It doesn't help that we have a lead foot at QB. The playcalling is trash. Durham was hurt a few games. They also run a backup QB at RB more often than their best two pure runners, Durham and Berry. Most teams just run Wade Phillips engage 8 defense on us because Nussmeier has a worse football IQ than Jamarcus Russell. And then of course today, the complete ineptitude in stopping rushing QBs that plagued them last year has come back to haunt. It's a 8 win ceiling with team. Brian Kelly is absolutely clueless. If you want a snippet of how bad the playcalling is. Today, second quarter 1 minute and change left, Vanderbilt gets sacked on a 4th and 1 in their own territory. Vandy gets ball to start second half. Score is 14-10. LSU has an opportunity to run some clock, hopefully score a TD, but especially don't give the ball back. And yet, they call a timeout with 51 seconds left after a completed pass to set up this beauty - a 3 man o line in the middle with a TE and a WR, 4 flanked right, to run a middle screen to the TE. With a trash, lead foot QB no less. Nearly intercepted. Clock again stops. 3rd down. All out blitz, nothing but vertical routes. No audible or hot route. Incomplete. FG. 45 seconds for Vandy and they get a FG before half then double up with a touchdown coming out the second half. That's basically your ball game right there.
I genuinely, never in my life, am going to understand the logic and thought process behind punting the football, whether it's college or the NFL, when you are trailing by a touchdown late in the game, don't have all your timeouts, just because you are in your own territory. If these moron, prehistoric thinking coaches ever just thought for one second "hmm, maybe if the other team is happy that I'm punting instead of going for it, then maybe it might not be the right decision." There is no defensible answer for this decision. And yet coaches do it time and time and time and time again, and time and time and time and time again they end up losing the game. The idea of "trusting your defense" in that situation, where they need an immediate 3 and out, and then you still need the offense to drive the entire field with less time and no timeouts, it doesn't compute. Sure someone can muff a punt or whatever, but unless something freak happens it's pretty much ball game every single time. It makes my blood boil that these idiots are so breathtakingly bad at clock management over something my 7 year old can figure out.
Nothing against Garrett Nussmeier, but I'm so glad Brian Kelly and LSU lost. I hope they beat Alabama and lose the rest.
Always liked LSU, cannot stand Brian Kelly. I wish non-catastrophic bad things upon him in perpetuity.
Bryce Underwood is turning the corner. So is Michigan's team. Unless something weird happens, they should win every game before finishing with Ohio State. Whatever happened to them last week, they clearly got it out of their system.
Oh wow! On the final play of the half, Tennessee's QB with the kind of play that makes a team quit. How can such a short pass be thrown so inaccurately? Instead of closing the gap to 16-14, it's 23-7. EDIT: Booger McFarland accurately blaming Josh Heupel for the stupid play call. Why bother faking a run nobody on the perimeter will bite on?
