or 4 years ago who may or may not be playing or even on the roster at all..
Look at their roster, the talent is there. You do understand that part of coaching is coaching those guys up and preparing them to play, right? The entire point is that LSU is dropping the ball! Their job is to get the talent they have to get motivated and play well. They're not. LSU's second string should be able to beat Troy and is more talented than Troy is. That's all there is to it. You can't explain away the massive gap between LSU and Troy's talent. Troy averages 2 stars, LSU doesn't even recruit 2 stars! What part of that is hard to understand?
I never said that LSU and Troy were close in talent. Has nothing to do with my opinion on this. They could've beat Troy and MSU and I'd be saying the same thing. Let me try to make this easy for you since you're struggling. During the Saban/Miles era at LSU you could put LSU's roster up against the best and it was comparable. Do you feel that's the still the case? The answer to that is an emphatic NO! LSU's roster this year does not compare to Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson etc whereas they have been comparable to the top teams for the last 10 years or so. They are at least a notch below the truly elite teams now. That's my point. My last post on this subject because you always move the goal posts when you don't agree or somebody proves your opinion wrong..
https://www.sbnation.com/a/cfb-preview-2017/blue-chip-ratio
