I am sure I am preaching to the converted here. But I read on Dandy Don that many people are upset about our recruting this year. First of all. You cannot have a top 10 every year. Sure Texas does but they were in the Holiday bowl the last two years and have yet to win the conference since the God Father of Soul upset Nebraska. So #1 does not make you the best. Also give Saban a break. If we are worried about him leaving LSU fans then we need to chill out and never again do the 1. Boo the team (ole Miss) 2. Bitch and whine if we dont go undefeated 3. Get upset because some 18 year 3 star kid decided to go to Florida with his friend. let him rot there with Zook and a team in a downhill spiral. The Kid plays Offense and we know how Zook has that stellar history of building a fantastic Offense. Its his choice let him reap what he sows. My point is this. We need to come down to reality here people. LSU is a great football team. We need to realize however that we play in the toughest division in the Nation hands down. We will not win every game. And Believe it or not last year was a treat not the norm. It is hard to do what Saban did last year. And lets be honest without the help of our friends Alabama we would have never been there in the first place. Music City bowl here we come. So in short. Next year, this recruiting class. Lets be darn thankful we have what we have. If we dont win the west or SEC next year. lets try not to burn the state down. Saban will make sure we compete year in and year out. But if we keep blasting LSU and Saban for every little slip up or loss of a recruit. I hate to say it but Saban putting a for sale sign in his lawn might happen sooner then we would want. And personally I dont blame him. The guy gave us the best season in a long time. Next year might not be as "fruitful" BUT I tell you what I will stand up and cheer those kids and travel no matter where to do so. Even if we dont have a Top 10 class. Heck I dont ever recall seeing Miami or Florida in the top 10. It does not matter. Texas is a perfect example of winning the recruiting wars and losing the big games. Coaching can take the average player and make them a Josh Reed. If I recall Josh Reed was not even on the Radar when he came out of High School. So everyone settle down. Dont set your house on fire if we lose a few next year. Be dissapointed but suit up and get ready for the next one. We are the team to beat. Everyone knows it. Everyone will be gunning for us now. We still will be one of the best in the SEC. But put your trust into Saban. Give them man a break. Never Boo our team again and act like classy SEC fans and everything will be alright...... Like I said I am speaking to the wrong people but if anyone reads this who is upset because LSU wont be number 1 again this year in recruiting or thinks we should win the SEC every year. I want to win every game as well. But to be in the SEC a winning record and a good bowl game is something to be very very proud of. Sure I want to win the National Championship and will hope I will. But if we dont I will be the loudest one telling the boys and Saban thanks for making Baton Rouge on a Saturday night the greatest show on earth... I think Saban has proven already that the decisions he makes are the right ones. We may be upset if he makes one and it back fires. But that even happened to people like The Bear. I Geaux Tigers.
One other thing. When we think thinks are bad. Look over to Auburn. They have a program that is going to down hill in a runaway bus and they have a Big eared goon driving.... We have it good friends. We are in the top 10 already. There is 117 teams in Div 1. Last year we had the #1 or #2 class depending on who you read. This year a top 15 finish is fantastic. Also another thing to consider we are getting back logged in talent. Think about it. Would you want to come to LSU if you were a RB. You have DD, Toefield who has 2 more years, Addai, Henderson, Vincent coming in just to name a few. Recruits go to winners and teams who think they will start them. We are winner. It is just a fact. That kid went to Florida because he looked at LSU's WR core and said. Hmm I will be a junior before I even get looked at. We have in my opinion one of the best coaches in the SEC. Toss in Coach Fran at Bama and I think these two schools will fight it out year in and year out for the west. Auburn will be hoping for a Weedeater bowl bid. Ole Miss and Miss St playing the spoiler and Arkansas nipping at our heels... The only thing Saban needs to do is mend the fences Dinardo and Hallman burned to a crisp in High Schools in New Orleans and Evangel so we dont lose our in state talent and open up shop. Pretty soon all Saban will have to do is hand out flyers at High Schools. Saban built it. they will come brothers and sisters... Times are good. lets celebrate the victories, forget about the loses and turn to Tiger Stadium in droves to cheer on the greatest program in the Land. With with out a doubt the greatest fans... This is the moment we have waited for. We are on the cusp of it friends. Lets savior it.
