The year of the excuse
BATON ROUGE - I have heard it all now. Scratch The Year of the Pick-Six, and call the 2008 LSU football season "The Year of the Excuse."
First we heard that it took a "perfect storm" in Gainesville for Florida to defeat LSU 51-21. Everything was right for the Gators. Their backs were against the wall after losing to Ole Miss. They had LSU circled for a year because of their loss in Tiger Stadium the year before. In reality, Florida kicked LSU's butt, particularly its defense. It wasn't because of any interception returns for touchdowns.
Then we heard Georgia had the greatest quarterback and tailback presumably in history. Interestingly, they were both largely ineffective in losses to Florida and Alabama and barely won at Kentucky and at Auburn. In reality, Georgia kicked LSU's butt, particularly its defense. It wasn't because of any interception returns for touchdowns.
But what I have heard after this hugely fortunate win over Troy last week is just too much.
"We take the field. It's cold," LSU coach Les Miles said at his press conference Monday. "It's certainly a good crowd, but the crowd dwindles, and it becomes one where you are playing less inspired than you should."
On Wednesday on the Southeastern Conference teleconference, Miles explained how he and his staff tried to explain to his team that Troy was a good team and a dangerous opponent partly because of the emotional,overtime loss LSU suffered to No. 1 Alabama the week before.
"You communicate it, talk about it and remind them," Miles said, "and then you show up at the game, and it's cold. Yeah, you knew that it was a possibility."
This reminds me of an old commercial about an exercise gym. The point of the ad was how people tend to think up excuses for not to go to the gym and work out. "The WEATHER," the woman says incredulously on the commercial with the point being, you're really just lazy.
I have never heard a coach bring up the weather for a poor performance in a game, and he's done it twice.
And Miles is from Ohio. And Miles played at Michigan. That's cold weather. It was in the 40s last Saturday night,but it's not like the Tiger Stadium grass is suddenly the freakin' frozen tundra of Green Bay. Thoughts of the "Ice Bowl," never entered my mind during the game.
Interestingly, though, the fans at the famous Green Bay-Dallas playoff game in 1967 did not leave in droves as "fans" did from Tiger Stadium Saturday, and it was 13 degrees below zero that Dec. 31, 1967, in Lambeau Field.
THAT'S when men were men.
Saturday, Nov. 15, 2008, will go down as one of the strangest nights in LSU football history. On that night, LSU staged the greatest comeback in its history for a 40-31 victory after trailing 31-3. At the same time, it was one of the most embarrassing nights in LSU history as this defending national champion Tiger team was down to a 20-point underdog from the Sun Belt. LSU played extremely well down the stretch,
but Troy also fumbled, bumbled and stumbled the game away. And the "greatest fans in college football" left. Because it was cold?
"It's cold." Unbelievable. At least, none of the players used that as an excuse.
And guess what, folks? It's going to be cold for LSU's game with Ole Miss Saturday. Temperatures are expected to be in the low 50s by game's end. Goodness! Better fire up some charcoal on the sidelines and have EMS ready for hypothermia!
It's going to be cold. Will LSU even have a chance?
First we heard that it took a "perfect storm" in Gainesville for Florida to defeat LSU 51-21. Everything was right for the Gators. Their backs were against the wall after losing to Ole Miss. They had LSU circled for a year because of their loss in Tiger Stadium the year before. In reality, Florida kicked LSU's butt, particularly its defense. It wasn't because of any interception returns for touchdowns.
Then we heard Georgia had the greatest quarterback and tailback presumably in history. Interestingly, they were both largely ineffective in losses to Florida and Alabama and barely won at Kentucky and at Auburn. In reality, Georgia kicked LSU's butt, particularly its defense. It wasn't because of any interception returns for touchdowns.
But what I have heard after this hugely fortunate win over Troy last week is just too much.
"We take the field. It's cold," LSU coach Les Miles said at his press conference Monday. "It's certainly a good crowd, but the crowd dwindles, and it becomes one where you are playing less inspired than you should."
On Wednesday on the Southeastern Conference teleconference, Miles explained how he and his staff tried to explain to his team that Troy was a good team and a dangerous opponent partly because of the emotional,overtime loss LSU suffered to No. 1 Alabama the week before.
"You communicate it, talk about it and remind them," Miles said, "and then you show up at the game, and it's cold. Yeah, you knew that it was a possibility."
This reminds me of an old commercial about an exercise gym. The point of the ad was how people tend to think up excuses for not to go to the gym and work out. "The WEATHER," the woman says incredulously on the commercial with the point being, you're really just lazy.
I have never heard a coach bring up the weather for a poor performance in a game, and he's done it twice.
And Miles is from Ohio. And Miles played at Michigan. That's cold weather. It was in the 40s last Saturday night,but it's not like the Tiger Stadium grass is suddenly the freakin' frozen tundra of Green Bay. Thoughts of the "Ice Bowl," never entered my mind during the game.
Interestingly, though, the fans at the famous Green Bay-Dallas playoff game in 1967 did not leave in droves as "fans" did from Tiger Stadium Saturday, and it was 13 degrees below zero that Dec. 31, 1967, in Lambeau Field.
THAT'S when men were men.
Saturday, Nov. 15, 2008, will go down as one of the strangest nights in LSU football history. On that night, LSU staged the greatest comeback in its history for a 40-31 victory after trailing 31-3. At the same time, it was one of the most embarrassing nights in LSU history as this defending national champion Tiger team was down to a 20-point underdog from the Sun Belt. LSU played extremely well down the stretch,
but Troy also fumbled, bumbled and stumbled the game away. And the "greatest fans in college football" left. Because it was cold?
"It's cold." Unbelievable. At least, none of the players used that as an excuse.
And guess what, folks? It's going to be cold for LSU's game with Ole Miss Saturday. Temperatures are expected to be in the low 50s by game's end. Goodness! Better fire up some charcoal on the sidelines and have EMS ready for hypothermia!
It's going to be cold. Will LSU even have a chance?
posted by Glenn Guilbeau at 1:34 PM
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