Ad Disclosure
LSU is ranked No. 16 going into its season-opener against UCLA on Saturday in the Rose Bowl.
Tigers faithful are filled with optimism.
But that is mostly a byproduct of viewing the impending season through rose-colored glasses.
This is the first Tell the Truth Monday of the season and that requires taking off the rose-colored glasses and viewing LSU’s prospects through the objective eye of the truth.
The truth is there is reason for the optimism. But there is equal reason for tempering the optimism with honest realism.
The Tigers may prove deserving of their preseason ranking, but they have a lot to prove against UCLA if they’re going to demonstrate that the prognosticators are on target.
For instance:
Is Max Johnson up to this job?
The optimist will say he looked the part when he led LSU to victories against Florida and Ole Miss at the end of last season.
The realist will agree but point out that the tiny sample of those 2 games is essentially his entire résumé. There’s no guarantee that those performances will translate consistently during the upcoming 12-game grind.
Perhaps they will, perhaps not.
The optimist will point out that the Tigers are returning nearly all of their starters from last season.
The realist will note that all those returning starters were the primary contributors to that disappointing 5-5 record last season.
Those players will be physically, mentally and emotionally more mature than they were a season ago, so they should be prepared to contribute at a higher level than they did last season. The question is just how much better will they be?
We’ll see.
The optimist will cite the arrival of a consensus top-5 recruiting class.
The realist will say, “freshmen are freshmen” and point out that the return of all those starters will limit the opportunities for all those arriving recruits.
It sure looks like Maason Smith, multiple wide receivers and a few others will get chances to contribute. But the degree to which a group of freshmen – even a very talented group – can elevate a team playing in the SEC is fairly limited.
The optimist will point to a largely new coaching staff that’s expected to rejuvenate the program and blend all of those talented veterans and rookies into a tightly knit, efficient and deep team with one heartbeat, as head coach Ed Orgeron likes to say.
The realist will acknowledge that the numerous positive reports about the players bonding with, respecting and embracing the teaching of the new coaches is worthy of optimism.
The realist will add that there are a lot of other tests awaiting the new coaches and their new pupils. Each of the new coordinators is taking on greater responsibilities than they have ever had before.
They’re working on their first game plans this week. They will call plays and react to situations in a real game as coordinators for the first time Saturday night.
The jury is still out on them, the players and this team.
LSU is a 4-point favorite against UCLA and that seems reasonable even to a realist.
It’s realistic to expect the Tigers to be better than they were last season, probably much better. It’s realistic to think they can live up to their Top 25 rankings.
It’s not out of the question that they could contend for the SEC West title and finish the season higher ranked than they are beginning it.
So LSU does have a lot going for it – but it also has a lot to prove in this first game.
That’s the truth.
Les East is a New Orleans-based football writer who covers LSU for SaturdayDownSouth.com. Follow him on Twitter @Les_East.
