Sugar and Miracles, 2000-2002 by Scott Rabalais

The last time the Tigers' season ended in Dallas, they broke No. 2 Arkansas' 22-game winning streak with a 14-7 shocker in the 1966 Cotton Bowl, one of the monumental upsets in school history. This time, the Tigers got up early on January 1 and jumped to a 17-7 second-quarter lead on the favored Longhorns. Unlike the Razorbacks in 1966, Texas didn't blink. Randall did his best, throwing for 193 yards and running for 78, most of it on a 76-yard bolt to set up a second-quarter touchdown by Davis. Texas's Roy Williams more than compensated. He had four catches for 142 yards and a touchdown plus a 39-yard scoring run on his only carry that punctuated a 35-20 Texas victory. "As you can see," James said, "there's no shutting that guy down." LSU would shut it down for the season with an 8-5 record, its worst under Saban, and out of the top 25. As 2003 began, contending for a national title didn't seem impossible, but definitely a long way off

I was in attendance 01/01/02. It was a sunrise affair with the roar of Tiger fans heard all over Dallas that morning pre-game. The sky was totally clear without a cloud in it. A prototypical Texas-Dallas-Western morning. It was chilly and sound carried in the empty streets of Dallas that crisp early morning as I made my way ultimately to the breakfast buffett then to Cotton Bowl Stadium which featured the LSU-TEXAS 1963 Cotton Bowl pre-game on the jumbotron that morning. LSU won that 1963 Cotton Bowl vs #3 TEXAS 13-0 with Jerry Stovall as MVP.

Marcus Randall had the game of his career that first half until a TEXAS outside linebacker inflicted a helmut-shot directly to Randal's ankle. The hard-hit knocking him out of bounds on a scramble play late in the first half. The result of the helmut to ankle hit hobbled the sophmore QB and finished him for the day for all practical purposes. Randal's effectiveness as a scrambler to offset TEXAS lightning quick linebackers had been sublimated plus their was no adequate back-up QB for Saban to send in for that game due too Matt Mauck's crippling foot injury sustained at Gainsville, Florida earlier in that season. A season I would argue would have seen a national title run had Mauck remained healthy.

The officiating was horrible. The referees were subtle that morning about the methodology of their cheating however the Longhorns received help and alot of it throughout that January 1.

 

The above quotation was taken from:

THE FIGHTING TIGERS 1993-2008 (Into a New Century of LSU Football)
by Scott Rabalais

 

Yea it was 1/1/03, and I was there too and it was cold as shit, but it did seem like LSU were nuts that day. I'm thinking its because alot didn't sleep the night before, the game started at 10am.

 

We couldn't tackle Roy Williams...

And I think we gave Chris Simms his first win in the 'Cotton Bowl' in his career (including Red River Shootouts)

 

The injury to Marcus Randle's ankle sealed LSU's fate. With a healthy Randle we ran wild on their undersized D. Randal was being compared to Michael Vick that day by the color broadcasters (I have the gamefilm recorded) which was quite a compliment then. I do think Roy Williams would have tightened the game up quite a bit for the Longhorns but I feel certain with a healthy Marcus Randal LSU wins by 14 or near it.

 

My biggest dilemma going in to that game was finding someone to babysit my then 18-month-old first child. Basically, living up here in Dallas, I had no family with whom to deposit a baby; therefore, I didn't go out much at all. But I wasn't going to miss the chance to see my Tigers in person in Big D.

Fortunately, I had a pregnant co-worker whose husband was a partner in a downtown law firm, and as such, was working all day on NYD. I knew she hadn't gone out the night before, and she was happy to get some practice in with a baby. We dropped little Sloane off at 6 a.m. that morning. What a good friend to do that for me...

 

LOL!

 

I take a different view than most, that being young men mature in front of your eyes (on occassion). Randall was having a career day. Possibly I'll post the entire game on youtube for all to examine. He had his moments and this bowlgame was certainly one of them.

LSU ruins players all the time but not out of malice for LSU seems to prefer tha "ah natural" approach to teaching rather than hand holding kids (soft schedules like Ohio State + Alabama do what I call "hand-holding) Notre Dame + USC frequently omit LSU when discussing soft scheduled SEC teams. They actually compliment the Tigers which is rare.

BUT!!!
LSU has ruined quite a few NFL caliber players (or they ruin themselves) D. Byrd, C. Collins, C. Scott, A. Broussard, J. Vincent, J. Jefferson, Honey Badger, Jones (auto wreck), Big Herman Johnson (largest baby ever born in Louisiana),

 

The jet I flew to Houston in almost crashed. My stewardess was in tears for we went from warm New Orleans air/weather to icy cold Houston which is of course tornadic conditions quite often. The jet almost busted up in mid-air and she was crying. It was rough.

 

I don't think Randall was ruined we saw his max potential. He definitely was no Michael Vick. And I also don't believe Jeffereson was NFL caliber by any means. But you are right there has been some that could have been special and it didnt pan out.

My LOL was basically just saying that talking heads like Danielson, Lundquist, Herbstreit, Musberger, etc. are just that...talking heads.