Notre Dame #5? I do not think so. They should not have been in the top four and in the playoffs. Florida? I do not know where they should be ranked but after they took Michigan to the wood shed, they are not ranked high enough. LSU? Maybe close to #6 or #7. Outside of Notre Dame and Florida these rankings are very good.

Notre Dame should not have made the playoffs. They are simply not one of the stronger teams in division one college football. Georgia should have been one of the four participants. When LSU played the bulldogs in the regular season, they were ranked at #2 and I still think that this is the second best team in America. It took LSU's best game of the season and a home field advantage to defeat the dogs and after that whipping by the tigers, Georgia learned from this defeat and became a much stronger team.

Saban does not discriminate and as long as you can offer something positive to his program it does not matter if you are a former alcoholic, a former head coach with baggage or whatever, he is happy to accept their services.

UCF defeated the Auburn War Eagles last year so this football program that does have a weak schedule can come in and play with the big boys and win. LSU that has a number of their players missing practices, obviously is not taking this game serious. UCF as far as team talent is ranked #56 and LSU #7. So if the tigers are defeated in this bowl it is not only on the coaches for not making sure that players come to practice but the players that are not showing interest due to being absent can share part of the blame. The veterans that are part of being absent is not setting a good example for the younger players. DISCOURAGING! GO TIGERS!!!

This is a once in a life time opportunity. A player predicted to be a first or second round draft choice should protect themselves and not risk a injury. These coaches are making their money and now it is time to take a check and run to the bank. These coaches are being selfish and are only thinking about themselves. Team? Bull! You should be a shame of yourselves. GO GREEDY & GO TIGERS!!

LSU has not played very well since defeating Georgia. When you play two of the worst teams in college football and just go through the motions to win those games, then something is wrong. Missouri on Saturday beat Arkansas 38-0. Now there is no way you can tell me that Missouri even comes close to matching LSU in talent. The 24-17 victory against Arkansas was a total embarrassment from a team that should be much better than they played in that game. No excuses! It seems that the tigers continued their inconsistency against Texas A&M. It is all about coaching and preparing these athletes to play these games and placing them in the best position possible to win and win big instead of ugly. GO TIGERS!

If Texas A&M cannot do a better job than that to verify this individual, then the NCAA needs to step in and investigate. In addition the Texas A&M receivers coach needs to be disciplined for his actions at the end of the game. The behavior of these people on the field has no place in college sports.

Salisbury sounds to have tons of arrogance. If he can come in and develop quarterbacks like Urban Meyers at Ohio State, then I can over look the arrogance. LSU if it wants to make a run at Alabama it must dedicate changes to the offense. Ensminger is in his first year of installing his offense and while it has not been dominating, the tough schedule has much to do with how anemic it looks. After this year the players will become more acclimated to Ensmingers offense and we will begin to actually see some real progress.

The committee as it should, considers strength of schedule and maybe some of these teams complaining should revise the games they will be playing in future seasons. If I was Ohio State I would not be disappointed after they got defeated by a Purdue team that ranks outside of the top twenty-five in team talent. For a team that ranks #1 in team talent, that loss has to be embarrassing. I am not just going to pick on Ohio State because they have a lot of company, some that has absolutely no business complaining.

After many years being a dominate running offense you do not all of a sudden become dominate in the passing game. It takes time. practice and patience. First of all the offensive line does not hold their blocks. Due to this weakness there are quarterback sacks and numerous hurried passes. Then there are dropped passes. Yes there have been inaccurate passes to the receivers but what quarterback does not throw a bad pass sometimes. This is the first year for the tigers to run Ensmingers offense and he has changed the pace of the offense resulting in 70 or more plays per game. In the last several games, the tigers are throwing the ball around 30 times per game. When was the last time that the tigers have initiated a passing attack? The culture is gradually changing and with a second year in the same offense we will begin to see some stability offensively, something that we have not seen in quite a while. GO TIGERS!!!

