Ad Disclosure
This year, it’s time to deliver results. This year, it’s time to back up the talk. This year, it’s time to hoist hardware rather than be known for empty buzz and unrealized promise.
The time for basking in hype at LSU is long over. The time to produce is now.
Last week, Tigers quarterback Brandon Harris declared that he has “the best arm in college football, the best team in college football.” As soon as those words hit the internet like a wrecking ball to a glass wall, he did his program a disservice and opened old wounds.
There went the LSU buzz machine again, cranking out headlines in the offseason rather than titles in December and January. There went more words rather than marquee wins over Alabama or in the SEC Championship Game, with the Tigers’ SEC West title drought now at four years.
Sure, LSU has talent. There always seems to be more football skill floating around Baton Rouge than Crystal hot sauce. Leonard Fournette will be a bulldozer in the backfield. A strong offensive line will be primed to pave the way forward. Kendell Beckwith will be a Tasmanian devil at middle linebacker. A dynamic defensive front will be a terror for quarterbacks.
The Great Coup Attempt of 2015 is in Les Miles’ rear-view mirror, and a crazy amount of potential is ahead. Everything appears primed for a memorable run.
But will it happen?
Isn’t that always the question with LSU?
There’s the problem. For as good as the Tigers look on paper, too often they become paper tigers in big moments, moments that define how we view them in the unforgiving world of the SEC West. The act has become old.
They have lost five consecutive games to Alabama, their longest losing skid in the series since dropping 11 straight from 1971 to 1981. They have lost three or five games in each of the past four seasons, a run that would produce a ticker tape parade in Fayetteville. But Baton Rouge is no Fayetteville.
Since that super washout at the Superdome in the 2011 BCS National Championship Game, the Tigers have played Wile E. Coyote to the Crimson Tide’s Road Runner. Alabama has been just a bit better, just a bit more prepared, just a bit more disciplined.
Which brings us back to Harris’ comments. Can you imagine a Crimson Tide quarterback saying he has the best arm and the best team in college football? Imagine the wrath from Nick Saban that would follow if one of his players spoke those words.
A single glance from Saban would turn that poor soul into a pile of dust.
The moment serves as an interesting insight into the gulf between LSU and Alabama at this juncture. The Crimson Tide has won the SEC West three times in the past four years. It has asserted its dominance in a methodical way with a number of different faces. It has swatted back threats from LSU and others.
Meanwhile, the Tigers have punched tickets to the Chick-fil-A, Outback, Music City and Texas bowls in that span. You can understand why some in Baton Rouge are tired of tapping their toes.
Harris raised the season’s stakes with his comments. He must elevate his performance after throwing for 2,165 yards with 13 touchdowns and 6 interceptions last year. He was inconsistent.
If Harris improves his play and fulfills his vision, then no harm will be done, and he’ll be praised for his confidence. If he stumbles and LSU does LSU things late, if the Tigers waste another year with Fournette, then his words will come back to bite him with sharper teeth than those found in Mike the Tiger’s mouth. There’s a bunch on the line.
So approach LSU with caution. The Tigers look delicious on paper. They look ready to roar, possibly all the way to Tampa, possibly with that gorgeous trophy in hand after the season’s final second ticks away.
But will it happen?
With them, you never know.
