Shula took bama to 11-2 in 2005. what did he have? oh yeah a senior quarterback and a solid D. did they become a permanent dominant force. no. each year the stars just align in a good or bad way for one program or another. even arkansas, ole miss, or miss st. will each sneak in every 5 years or so when the chips fall right. Saban is a good coach sure but so was Shula in 05 when the stars aligned. Bama will be competitve year in & out now. They'll just replace Auburn. LSU is not going anywhere. Business as usual. we're going to beat saban just as much as he'll beat us. now re: les i wish Saban never left. but since he did, i don't want him back. eff that dude. i like les. we won big with him and we'll continue too. the cards we're just stacked against us this year and les effed up the DC situation and he knows it. he'll fix it & we'll be alright. Louisiana & SE texas talent will keep us in the thick of the sec and the national picture. sabans teams laid plenty of crappy games while he was here. just like every coach, he's nothing special without stellar quarterback leadership we saw it at different times every year he was hear except for 03. the stars don't align every year. you get 1 out of 3 and you are an elite program. lsu is that.
it seems as if you are trying to make yourself believe something. obviously not having a ****ty qb helps.
Not gonna beat around the bush. Just gonna come out and say it: Saban's just winning with Shulas players!!!!!:lol:
I'm not going to use the "Bama's Back" line but I think that we're going to be a force to deal with from now on. Saban's recruiting is paying dividends already with players like Hightower, Ingram, and Jones playing like juniors as true freshmen. This year wasn't a fluke. We will compete for the West and SEC from here on out. Next year, the loss of Caldwell and A. Smith are bigger than the loss of JPW. McElroy is just as good IMO and will be a redshirt junior next year so it isn't like he is a true freshman. I think he will make more big throws than JPW but it will maybe be a trade off for mistakes...but he will be worlds better than JP's FR-JR years. The system will prove that.
I doubt he will. Coffee is a good guy and has really become very spiritual. That may mean nothing and he may go pro, but have you seen Mark Ingram? Also, Upchurch will have the whole offseason to get healthy...and if we can keep Trent Richardson locked up, I'd say our stable of RB's would be fine even if Coffee did bolt.
:geaux::crystal::helmet: LSU will be a force in the west as long as they make a quality hire at DC. Crowton at OC ensures that the Tigers will continue to score plenty of points and be productive on offense. Continuing to recruit high level talent is also an obvious factor which should hopefully continue. This DC position is critical though. If CLM F's this up then the future is possibly not as bright. I'm hoping he'll act decisively soon and get the issue resolved. :geauxtige:champs::LSU231:
You've got to tip your hat to Bama. Being able to go without a loss in the SEC regular season is nothing short of remarkable. The style of football that they play is very conducive to success in the conference...good defense and a power running game. And I like that because I don't want to see the SEC shift toward systems just because the Gators are dominating with one right now. And while they were certainly somewhat opportunistic with the SEC having a bit of a downturn this year, I don't think that lessens the accomplishment. However, as was originally insinuated, the rest of the conference, the division in particular, certainly isn't sitting on it's hands. Nutt obviously has Ole Miss on the right track, and Petrino definitely has the potential to make noise at Arkansas. And who knows what Kiffen will to at Tenn., but they're bound to improve from their current state. And with the emergence of Jefferson and the addition of Sheppard, our QB situation is bound to be better next fall. Assuming we make a solid hire at DC, we'll be back as one of the teams to beat in the SEC. So the competition in the conference is just going to be entirely too thick for any program, including LSU, to dominate year-in and year-out. The premier coaching and talent have never been so widespread as they are now, and that only intensifies the parity. Having such a successful season one year only guarantees that every team you play the following year is going to be gunning for you. And as we have seen, that intangible is much more influential than we would like it to be.
Bama had a good year, when the west had a down year. They're solid, and should remain so. Saban made a big mistake last year hiring Applewhite to be his OC, fired him at the end of the season, made a new hire and he did better this year. Les had a great 3 year run, lost Pelini, made a mistake picking the new DC. Appears he will fix it and try again. Let's hope he gets it right. We mature at QB, and bring in some depth at the position, and we'll improve next year.
its just as much luck as skill. with LSU, Auburn, Arky and UT way down this was a relatively easy year to go undefeated.
