Wow, I kept waiting for last night's game to get better. Waiting for LSU to remember they have a game to play in. I waited all the way until the 4th quarter ended and wanted to punch myself in the face for losing an hour of sleep over that game.
The bowl season was full of coaches trying to be cute and outcoach themselves and go away from the only reason the team was successful in the first place. Well Les Miles definitely did not do that last night. It looked like they had a game the weekend before, and Nick Saban had over a month to gameplan for it. LSU looked completely unprepared to compete last night, but on the flip side Alabama made a lot of adjustments from the first game to last night. Give Saban credit, because he just coached circles around the Mad Hatter.
Bama came out and punched LSU in the mouth, throwing the ball 20 times on first down plays. AJ McCarron played his best college game last night, transforming from just a game manager to a pretty scary weapon come September 1st in Dallas. The passing opened up the game to allow Bama to run pretty effectively as well (Richardson finished with 96 rushing yards). The Crimson Tide moved the ball very well against one of the top defenses. They exposed weaknesses they saw in film: the honey badger is actually pretty bad in man to man coverage, the linebackers do not cover extremely well, LSU likes putting 8 players in the box on first downs, leaving single coverage on all receivers. Again they couldn't punch the ball into the endzone until 4 minutes left in the game, but they dominated LSU with field goals. The Tide's defense played like it always does: hard hitting, fast, and aggressive. They proved that they are the best defense in the country, and they left no doubts. I am definitely glad that most of those linebackers will not be around next year to give Denard nightmares for the season.
LSU on the other hand came out flat and never got anything going on offense. The playcalling and stubborness of the coaching staff was some of the worst I saw all bowl season. I dont know if they were just arrogant or confused. Their game plan was to get Jefferson comfortable in the pocket by throwing quick screens. He completed these passes, but there is no way you can beat Bama to the edges. There is no point in trying to go side to side against that defense. The Tide didn't respect LSU to throw the ball down the field, so they played press coverage in the secondary all night. Screens do not work against press coverage. Yet, LSU kept trying. LSU seemed to try to redo the gameplan they had from the first time the two teams met this year instead of learn from mistakes and try to improve. They tried to run the option, and first off the option doesnt work if you have a quarterback who doesnt know when to pitch the ball, and second when 1 LB can spy both the QB and RB at the same time because of his speed. But LSU kept trying. I do not understand Les Mile's decision not to bring in the backup Jared Lee. He is a pocket passer, and LSU needed to stretch the field. I dont know what the risk was, because he couldnt possibly do any worse than Jefferson. Instead Bama just kept coming, they blitzed on most 3rd downs and Jefferson looked confused and frustrated. LSU kept trying to run the ball down the field late in the 4th quarter when they were down 15-0. Did they really think they were gonna catch Bama by surprise and put up a quick 15 on the ground? They finished with 92 total yards, 92! Seriously? They are not Oregon. I know the SEC is the best football conference, and I cannot argue that, but even their own conference should be embarrassed with what LSU put on the field yesterday. Maybe other conferences are not that far behind.
I was hoping that LSU would win just so there wouldnt be any speculation about which team is truly the best, but last night left absolutely no doubt. I am glad that Bama got a chance to show the nation they are the number 1 team. It is just sad that we had to watch them play a team that clearly didnt belong on the same field.
Now Hoke gets to go up against the defending champions to open the 2012 season. Nobody expects Michigan to win or really even compete. I dont know what the final score will be, but I am hoping that we can manage at least triple digits in yards and not get blown out by field goals.
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