re: How much can LSU and Florida's bowls be legitimately attributed to letdown?

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I could be convinced that maybe Clemson is better than first thought, but no way I can believe that Louisville is head and shoulders better than a Florida team that beat A&M, South Carolina, LSU, AND Florida State.

On the other hand, I can't stand using "letdown" as an excuse for an upset loss. I didn't like it when we did it to explain Utah blowing out Bama a few years back. It does come into play, but it's not an excuse.

I'm having a hard time explaining these two losses. LSU's is a little easier to explain than Florida - letdown plus weak offense plus Miles infamous clock management...but it still feels confusing.

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Letdown is a small part of it. I do think that Louisville and Clemson played with huge chips on their shoulders.

Clemson wanted to avenge that embarrassment from last year against WVU. Even still, LSU played awful, and Clemson didn't play lights out. They fumbled 4 times, and two of them hit and ground and fortunately bounced into the hands of the ball carrier.

Louisville played nearly a perfect half of football, and then held on for dear life in the 2nd half.

But we saw both of those teams for several games to end the season. LSU struggled with Ole Miss and Arkansas, and Florida struggled with JSU (offensively), Mizzou, and ULL.