The noise inside Tiger Stadium steadily lowered Saturday as Alabama pulled away from LSU. Outside of the venue, another kind of racket was turning all the way up.
On Sunday, SEC analyst Paul Finebaum called the Tigers’ 31-13 defeat, which put Lane Kiffin’s debut season at LSU on the brink of elimination from the College Football Playoff, “one of the most humiliating moments” of Kiffin’s coaching career.
Former LSU offensive lineman and Baton Rouge radio personality Bobby Hebert III, better known as T-Bob, raged on social media, calling the program’s 16th loss to the Crimson Tide in 20 tries an “embarrassing, gutless performance.”
LSU rushing great Leonard Fournette, on his podcast, took issue with Kiffin’s practice of letting celebrities lead the team into Tiger Stadium, including a star-studded trio of alums for the Alabama game, Shaquille O’Neal, Angel Reese and Paul Skenes — plus, more randomly, actor Kevin Costner.
“I love everything coach Kiffin is doing, but that (stuff) — especially when we’re losing — has to stop,” Fournette said. “This ain’t no (frigging) concert. This ain’t no party. … We get paid to win. Success comes off of winning. I could care less who you come out with.”
Three losses in, Kiffin’s proof of concept has become somewhat muddied as his coaching record against top-25 teams — 12-15 in ranked-versus-ranked matchups — has again become a point of focus.
Sky-high expectations — set after LSU hired Kiffin away from Ole Miss and invested tens of millions of dollars into a transfer-heavy roster — have gone unfulfilled.
LSU, which was being touted as a dark-horse contender just a week ago, is suddenly the subject of loud criticisms after 457 yards versus Alabama equaled just 13 points.
But it’s fully within the Tigers’ power to turn the volume back down. Or change the tune.
CFP-ranked No. 7 Texas will visit Tiger Stadium this coming Saturday. If LSU wins, another victory at No. 13 Tennessee offers the Tigers a playoff argument, even with three losses.
“Not worrying about outside noise, playoff noise, in general,” LSU linebacker TJ Dottery said. “We’re worried about next week, trying to go 1-0. Got a great team in Texas coming in here. … Worry about us, man. If (the playoff) works out for us, it will.”
There is a world where it can, because there are nine SEC teams with two or three losses.
LSU (6-3, 3-3 SEC) probably won’t catch No. 2 Georgia (8-1, 6-1) or No. 5 Alabama (7-2, 5-2) in the CFP rankings, especially with Alabama facing Vanderbilt (4-5, 1-5), Chattanooga and Auburn (5-4, 3-4) to finish up the regular season.
Kentucky (7-2, 5-2) still has a head-to-head advantage on LSU, but the No. 6 Wildcats were just trounced 34-6 by Tennessee. Florida (5-4, 3-4) and Missouri (6-3, 3-3) remain on their SEC slate.
Texas (7-2, 4-2) and Tennessee (7-2, 4-2) round out the conference’s top five, but LSU could trade places with both of them over the next two weeks.
There’s reason to doubt whether the Tigers can. They haven’t beaten a team that’s still ranked, taking down then-No. 23 Texas A&M (4-5, 1-5) early in their spiral and then-No. 16 Mississippi State (4-5, 2-5) without star quarterback Kamario Taylor.
LSU has been competitive in its losses, falling to Ole Miss (6-3, 4-3) and Kentucky by a combined nine points and holding a 13-10 lead on Alabama toward the end of the third quarter. But the Tigers’ fourth-quarter collapse Saturday was an exercise in squandering chances and failing to make clutch plays.
Alabama did not.
“It really is just an incredible league to play in, and you gotta execute in the small moments when you have those opportunities,” LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt said of the lessons he took from the loss. “So back to work.”
Leavitt said he was walking alongside wideout Winston Watkins postgame, talking about the responsibilities of being “a man in life,” “giving your all” and seizing “every single opportunity,” even if the odds of success are slim.
LSU safety Ty Benefield, the transfer from Boise State, said he came to the SEC because he wanted “all the smoke.” The greatest challenge he’s faced yet — win or go home versus two premier SEC brands, in iconic Tiger Stadium and Neyland Stadium — has arrived.
“I put too much work in to go out sad, you know?” Benefield said. “I’m gonna give all my effort until the end.”
LSU said all the right things after a devastating loss.
Kiffin said it before the season: Winning would quiet the noise surrounding his exit from Ole Miss, even if he’s cautioned that a playoff run requires luck with injuries and that forthcoming rosters at LSU will be better constructed than his first.
He refused to delve into playoff panic after Saturday’s game was lost, but there’s a simplicity in what lies ahead for LSU.
“We didn’t play well, especially in the fourth quarter,” Kiffin said. “So go back and play better next week, and have a great opportunity with Texas here.”
#Lane #Kiffin #LSU #face #loud #criticism #CFP #reach #LSU
Source link
