Herschel has a fantastic preview to the CBS game of the week, farther down on this page. These teams are more similar than they're different - and that includes the failure (so far) to live up to this year's expectations. No, I haven't forgotten that LSU comes into Athens with fewer losses than the Dawgs. It's just that every week, the Tigers keep it too close for comfort. They have us keeping an eye on Louisiana-Lafayette, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt, hoping all of them realize miracle seasons, and Washington - hoping for a shocking Pac10 run - just to legitimize all of the close games.
None of it matters if you can't win in the SEC, though. So tomorrow, Tiger fans will wince as they see Verne and Gary and hear the music that accompanied some awful defeats last year, to see if - perhaps - this year's version of the Bayou Bengals is really better than the version that was blown out by the Dawgs. If circumstance has anything to do with results, this year's version should absolutely be better. They're the same group of finely tuned ath-a-letic machines with (a) none of last year's problems under center and (b) an authoritative defensive coordinator.
Each team looks at the other one and thanks its respective lucky stars that the other hasn't been nearly as good as advertised. Then they remember that they haven't been all-world, themselves.
It's a coaching moment, if ever I've seen one. And if I've learned anything by watching Les Miles over the last five seasons (barring injury or disciplinary action prior to the game/season), it's that this kind of game is his element.
Let it ride on the Tigers. And I've got your corndog. RIGHT HERE.
So, posting after the game, I know that if LSU ever loses this year it will be because they stopped the game 5 minutes before 60 minutes. I watched on TV, although I live close enough I could watch the dawg-lovers on the road to the game. Am I the only one that notices - either from the humidity in the south or the painful swelling in his head as the game progresses, Les' hat gets tighter and tighter as the game goes on! That's why they play better at the end - he coaches better with a tight hat - or a big head (?). And I mean his BIG head.
ReplyDeleteOh, by the way - you can keep the corn dawg.
ReplyDeleteOK, obie juan canoli, I'm going to be in White Plains, NY this weekend and may be desperately trying to find a place to watch the LSU-Fl game. Besides peeking in windows of the various homes in the area to see if anyone HAPPENS to be a college football fan, any idea how I can search for a sports bar or something where Tiger fans might be congregating for more than a cock fight?
ReplyDelete