BCS Championship: Looking in the Mirror

THE BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
A look at LSU versus Alabama: Looking In The Mirror
By John Broussard

Okay, let's just say it. Alabama whipped our ass. Plain and simple. They wanted it more, they were better prepared by their coaching staff, and frankly they had the better game in every phase of the game. Okay, maybe our punter was better.

Quarterback – My hat's off to A.J. McCarron. He executed their game plan to perfection. The Tigers weren't going to let Trent Richardson beat them, and he didn't. McCarron did. He threw the ball well, made no foolish mistakes, and was the biggest difference in the game. Now juxtapose McCarron's performance with that of Jordan Jefferson. Jefferson was inept and ineffective. And that's probably being kind to Jefferson. He was abysmal.

Offensive Line – What can you say? Their offensive line was clearly head and shoulders better than ours. Their line gave McCarron the time he needed to execute their game plan and ours didn't. Our offensive line was absolutely no match for their defensive front seven.

Running Back – Richardson finished with 95 yards, well below his average, which was a testament to LSU's front 7. He really didn't need to gain a yard. McCarron beat us handily without him.

Receivers – Their receivers played great, ours never had a chance to show what they could do.

Defensive Line & Linebackers – What can you say? Their defensive front seven stonewalled our offense. It was an embarrassing offensive performance by LSU and an amazing defensive performance by Bama. Clearly they have the best front seven in college football. Our defensive line played well, but they would have had to have played other worldly to have made a difference in this game.

Defensive Backs – Once again, my hat's off to Bama. Their defensive backs played great, ours played okay, certainly not great. The Honey Badger wasn't even close to his 'A' game. McCarron repeatedly threw to Mathieu's side of the field and avoided Claiborne's side of the field. It was a great game plan. Mathieu was clearly the weaker of the two cornerbacks.

Special Teams – Hey, Bama's special teams took the game. They made the kicks; we didn't even get a chance. Frankly, if we had a mediocre punter the score probably would have been 42 to 0. Wing and our red zone defense kept LSU close.

Coaches – Nick Saban deserves the accolades. His game plan was sound, he had his team ready to play at their best, and he made all the right moves during the game. In my view, this was Les Miles worst game since the Ole Miss time clock debacle. Clearly Jordan Jefferson was inept. As the game wore on the offenses body language got worse and worse. On the field their shoulders were slumped, hands on their hips in between plays. On the sideline their heads were down, shoulders slumped, just awful body language. They needed something to pick them up, to give them optimism, to change the Tide. Miles never made a change at quarterback even when his best running option at the position couldn't execute a simple option play. Jefferson NEVER made the linebackers commit. He strung the option out along the line until the linebacker and defensive back could easily handle either Jefferson or the running back.

Okay, let me say this. I don't think Jarrett Lee would have made a difference in this game given the way that Bama's defense was playing. I don't know what Jarrett Lee did to deserve Miles' dog house, but clearly he must have done something awfully bad. He started 8 games, all wins for LSU. He threw 2 interceptions against Alabama and never saw meaningful action again. You cannot tell me that his 2 interceptions against Alabama in November were worse than Jefferson's ineptitude against Alabama in the BCS Championship. JEFFERSON NEVER GOT THE OFFENSE PAST THE FIFTY YARD LINE in the first three quarters of the title game. And yet, as LSU fell further and further behind, as it became painfully clear that LSU's offensive line was not going to be able to move the ball running on Bama, Miles never made a change to a quarterback who could throw the ball. Lee saved the Florida and Alabama games last year with his passing. He certainly won the first 7 games of this season for LSU. What did he do to be banished to Siberia? Slap Kathy Miles on the ass? Hit on Smacker? My guess is he probably told Miles what he thought of his decision making. I certainly would like the chance to.