EXACTLY!!!!! We are one of the best in the land, and although it won't happen in reality, we all know our Tigers would give OU one hell of a battle. TIE 'DEM DOGS UP!!!!!
Great post, SEN. You hit the nail on the head. I agree with you completely. Win the SEC for the second time in three years first. Win the bowl game second. Don't worry about things we have no control over.
Good post SEN buy I have to disagree. While we expect the Tigers to be a great team next year who knows what will happen. Chances to play for the NC don't come along all that often. LSU has been lucky this year in regard to injuries but thats not something we can count on every year. Look what happened last year when Mauck got hurt after a 6-1 start. Win or lose I want to see LSU in their rightful place in the Sugar Bowl this year. Of course I believe that the Tigers can beat OU but I would rather see LSU in the Sugar Bowl even if they would happen to lose than to see them beat Michigan or Texas or somebody 77-0 in a meaningless Rose or Fiesta Bowl. At least the question of who is best would have been settled on the field.
Don't get me wrong, I'm doing everything I can to get us into the game, but no disheartenment if we don't. I'm hoping to be buying Sugar Bowl Tickets on ebay come next Monday
Bengal B: With all due respect, the Tigers playing in another bowl is not meaningless. The team has earned the right to play in a bowl. I think more national exposure will be great. What if we win out and wind up against FSU, and really take it to them. That is a leg up in recruiting in that state, or to beat texas, that is a big lift as well. A big win over Michigan, would shut the talking heads up big time. There is a lot of value in playing in a bowl other than the Sugar. It could help us in cali as well if we played michigan.
If LSU wins the SECCG and dosen't get to play OU in the Sugar Bowl whatever bowl they play in will be basically meaningless to everybody except LSU fans and the fans of our opponent. EVERYBODY is going to watch the Sugar Bowl but the Rose, Fiesta and Orange Bowls don't really mean much to anybody except the fans of the teams involved. Sure LSU might beat a Michigan or a Texas or a Florida State and end up rated #2 after the bowls but THEY WILL HAVE BEEN SCREWED OUT OF WHAT THEY HAVE RIGHTFULLY EARNED ON THE FIELD THIS YEAR JUST BECAUSE SOME FLAWED HUMAN POLL VOTERS AND IDIOTIC COMPUTERS WILL HAVE NAMED USC MORE WORTHY THAN LSU TO PLAY FOR THE NC! Actually if LSU somehow jumps over USC in the BCS the USC fans will have a legitimate beef that the were screwed. If that happens I will still hate the BCS and I will feel sorry for the USC fans. (But not too sorry) If LSU is in some other bowl than the Sugar of course I will watch and root for the Tigers to win. I will watch or not watch all or portions of the other New Years Day bowl games depending upon whether or not I have something better to do. But if LSU beats Georgia in the SECCG and gets F*CKED out of playing in the Sugar Bowl I refuse to watch the Sugar Bowl.
Try living in LA. Once people learn I graduated from LSU, all I get asked are questions about Shaq. Unless I'm at a Dodger game wearing an LSU hat, then I get a lot questions about our baseball team, they are really respected out here (along with Skip). Honestly, you wouldn't believe how much they know about our baseball program. However, since all this #2/#3 thing started, SC fans are constantly asking me about the Tigers football team.
Why beating Michigan or FSU might be important Bengal B, I know we might get screwed out of facing Oklahoma in the Sugar, and I agree that the nation isn't going to be spending its time tuning in to (particularly) the Fiesta. But if Oklahoma plays USC, I think the game will be so bad that people will not enjoy it. USC just will not give Oklahoma much of a fight. If LSU has already played (I hope) Michigan in the Rose (this is all assuming we don't get our rightful spot in the Sugar), then people watching the boring Sugar will really be mad that LSU wasn't there. It will change perceptions. I agree it'll be too late for this year, but we're supposedly building a dynasty here. That's why people still think Michigan may be #2 even though it has lost two--because they're a dynasty. It will come. Saban is here for a while yet and we'll get there. By the way, I think the very very worst thing of all would be to go to the championship game and not win. I'd rather win in the Rose, and let USC lose in the Sugar, than go to the Sugar and lose. Just my opinion, but I think if we're looking long-term that's the best scenario.
Here's a point guys. I think if we win against Ga., we belong in the NC game. Maybe we miss it because of the polls, because of the west coast sports writers bias, or TV ratings. We have to earn the mistique so everyone wants to see LSU vs. No. 1. Face it, we were down in the 90's. Saban came to LSU and spoke of long term building to get the program to a top 10 level year in and year out. If we do that, we will eventually earn our shot, if it doesn't happen this year. If we miss it this year, maybe its part of the building process. Would it be "fair" if we beat Ga. and USC plays for no. 1? No. Nobody ever said the world was particularly fair, and I don't expect it to be. But as Saban said recently, if we had taken care of business against Fla., we would control our own destiny, and we didn't take care of business that day.
Re: Why beating Michigan or FSU might be important There is no shame in playing for the NC and losing the game. Ask the Virginia Tech or Nebraska players from the last few years if they would have traded the chance to play for the NC for another bowl game that they might have won. Ask the Raiders or the Rams the year before if they would rather have lost their conference championship playoffs and not been in the Super Bowl even though they lost. Besides, who says LSU would lose? OU would be favored but the way LSU is playing I believe that they would have at least a 50-50 chance of winning. Oklahoma has a great football team but then so does LSU. Are you saying you would rather not see the Tigers in the Sugar Bowl because they might lose? Do you really believe that losing to OU in the Sugar would be worse than losing to Michigan or Texas? Sure, I love the long term prospects of the Tigers but as I pointed out earlier the Tigers have been lucky this year as far as injuries go. What happens next year if Mauck gets hurt and neither one of the freshman phenoms pan out? In 1984 Dan Marino had the greatest statisical year for a QB in the history of the NFL and led the Dolphins to the Superbowl and lost. People said that Marino would have plenty more chance to win one but the Dolphins never got to another Superbowl. I want to see the Tigers be able to take advantage of the momentum they have built up this season because you never know what might happen in the future.
