Was anyone else baffled by the rankings of all the different polls? Oh well, I guess we'll just have to prove we're #1 on the field. :lsug:
That post kind of reminds me of what Saban said about how the young guys had a NC come to easy for them and he was afraid that they would just expect another one this season. For a lot of the younger LSU fans that haven't been waiting 25, 35, 45 years, it may have come too easy too. My son thinks a NC is now a birthright for the Fightin Tigers.
Top 5 is great for me and completely fair IMO. We have a new QB, lost two defensive lineman to the NFL, lost a QB and 2 WRs to the NFL and two offensive lineman. Not to mention Jack Hunt was the glue in our secondary last year and he is no longer around. We have some questions on this team and we will be battling complacency all year. The Bullseye is on our chest and we have to show we can stay on top.
Exactly. Also, Eric Alexander, Randall Gay (one of Saban's favorites), Adrian Mayes, and Donnie Jones all contributed. As mentioned, the bullseye factor and tough road games make things especially tough. I think Saban can win another NC but that mountain will be a whole lot steeper this year. Clayton is a top 5 Tiger of all time. Lavalais is a top 5 DL Tiger. Hill & Devery were 2nd round picks in the NFL. Mauck had all of the intangible needed at QB. Peterman was one of the best OG's in the country and Reed had been playing forever on the line. I realize we've had some stellar recruiting classes the last few years but we lost an awful lot. IMO, the only reason we're ranked so high is because everyone realizes what a great coach Saban is.
Consensus top-5 is bad? And that after losing our QB and playing three road games against highly-ranked teams? I guess you had to sit through 6 straight losing seasons under Archer/Hallman to appreciate just how good these Tigers are. Top-5 is as good as it gets in the pre-season. USC and Oklahoma have more "rep" points than LSU. OK, Georgia is kind of overrated, but they ain't no slouches and it will be very difficult to beat a top-10 team four times in a row.
If we finished the season ranked the way we started it I would be real happy but maybe that's just me
the top 5 doesnt bother me.. what bothers me is a) USC being number 1... and b) we handed the other two in front of us their asses last year... the media refuses to accept that we have reloaded and are probably better than last year.. we are being ranked by our schedule.. when we should be #1 until someone beats us.
There is only one reason for that ... those teams return a proven QB, we don't. If Mauck would be returning, we would be 2 in the AP and possibly 1 in the Coaches poll.