It wasn’t the result LSU wanted, but the Tigers did fight.
Alabama beat LSU 20-9 on Saturday, keeping their College Football Playoff hopes alive and well.
Let’s jump into it. Here’s our 5 takes.
5 TAKES AS ALABAMA BEATS LSU IN SEC MATCHUP
TAKE ONE: BETTER EFFORT – LSU lost and has a million and 50 problems still yet. And we will talk about a lot of them in this column. But Frank Wilson got the team to play hard. That matters. LSU’s defense flew to the ball, stopped the run, made plays and did well. The offense … well God bless them. They’re bad. But the effort wasn’t the problem tonight. That’s progress. You can win the next 3 playing like you did today.
TAKE TWO: VAN BUREN FOR THE SEASON – Michael Van Buren is your guy the rest of the season. Nussmeier is beyond ineffective and has had more than his share of chances. He’s inaccurate. He does’t value the ball – almost threw another interception in the red zone. And he can’t read the football field, taking way too long at the line of scrimmage and burning timeouts like they’re free. His final sequence was a redzone delay of game, then a timeout to avoid a 2nd-straight delay of game, then spinning straight into a sack on a play that he could have walked for a first down on the right side of the field. Van Buren made mistakes. He was not overly accurate (though drops sold him out). But he can move. And I’m simply just tired of watching No. 18 spin into sacks over and over again and smile about it on the sidelines. The only way Van Buren doesn’t play the rest of the season is if he tells the staff he’s transferring if he’s not redshirting. And if he delivers that ultimatum, you don’t him anyway. The last QB who did that was your current QB.
TAKE THREE: SO BAD ON THE OLINE – The biggest reason why Van Buren is the better option at quarterback is because LSU’s offensive line is in absolute shambles. Every third snap, the LT is moving early. No one on the line can get any sort of a push in the run game. The Tigers have some issues across their roster, but No. 1 for whoever the new head coach will be is to fix the offensive line. You look like Colorado last season up front. And that is not OK.
TAKE FOUR: C’MON TREY’DEZ – It was not the brightest night in the career of tight end Trey’Dez Green. He doesn’t block. That’s not happening. The attempts at outside screens were blown up time and time again because he is not physical enough yet as a blocker to make any sort of impact. But that’s OK if you are a stud pass catcher. Green is that, but he just didn’t have it on Saturday with some key drops. It’s like he wasn’t targeted early and never got into the flow of the game.
TAKE FIVE: DO NOT FALL INTO THE TRAP – LSU now has to avoid the trap. Florida played with some fire and almost upset Georgia last week. They came back Saturday and lost by 100 to Kentucky. LSU has the same trap. You played with Alabama and made it a 4 quarter game. Now you face Arkansas on Saturday. Don’t fall for the trap. They have a running QB. That’s kryptonite. Don’t fall for the trap. If you do, you’re getting embarrassed next week.
TAKE SIX: LSU DOES NOT HAVE ELITE WEAPONS – LSU has had grade-A weapons for what feels like the past decade. Who outside of Trey’Dez Green is a lock early-round NFL Draft pick? No one. The Tigers have a roster full of No. 2 and No. 3 guys but no pure alpha on the outsides. They have to develop one or find one before next season.
TAKE SEVEN: HAROLD PERKINS SHOULD CHASE THE QB, NOT RECEIVERS – LSU has used Harold Perkins so poorly. He had a great game today. He had 9 tackles and was as effective as he’s been all season. But he’s just way too far away from the line of scrimmage way too often. I hear people screaming that he’s an inside linebacker and that’s part of the job. But how about this? DON’T have him at inside linebacker. Micah Parsons is NEVER in coverage on third and 10. He’s taking the quarterback’s head off. There’s way too many obvious pass situations that I see No. 7 chasing a skill guy down the field when that’s just … not what he’s best at.
TAKE EIGHT: IS ESPN’S SEC PRESENTATION … WORSE THAN GARY DANIELSON? – LSU fans have long cussed Gary Danielson, the longtime CBS announcer who … let’s just say was not a fan favorite of anyone in the league. But I think ESPN/ABC’s presentation is worse. You get either Greg McElroy, Jesse Palmer or worse. Dare I say … I miss Brad and Gary? Man, what a bizarro world this is!