Jeaux Burrow and the tigers have come a long way since arriving at LSU during the summer. A new offense to learn, receivers to become adjusted to and a offensive line that is still trying to learn how to hold blocks on passing plays. LSU is placing the ball in the air more than any time in years or even decades. A new culture takes time to establish and to perfect until one day it eventually runs like a finely tuned engine. We all must be patient and all that hard work by the players will one day pay big dividends. GO TIGERS!

Surely Coach Ensminger does not look good against Alabama. However he is the same offensive coordinator that defeated Miami earlier in the year, Auburn and Georgia. When your offensive line cannot hold their blocks against your defensive opponents, your passing game becomes useless. The offensive failure on the line just did not recently happen against Alabama, it has failed to perform in several games this season. Coach Orgeron is correct that it must go out and recruit better lineman. It must do better than what it has this year with 1 (5 star), 1 (4 star) and the 2 or 3 (3 star) lineman. This type of recruiting will not improve your chances of defeating Alabama every year.

LSU that has traditional defenses for years must now focus on building its offense through better recruiting. This year I am convinced more than ever that the tigers can sign a super talented quarterback in the future by just showing recruits how LSU is dedicated in developing the passing game. In the last several games the tigers are averaging about 30 passes each game. This is a good start.

Jeaux Burreaux has been challenged by a number of SEC defenses and Miami. Despite the fact that Burreaux got to LSU this summer, had to learn a new offense and build a connection with the receivers, he has performed quite well. The assistant that wishes not to give his name does not know what he is talking about. Jeaux Burreaux by no means is not a "super" talented quarterback but he does exceed being average or just a good quarterback. He reads defenses very well, is not afraid to run and he is also not timid at blocking for his backs. He continues to improve each week and has not peaked out on any of his skills as a quarterback. His best game is yet to come and he will be well prepared for the University of Alabama.

LSU will hang with Alabama by minimizing their time on offense. That means that the Aranda defense must create turnovers and opportunities for LSU's offense. Offensively the tigers have not peaked out yet and they have continued to improve each game against several very worthy opponents. Burrow just arrived on campus during the summer and despite his short time with his very capable receivers, he is part of why this team is #4 nationally. GO TIGERS! DEFEAT THE ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE!!

The LSU players not only thrive on the very loud LSU fans but it plays much better when the media chooses the other team to win. So all of you media folk, keep those predictions against our Bayou Bengals coming all week long. Just as those of you that picked Georgia, you could be in for another big surprise. Alabama is a great team with its most powerful offense since Nick Saban took over at Alabama. However LSU's defense may be under-rated due to its strong schedule and I have a feeling that Aranda will have a few surprises for Alabama Saturday evening in a stadium dominated by a sea of white and one of its most vocal crowds ever. GO TIGERS!! DEFEAT THE ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE!

You could say that happened in 2011-12 season where Alabama gave LSU the victory in Tuscaloosa that year. The victory sent LSU into the SEC championship game to be beat up physically one more time by an SEC team while Alabama sits at home, heals its wounds and scouts the game. What happened? Saban uses a sales pitch to get Alabama into the NC game against LSU. It works and the Alabama Crimson Tide enjoys the advantage of not going to the SEC championship game and wins the NC against LSU 21-0.

Never underestimate the energy of the fans and how the players feed off from all that enthusiasm. It happened against Georgia and the tigers are improving a little more each game. How can a player not be pumped up over a crowd that will be dominated by a sea of white and its enthusiasm that can be heard from miles away from the "real" Death Valley. GO TIGERS!!

What will determine if LSU can hang with Alabama's explosive offense will depend on the success of Aranda's defense. The tigers defense in my opinion has not peaked up to this point in the season. I think that Alabama has a good defense but it is not like what they have had in past years. The Tide will not see that ground and pound offense as in the past. LSU's offense has continued to improve throughout the season and Burrow and the receivers are developing a chemistry. The tigers are throwing the ball much more than in the past and it is averaging many more plays per game. If the tigers limit turnovers and score touchdowns over field goals. this game can easily go in their favor. GO TIGERS!

