Sports
Link Gumbo: Alabama never snapped the ball with the lead
and other fun stats
Welp, for the first time in 20 years that we are in a season that we beat Alabama and are sitting outside of the NC conversation. Two losses will do that. We’ve got major 2001 vibes going right now. With two pretty big games left to play. But I don’t feel the EXTREME anxiety that sets in after a win like that. I am already ECSTATIC with this season. I’m happy this didn’t happen in a 6-6 season where the division wasn’t on the line. I am so happy we got this monkey off our back so early into BKs tenure at LSU. I’m telling you folks, after scouring the internet, it feels like a ton of writers pre-wrote their synopsis of the game before kick-off, then adjusted their story to say BK is getting close but will need to add depth, and then went COMPLETELY off the rails of just diving into Alabama teetering on falling out of dynasty mode. Just a ton of shock.
And I’ll take it. What a blast this week has been.
This is a great weekly feature. And it cements what our eyes already told us:
“You know, knowing the end result, I was almost relieved to see this breakdown. I’d thought that surely this was another one of those losses where Alabama played more efficiently and consistently, yada yada, but lost due to some flavor(s) of weirdness.
But it appears that we did not! LSU ended up with higher Success Rates and Explosiveness rates, and it was that way, cumulatively speaking, since late in the 2nd quarter. The Tide offenses numbers were as consistently low as we’ve seen them for a while (kinda, the Texas game before the late rally).
So, the “good” news is that this isn’t some random slip up — think basically every Auburn home win, the last Clemson title, Texas or A&M shenanigans this year — that’s stopping this team from achieving postseason greatness. The bad news it that it was more like a real loss where the other team played better down by down on average. It’s thankfully rare for the Saban-led Tide, but the last it happened was in 2019, also against LSU.”
Maybe the scales tip back. Evenly matched teams getting even results. Hope for the best in this series moving forward. Recruiting is only getting better.
New era. I don’t need to hear about the last 10 years. New coach. 1-0.
Hayes: Brian Kelly KOs Nick Saban in their first SEC heavyweight fight (saturdaydownsouth.com)
“It was the perfect motivational move from a guy who has been doing it for more than 3 decades. And 3 weeks later, all he needed was 3 yards to win the game — with a quarterback who has thrown the ball nearly flawlessly since he was told it’s time to start taking more chances and hitting bigger throws.
How about this for a big throw: a 2-point conversion pass to freshman tight end Mason Taylor, an under out route so perfectly placed, only Taylor could catch the throw. He did, and LSU had its first signature win under Kelly.”
Believe it or not, Kelly has more career wins than Saban. And he has some natties under his belt. No changing of the guard here, but it is a massive point. When Matt House gets his promotion to a HC role, Brian Kelly has a COACHING TREE to poach from. That is an incredible difference from most regimes. It is catching up to Dabo now, it absolutely destroyed Orgeron’s tenure. But we have an architect with a ton of coaches who will drop what they are doing to come work for this man
Didn’t know this, but I love it
LSU football, Mason Taylor’s improved with help by former Saints coach (theadvertiser.com)
Transfers made the difference in this game
Week 10 Transfer Portal standouts: LSU’s Jayden Daniels stuns Alabama (247sports.com)
Eli Ricks. JD. Mekhi. Our ENTIRE secondary. And if we even hit at a 75% rate on this next cycle than we will be WAY ahead of schedule. Holy cow, this is the most successful transfer portal class in the history of the program, and we have been pretty excellent in regards to transfers (except for Giles, old number 7 wrecker!). We are gonna sign over 30 players this cycle, and if we continue to hit then look out, the play for a natty every 4 years cycle is right back on the tracks!