Losing commitments is commonplace, especially when you're competing for top athletes. If a commit is from out-of-state, and also still taking visits, he can hardly be called a solid commitment until he faxes in the letter of intent in February. Last year on signing day Spurrier lost 4 commitments, and they were all highly sought after prep stars. So don't worry about losing a commit here and there. As Dandy Don says, it's commonplace, and as LSU will lose some, LSU will gain some too. With the Florida kid (Reggie Lewis), his brother starred at FSU, and he had a visit to Florida scheduled before UF lost Gaffney, Caldwell and Sheppard to the pros. In Lewis' mind, his chance to play at Florida early increased immediately. Lewis didn't want to redshirt, and he wanted to return kicks right away. Also, he's a Florida kid, and he had a change of heart because he wanted to stay in state. Nothing wrong with that. With Shyrone Carey in the fold, and with Clayton and Myers set at the wideouts, Lewis was also smart enough to see his playing time at LSU wasn't coming anytime soon. LSU will finish top 10 in the country in recruiting. It's all you can ask. And with the coaching staff LSU has in place, these players will shine. Geaux Tigers!
I saw the same thing on Dandy Don regarding complaints over the WR from Florida. I don't think the majority of Tiger fans would let something like that bother them. If it would, I just hope they can learn to enjoy life a little more. This past season will keep me smiling until late August. Then it'll be time to start getting nervous about V. Tech.
Auburn program going downhill? Three years ago, if someone had told us we would win the SEC Western Division one year, tie for the title the next year and go to the Peach and Citrus Bowls in the last two years, we would have considered that progress, and that’s what Tommy T. has done. Against our biggest rivals (AL, UGA, and LSU) - he is 6-3. I'm not going to attack LSU, you had a great season last year but its rather haughty to say you will dominate the SEC West when Auburn has won or been co-champs the last two years (this year with a team made up of 80% underclassmen). What makes the statement even more odd is you say you are going to share it with a team that is about to go on probation for a few years. Plus the fact that you discounted another team that beat you last year, and the primary reason they did that will still be at school next year (EM). I think more accurate its going to be Auburn, LSU, and Ole Miss will battle it out, with Arkansas nipping at everyones heals and MSU playing spoiler.
Chuck. I see you can cut and paste the exact quote from your AD . I truly believe Tubby will be the downfall of your program. But that is simply MY opinion. I would not write Bama off so quickly. Need I remind you they smoked Auburn 31-7. To your chargin Bama wont get "spanked" as bad as the Barners want. The reason they dodged the deadly "Lack of Institutional control". Now this is not the place to argue what Bama should or should not get. So let me state the reason I think Auburn is going to hell in a handbasket with Tubby. This is not a slam against Auburn or its fans. Tubby is the kind of coach that is going to pull one of his stunts to get his coaches, players or alumni after him. Then it just goes down hill from there (See Dinardo). He is already starting to act silly. Lets face it his behavior is becoming more and more bizarre. Last year the "Giving the middle finger" to Refs, players whatever.. That is odd. A sign of a stable program is NOT your two coord. tending their resignation. They way he runs his teams has earned him "Most hated coach in the SEC" title beating out Spurrier. And the only reason Spurrier had that is because he kicked everyones butt. If you dont believe me ask some SEC coaches, visit ANY rival board or read espn who said that exact thing. Saban himself said without mentioning names if he could run up the score on one coach he would. Everyone knew who he was talking about. (Although he let us all down when he didn't at the end of the Auburn game this year having DD just run the clock out instead of hitting reed in the endzone for one more) I am glad he didn't after the game. That is why I think he is the best coach in the SEC. Soon recruits are not going to want to play for a coach that has that reputation. At some point Auburn fans are going to get tired of his behavior. I dont think he is a good coach. He lost 4 out of the last 5. Including a bowl game to an ACC TEAM !!! One of them (LSU) in the ugliest fashion you can imagine basically having him and his team show their ass by jumping up and down on our field, Simulating smoking a cigar to LSU fans to insult them and smile. Your florida win was a good one. But every year Florida has a brian fart against a west team. 97 it was us the Bama the next, MSU the next, it was your turn. play them again you lose by 40. (Sort of like we did ) I am not saying LSU will be undefeated for the next 10 years. Nor can I brag about LSU because until the last two years we have not had much to hang our hats on. But I believe that LSU and Auburn are two programs going in opposite directions. Again this is just my opinon and I admit although I have a great deal of respect for Auburn and many of the fans I have met. I cannot stand your coach so my opinion is a bit cloudy. It is just my personal opinion (And the opinion of many outside of the Auburn family) that think Tubby represents all that is wrong with College Football. Again you seem to be a very classy fan. I have met many Auburn fans such as yourself. But if you are blind to the fact. Tubby has made Auburn the most hated program in the SEC you need to read some more. I wish it was not true. I think Auburn has a lot of tradition and respect. But Tubby has tarnished Auburn. With his middle fingers, jumping up and down on 50's, your players fighting French Horn players, running up the score. Those things are coming back to haunt him. Look at LSU this year. The entire state of Louisiana was after Auburn. Why Tubby... Of course this is an LSU board so I am in the majority and again this is just my opinion. Dont take it personally. It is just a game and I am not insulting you or your Auburn Family. Just Tubby.