Yesterday Fisher of Texas A&M indicated that the targeting rule is inconsistent. This is the best description of the rule yet by a head football coach. You could have seen several similar plays by other teams on Saturday October 20, 2018, where there was similar contact with the quarterback and the only one called by the game officials was the one on Devin White. Any rule that promotes more safety for the players is good but the officials obviously have a problem determining what is an actual targeting incident. It is going to take not only Orgeron's protest on the targeting penalty but others as well.

This years Alabama offense is probably its best in the Saban era. They are powerful and dominating and are lead by a potential Heisman Trophy winner this season. Alabama has played a very weak schedule this year but have easily dominated each team they have played thus far. LSU may look like another team that Alabama can push around but the tigers are better than its statistics indicate because of its tough schedule. This has made LSU a much stronger team and never underestimate when the tigers play in the "real" Death Valley on a Saturday night. On November 3, 2018 the crowd is going to be very energetic, loud and the Alabama Crimson Tide will know that they have not played a team like this in quite a while. GO TIGERS!

Why does Alabama need a kicker? They score touchdowns and also they get much assistance from the officials. All of the no calls in games makes up for not having a great kicker.

Burreaux is correct about Ohio State having more depth than LSU. Not only do the have more team talent than the tigers, they rank as the #1 team in the nation in team talent over Alabama. Where does LSU rank? The tigers of LSU rank at #6. GO TIGERS! DEFEAT THOSE GATORS!!

The Swamp is like a mini hell. Its humid, its hot and it is loud. In 1972 while stationed at McDill AB I was able to watch a game in the Swamp. It was a afternoon game and before the kickoff there were showers that made it muggy and almost unbearable. What a game in a time when they did not have overtime. Just as well because both teams battled hard to a 3-3 tie. In that time, one of the better defensive games I have ever seen in college football. I expect this 2018 game to be much the same with both teams having excellent defenses. GO TIGERS DEFEAT THOSE GATORS!!

You have to consider the fact that through 3 of 4 games LSU has not established themselves as a passing "and" running team. They have played one game where we can say that both facets of the offense was balanced. Against Auburn it was 54% run and 46% pass, about as close as it gets to being a balanced offense. The other three games it averages around 63% run and 37% pass and this is much the same as previous seasons. This has got to change because as in the past when LSU plays tough defenses that stop the run, then they are defeated. As far as Burrow, his efficiency would be much better if there were not so many catchable passes dropped. If the tigers want to get better in this aspect of the game they must dedicate themselves to balancing off the offense and passing the ball a little more. GO TIGERS!!

Great to have Sullivan back as LSU's receiving coach. Like Pete Jenkins was an encyclopedia of defensive line knowledge, Sullivan can offer the same to all LSU receivers that really want to learn from his vast experience. GO TIGERS!!!

Nick saban is paid to win National Championships at Alabama and you do that with your best players on the field. Hurts may or may not start this season but you better believe that the quarterback that gives Alabama the better chance to win will be out there.

When LSU plays Alabama this year it is going to be a war. The fact that the tigers have not defeated the tide in years makes this game very special. Every year the LSU team does not need motivation for playing Saban and his dynasty football program. In the past the tigers have placed a defense on the field that has at times gave it a chance to win but the year to year unimagitive scheme on offense could not place the needed points on the board. This year may be one of the tigers best defenses in a while and the offense should be one that is unpredictable and may be improved drastically in passing the ball. Alabama will be favored but I doubt that it will be as much as 17 points. GO TIGERS!!!

Outside of Alabama and Georgia, LSU is perhaps either the third or fourth most talented team in the SEC. In the past the key opposition to the tigers success has been the failure to place an offensive scheme on the field that can compete with teams that are equivalent or slightly more talented than their football program. Ensminger very impressively showed success two years ago with adding a few wrinkles in the offense and still using those same predictable offensive plays of years past. Steve did an outstanding job and the installment of his new offense should perform even better. This addition of a very successful and unpredictable offense along with Arand's very stingy defense could surprise many fans this year. GO TIGERS!!!!

Whats missing from the old Arden Key that we use to know? Does he still have the enthusiasm for playing the game as he did a couple of years ago? He was at one time a sure prospect for the first round in the NFL draft. Now? Maybe there is a team out there willing to take a risk but the way I see it, he is no better than late second round or early third.