2008 Football Season Recap

7/29/09: 2008 Football Season Recap

Game 1: LSU def. Appalachian St., 41-13
Game 2: LSU def. North Texas, 41-3
Game 3: LSU def. Auburn, 26-21
Game 4: LSU def. Miss. St., 34-24
Game 5: Florida def. LSU, 51-21
Game 6: LSU def. South Carolina, 24-17
Game 7: Georgia def. LSU, 52-38
Game 8: LSU def. Tulane, 35-10
Game 9: Alabama def. LSU, 27-21 (OT)
Game 10: LSU def. Troy, 40-31
Game 11: Ole Miss def. LSU, 31-13
Game 12: Arkansas def. LSU, 31-30
Bowl Game: LSU def. Georgia Tech, 38-3

As we count down the days until September 5th (T-minus 38 days), I think that it is my duty to recap the good and the bad from last season. Let’s start with the good…

The Good:

· LSU actually traveled to Auburn, AL and was able to overcome the referees and a late game deficit to win the game in dramatic fashion. However, this win proved to be fool’s gold for LSU fans as Auburn went on to a 2-6 SEC record and 5-7 overall. Still, it was a good win.

· Freshman phenom Patrick Peterson stepped up and did a solid job at cornerback. He will be an All-American and a first rounder before his career is done.

· Near the end of last season, we saw the emergence of Jordan Jefferson. The true freshman displayed a natural instinct to make plays. His form was raw and unpolished, but he impressed me with his poise and vision. Because of this, he will enter fall practice as the #1 QB. The sky is the limit for JJ, but I still want to see how he performs against an SEC defense.

· LSU continued its bowl game dominance as they put another beat down on Georgia Tech, 38-3. The Yellow Jackets entered the game as an unknown, running the out-dated triple option offense. With 3 weeks to prepare, LSU’s soon-to-be-ousted defensive coordinators were up to the challenge and put together a terrific game plan. However, it wasn’t enough to save their jobs.

· Despite a disappointing season, the coaching staff was able to secure the #1 Recruiting class in the nation for 2009. I will dedicate an entire report to this subject next week.

The Bad and the Ugly:

· LSU’s defensive coaching staff was a huge disappointment all season. LSU’s defensive backfield had more holes than a donut shop. Sometimes, I think Les Miles has holes in his head for promoting from within.

· The quarterback play was atrocious. Jarret Lee, although only a RS freshman, could not handle the pressure as the starting QB. His never-ending parade of interceptions for touchdowns was enough to give Jamie Howard a chuckle. I think Lee could be a good quarterback, assuming irreparable harm was not done to the guy’s psyche last season. I can’t imagine how it must feel to incur the wrath of the entire LSU fan base. If he can bounce back from this, he will be an asset for the next few years. Andrew Hatch, now back at Harvard, was called on to take the pressure off Lee, but he belongs on the scout team, not running a Crowton offense for LSU. With Andrew Hatch as LSU’s best option at QB for much of the season, is it any wonder why we went 8-5?

· LSU lost to Ole Miss… At home... By a lot of points. Enough said.

· LSU trailed Troy 31-3 midway through the 3rd quarter. That should never happen. However, the Tigers scored 37 unanswered points to pull off the miraculous win, so maybe this should be in the previous section. I’m proud to say that I was there to witness the greatest comeback in LSU history.

· LSU gave up 50+ points twice. Once to Florida and once to Georgia.

· LSU fell out of the AP poll for the first time since 2002.

What does it all mean Basil??

Ok, we had a bad season. It happens. No excuses, no apologies. My poll question last week asked who should bear the responsibility for the poor season in ‘08. The response was overwhelming; but after tallying all 5 votes, it’s clear that the assistant coaches are to blame. I agree, however, my opinion is that Miles should ultimately be accountable for the assistant coach hires. Nobody would disagree with that, especially since Miles has received so much credit for the good hires that he’s made in the past (Crowton, Pelini). Miles made the decision to promote Peveto and Mallory. To his credit, Miles has admitted and corrected this mistake.

The momentum pendulum swung the wrong way in 2008. One problem compounded another until the train ran off the track. For example, we know about the problems on offense and defense, but what were the underlying causes? The passing game was terrible, so opponents stacked the box to shut down the run game. With 8 people in the box and no passing game, LSU had a lot of 3 and outs. This kept the defense on the field too much and caused the defense to fatigue quicker. This, along with poor coaching, is the reason it always seemed like we were out of position. When you’re always out of position, good teams will exploit you. When you’re being exploited, you lose all confidence and desperation sets in. When you’re desperate and playing from behind, you start putting the ball in the air to catch up. When a red-shirt freshman is asked to throw this much, it leads to a lot of interceptions, and pick 6, and finger pointing, and upset fans, and so-on and so-on. It’s a vicious cycle that wasn’t broken until bowl season. Hopefully, the Chick-fil-A bowl is evidence that the pendulum is headed back the other direction.

Last season really demonstrated the “weakest link” theory. LSU has some of the most premier athletes in the country. When the Tigers walk out on the field, they can match up with anyone. Furthermore, the athletic department spares no expense to attract the most qualified coaching staffs in the country. It only took one or two weak links to bring down the entire season. The good news is that corrective action has been taken so that we don’t go through the same misery in ’09. We’ll be back. One bad season is not enough to eradicate a decade’s worth of progress. LSU is an elite program, and will be for a long, long time.

Hindsight Lessons Learned:

· Miles should have pulled the red shirt from Jordan Jefferson much earlier than he did.

· Miles should have manned up and hired a real defensive coordinator (obviously).

· Danny McCray had a very hard time with man-on-man coverage.

· Linebackers are not as fast as running backs. Who’d have guessed???

· Houston Nutt has outcoached Les Miles the last two years, with two different teams.

· Some LSU players gave up last season (cough…cough…Demetrius…cough…Byrd…cough).

· LSU is not as deep at D-line as we thought.

· Although an MVP in ’07, Ricky-Jean Francois was a bust. He should have stayed one more year.

· Senior leadership was hard to find last season.

· Nobody in the defensive backfield had a clue (mentally).

· When it rains, it pours.

Interesting fact:

After peaking at #3 in week 5, LSU finished the 2008 season unranked. The last time LSU finished the season unranked (2002), they won the National Championship the very next season (2003). Also, in 2003 they were pre-season ranked #15, which is about where they’ll start the 2009 season. That’s a good omen.

NEW!!! Tiger Trivia: (answers at the bottom of the report)

1. Who was the leading rusher in the 2003 season?
2. What year did Tiger Stadium open?
3. LSU didn’t sell-out a football game until what year?
4. How many times has LSU won the SEC Championship?
5. In the 2007 season, how many top 25 teams did LSU defeat for a new school record?

One more week…

The long, sport-less summer is almost over. Fall practice starts next Wednesday. Finally, some LSU football news to get us through to September.

Call for Tickets:

We still need more tickets for the Georgia game.

Here is a list of the upcoming pre-season reports:

8/05/09: 2009 Recruiting Recap
8/12/09: Coaching Changes
8/19/09: Depth Chart Review
8/26/09: 2009 Season Preview. Fall Practice Update

Don’t forget to vote in the poll questions. I want better participation this week you slackers!!

Along those same lines, some people had trouble leaving comments last week. I think that problem has been fixed. I left better instructions below.
See you next week. Geaux Tigers!!

Answers:

1. Justin Vincent (freshman)
2. 1924
3. 1958 (against Ole Miss)
4. 10
5. 7