To address the Ole Miss comment. Ole Miss played their A game and LSU played their D game. If henderson would not have fumbled the ball and one coaching decision different LSU would have won that game. However we didn't and Ole Miss beat us fair and square. Squeeze Ole Miss in between Arkansas and Auburn and we would have won by 28 points. But we lost and that is the bottom line. Ole Miss deserved to win. But I just dont See Ole Miss being a player in the SEC. The once Down west is now becoming as strong as the East. I think Ole Miss gets lost in the shuffle. Plus they sort of fizzled in the end as well as this years creme rose to the top. And if you look at records that would be Bama and LSU. But one year does not make a dynasty I am speaking of last year. For the record I think Auburn will be good. But I think Tubby will hold Auburn back enough to keep you looking up at Bama, LSU, and possibly even Miss. St. (They had a stellar recruiting year) But once again. What do I know. I am just a die hard Tiger Fan who sits in the south End Zone. I am no Nosrtadomus (Or however you spell that)
again TexasTigers - thanks for the honest - nonattacking words. But I guess I am blind to it. I have visited a bunch of SEC boards (all of the nations ones) and really don't see the anti-tubby other than the LSU board. In fact, I see rumors that usually go hand-in-hand with schools that don't want to play a coach anymore (i.e. tubby wants to leave, tubby is cheating when he recruits). Now, as far as some of these things you have mentioned (the middle finger, jumping on the field, etc), just as I'm sure there is media in the great state of LA (and I mean that, I'm from Mandeville - love Louisiana) that will attack the LSU coach if he does something wrong, so will many Alabama writers (especially the UA fans). I use a website that prints every article out of GA, SC, AL, and MS about Auburn and some of these things that you say happened have not been mentioned in the media and I really haven't seen them. To go over a few: 1) you mentioned people getting mad that Tubby doesn't say he wants to stay at AU (in a previous post) - yet I have never seen that. 2) a middle finger at the refs last year?? So I'm not even convinced they happened . . . I would love to rehash the whole jump on the eye and shoving a band guy who just shoved him thing, but I don't want to waste everyone's time (of course I'm sure many think this is a waste of time anyway) - but I'm still not convinced that LSU's hatred of Tubby isn't more based on the fact that there has not been a lot of success at LSU beating him. This is not an attempt at a cheap shot - just something I noticed. I NEVER heard a peep about the cigar thing after the 1999 game . . not until 2 years later was it ever brought up again . .i can't help but think (and many LSU fans in Houston, TX agree with me) that this was blown up to make people take offense to it, when it truly was not done to offend the LSU faithful. As you seem to grasp my personality, if I thought LSU fans and players would be so offended by it, I would have been pissed that my team would do it. As far as players not wanted to play for Tubby - we've already committed the #2 OT out of LA, #4 DE out of LA (those rankings were from Rivals - if they aren't accurate that this whole statement is wrong) - so it can't be that bad. But time will tell, I can assure you that if your predictions come true, Tubby and he loses his ability to recruit and our players behave poorly on and off the field, his time will be short. However, if he continues to product Top 15 recruiting classes and finish above preseason expectations every year he will be around for a while.
We do agree on one thing in a big way. The SEC West is finally starting to catch up with the East. good luck w/the rest of the recruiting season.
Chuck you are right it is just a game and I dont want to think I am insulting you. You are welcome at this board or at my tailgate anytime and I promise I wont mention Tubby. However I must correct this assumption that Tubby owns LSU. His coaching record against LSU is 6-5........... (Ole Miss included). All these are my opinions and like I said. Who the heck am I but some LSU fan. However visit your nearest bama, Ole Miss or Arkansas board for your Tubby attacks. I guess Bama does not count eh ? you could have Mother Theresa coaching Auburn and they will bash her huh !!!!
