iamandykeim

I think we were all aware (maybe ignoring it, but definitely aware) that growing pains were possible. Considering the extreme roster turnover, it's fair to say that this team is doing well to be as competitive as they are. With the top 2 guys on the team (both being returning players) out for this month, this team is now even more reliant on guys that haven't been here for a full year yet.

I still would say that this team underperformed against Ole Miss and Kentucky despite the roster turnover and key injuries, but this is good perspective to remember for people on this board who think the sky is falling.

The frustration this week is due to the fact that we really should have beaten Kentucky by multiple scores, but a few frick ups cost us the game, forcing us to now be perfect for the rest of the season.

Are people exaggerating the flaws that exist on this team? Ab. so. lutely. Welcome to the Rant.

I always considered the cost of this team to be a sort of down payment on the Kiffin era. Portal players are a more expensive commodity, and we will never have to go fill half the roster via the portal again under Kiffin.

Can yall please just let the fricking season play out? we’re half way through the god damn season.

Consider this: if we go for it on the 4th & 1 and convert, the defense would have finished with only surrendering 17 points to their offense and only 309 yards. That’s where we were at with only 90 seconds remaining.

They ended the game pathetically, but the context of the game matters. What if the refs called the tush push correctly? Would you still be melting?

Process-oriented standpoint: We are doing a very very good job of putting ourselves in position to win games.

Result-oriented: We're 4-2.

The process is missing some key pieces. Explosive plays and turnovers are what has stopped LSU from being 6-0 and a top 3 team in the country. Down-to-down, we were significantly better than Kentucky, but for maybe 4 plays of the 140 in the game, we gave up a huge run, a long punt return, and surrendered the ball twice. That's a recipe for having to play a lot of catchup even as the better team.

Yep, and this offense is just extremely difficult to hold to less than a yard when we have 10 guys blocking. We do such a good job matching hats for hats and finding the soft spots.

Even if Kentucky stops us there (for the first time in a 3rd/4th & 1 situation all day), I'd tip my cap to them and fully respect the call from Lane. Punting it and losing that way just sucks.

I'm still stunned that we elected not to go for it on the 4th & 1, and I'm posting this to show you why. LSU ran 7 plays on a 3rd or 4th down against Kentucky with 4 or less yards to gain. Below are the results of each play:

3rd & 1 - 2 yard run - 1ST DOWN
3rd & 4 - 5 yard run - 1ST DOWN
3rd & 1 - 11 yard pass - 1ST DOWN
3rd & 3 - 5 yard run - 1ST DOWN
3rd & 2 - 1 yard run - 4th Down
4th & 1 - 14 yard run - 1ST DOWN
3rd & 3 - 10 yard pass - 1ST DOWN

86% conversions on 3rd/4th and short situations, and 3 for 3 when we needed just 1 yard. Really disappointed in the decision to punt there. Just go take it.

Literally every minute detail of teams on our level go under the microscope when we lose. Most of what people say comes from emotional over-analyzation.

I've not seen many giving him a "pass", but I do feel good about his progression. Played phenomenally well in the 1st half, had the INT on what was a good decision but a high throw, and then a bonehead fumble on a play that he admitted after the game he needs to take the sack. He also made a great play to score in OT.

It's really irritating reading all you people try to blame 1 individual thing for why we lose certain games. Leavitt choked, Lane pussied out on 4th down, the defense was bad, the punt team cost us the game, the refs screwed us. Guess which one of those is truly the culprit? Answer: It's all of them.

We were average (not awful - just average) in a multitude of aspects in this game, and we got some calls against us that probably would have gone another way had we not been in Lexington. Add to that the fact that Kentucky played a solid game with an energized crowd, and you get a 1 point Overtime loss on the road. It doesn't mean anyone on the team sucks, that the coaches were horribly incompetent, or that this team as a whole is bad. It just means we had a mediocre day and got beat.

Our playoff chances are now on the line every week for the rest of the year, but if you correct a couple little things, get a pair of SEC wins, and get your 2 best players back during the Bye week, you'll be in a solid position to throw a couple haymakers at Alabama and Texas in front of a packed Death Valley. College football can sometimes be about building and sustaining momentum. Maybe we can build enough this week and next to get red hot in November once our best player on both sides of the ball come back.

ref said “yeah buddy we’re in lexington. you’re not getting that call.”