Sunset Vette

Nearly 150 yards in penalties. Three turnovers. Allowed a punt return for a touchdown.

And still managed to eek out a victory.

LSU visited Alabama tonight. They started out looking like they were going to walk over, around, and through the Alabama team, and were up 17-3 early in the second quarter. Then penalties, turnovers, more penalties, and a couple of long pass plays by Alabama and all of a sudden the Tigers are on the losing side of the score. Yet they still ended up winning 41 – 34.

LSU might be able to eek out a victory under these conditions every now and then. But championship teams don’t lead their league in penalties and turn the ball over. Championship teams play smart, and LSU has not done that the past few games. They’ve played tought and they have talent but so do quite a few other teams.

Oregon, for example. They are right behind LSU and hoping for a team ahead of them to stumble. Ohio State briefly looked vulnerable against Wisconson today, but they pulled out a victory. I bet the SEC (or at least Baton Rouge) is going to be full of Michagan fans in a few weeks.

What’s left for LSU on their schedule? Louisiana Tech should not prove to be much of a problem. Maybe LSU can rest some of their nicked-up players and save them for the stretch run. Mississippi hasn’t beaten anyone in the SEC yet. I haven’t seen them play, so I don’t know how much of a threat they might be. Let’s chalk that one up as a win too. That puts the Tigers at 9-1 (5-1 in the SEC) going into their season ending battle with Arkansas.

Arkansas started out the season ranked in the top 25. They have a Heisman candiate running back. And they’ve lost some tough games along the way and currently stand at 5-3, with all three losses coming in the SEC. But they’re leading South Carolina right now and they could very well provide a test for the Tigers in their final game.

Suppose the Tigers win… that puts them at 10-1 and their only lost to a top-ten ranked Kentucky team on their home field in triple overtime. That’s not much of a blemish. They’ll have to get by whoever the SEC East puts up against them in the title game in order to make the national championship.

Given the two teams ahead of them (Ohio State and Boston College) both have a chance to lose … and I think a better change than LSU… that should put LSU in the top two for the BCS. (As I type this, Florida State has just extended their lead to 20-10 over Boston College with 8:07 left to play. Then again, the Eagles have shown they can score in a hurry so the game is far from over…)

Magic Eight Ball Says… Future uncertain, ask again later. Magic Eight Ball also says… cut down on the penalties and start playing championship football, otherwise you won’t be playing championship games.