Congrats Tigers and a few thoughts...

Just got back from Orlando (about 90% recovered). I know y'all have probably moved on by now to your new HC, but a few of my thoughts from the game:

1. LSU fans are amazing... I met scores of your great people in my 3 days in Orlando and was very impressed... I'm sure there was some, but I didn't see one example of poor sportsmanship... before or after the game... We both can be VERY proud of our fan base.

2. One of the hardest hitting games I have seen in a very long time... The LBs for both teams were laying some serious wood on the ball carriers... I am amazed there weren't more fumbles. Both defenses looked very fast and were flying to the ball like missiles.

3. Broussard is one fast mofo... That run at the end of the first half was amazing... It started right in front of us and he was shutdown to the outside where he wanted to go... had to completely stop and counter back against the grain... then he simply outran Allen, our CB... impressive dude.

4. I've seen a lot on here about Iowa outcoaching LSU.... I'm not sure I agree... The LSU gameplan in the first half could have turned out brillant with better execution (which isn't the coaches fault). It seemed LSU was passing 60-65% of the time, which is not your standard M.O. It was designed, IMO, to soften the Iowa run D and then LSU would start pounding on the ground in the second half... When you got down 24-12, that plan had to go out the window. KUDOS to your staff for adjusting and calling some excellent plays on those last 2 drives.

5. J. Russell has a cannon for an arm.... Very impressed with how he ran the team on your last 2 drives... clutch throws into very tight coverage... and the 4th down conversion (a run) on the last drive was obviously critical.

6. Iowa had 40,000 fans there if we had 1... The best way to see it was 30 minutes after the game when we were all still there... LSU had a great turnout, but having to wait 2 weeks to get tickets really hurt you... Iowa had that happen last year when Florida knew they were going to the Outback 2 weeks before us.... thus we "only" had about 28,000 at that game.

7. That punt block for a TD was very surprising since LSU was in "max protection"... I'll have to watch the replay to see how in the world he got through... That is the 6th punt we have blocked this year and our staff works very hard on that area.

Sorry for the long post, but I really wanted to extend my congratualtions to your team, fans, and program.... Your team fought very hard and never gave up and y'all are 100% class in my book...

I think LSU will be kicking some serious a$$ for many years to come....

GEAUX TIGERS!

 

How dare an Iowa fan come over here and completely destroy the reputation of LSU fans that awbarn has worked so tirelessly to spread "Nationwide". :redface:

Surely to God, some of our fans spit on, threw bottles at, or murdered one or two iowa fans. At the very least, we had to have raped one of their grandmothers.:thumb:

I can't believe we didn't represent! :lol:


Well, glad you had a great time, and hope we get a chance to play again.

 

I saw it as well...The case-in-point was the Terrell McGill busted timeout...How does your starting Left Guard lumber off the field on a 4th & 1 inside the redzone in the 4th quarter when you're down by 5 points?

Searles said it best (and I know most of you were lip-reading just like me)...As they were calling the timeout and he was coming back off the field...

"That's just great, Terrell....That's just F$cking Great!!!!!!!!!!"


Total lack of mental focus and clarity of mind...The move obviously affected them.

I was also disappointed that Marcus Spears was a total no-show yesterday, in my opinion. Sad exit for a Great Tiger.

 

Thanks for the kind words. Ferentz is a helluva coach and Tate is a helluva QB. The best bowl game of the lot so far. Unfortunately we came up just short. Best of luck to you guys in the Big 10 next season.

 

red55,

I disagree with you. What we saw Saturday is the exact team LSU has been all season. No quarterback for most of the game. We haven't had a consistent go-to guy all year. It's been like this from day one (Oregon State) and I (just like Saben) have no idea what's causing it. Randall could not make an intelligent decision Saturday if his life depended on it. If Randall would have played Saturday, the way he played at Arkansas, LSU would have wiped the turf with Iowa. If Russell (or Randall) would have consistently played up to what they are capable of, LSU would be playing tonight instead of Auburn.

FloridaHawk,
Oh my god can your guys hit! Your defense reminded me of some old LSU/Bama games when the Bear was on the sidelines. I haven't seen a team with that speed and intensity play against LSU in years. Both defenses were just awesome. WHAT A GAME!

 

Thanks for the nice comments, You have an ESPN classic now.
Your team played impressive and your QB really impressed me.

I have to agree with Red on this one, I hate to do that because I don't want to take away from Iowa's accomplishment.

Ok, this is the same secondary we had all of last year and we gave up a busted play
to end the game, also that big play for the 1st td, Webster was out of position.
I do realize we had a better D-line last year but no way we should've given up that td
at the end, In the NFL everyone goes back to the goal line on D when a play comes up
like that and waits for the ball to be thrown which usually ends up in a jump ball, incompletion or int.

I just also think the team was somewhat distracted and I don't think it was smart at all to put in Matt Flynn in that situation, very few snaps in an actual game?
I've never seen that done before unless an injury situation, JR should've been in the
second half from the get go.

Dirty Dan does have a point about the QB situation!

 

tigereducated,
Spears has a torn bicep in his right arm from practice last week. He basically played with one arm tied behind his back. It's not his fault he didn't shine. Spears never lays down, never.

 

Thanks for the classy post FloridaHawk, please don't tell Auburn and UGA fans how nice we are to teams that we 'respect'. After this game I will pull for the Hawkeyes to become the best in the Big10, and hopefully once our HC change settles down, our ADs can talk about maybe a 'new rivalry' formation. FYI, that Tate kid was lights out, I can see why you guys are so pumped about him. So many times I thought he was sacked, and he would escape and miliseconds later make a great pass.

Geaux Tigers
Geaux Hawkeyes

 

Also good comments, but I can't imagine a team playing any harder than LSU did... Both teams fought, scratched and clawed every second of every down. I thought LSU played better in this game than you did against Oregon State, Troy, Ole Miss, or Georgia for sure... I thought your team represented very well... kudos to them... Your gameplan was strong... but you had a few execution breakdowns. Your fans were telling me that has happened all year long at times... long before Saban decided to bail...

The 3 most critical plays had very little to do with your coaches being distracted:

1. The punt block for a TD was against max protection... correct call by your coaches.

2. The first TD by Iowa was a great read by Tate to beat a double safety blitz, which left a (very fast) Solomon alone with Webster.

3. The final play was a blown coverage, but probably had a lot to do with IOWA COACHES and players making a huge mistake by not realizing the clock would start running after the penalty... The obvious confusion by Iowa seemd to be what caused the confusion by the LSU DBs...

Either way it was a great game and good luck Tigers! With some luck, there is hope in HawkeyeLand to accomplish what you did last year... a National Championship.... For now, we'll have to hang our hat on being one of only four programs to finish in the Top 10 the last 3 years, along with Oklahoma, USC, and Georgia....