I don't think this problem is unique to LSU. Not many college teams have won back-to-back titles. I suspect one of the reasons more college teams don't repeat (or have a great season following an NC) is that it's awfully hard to convince 18-22 y/o college kids that they need to work just as hard the following year. We should have seen it coming when Saban was unhappy with the conditioning of this team back in August. This was a clear sign that the players were full of themselves during the offseason and didn't put in the required work. With all that said, we will still win 9 or 10 games this year!
It's a tough question to answer . . . but I'd assume if we didn't win the NC last year we may not have had so many Jr's jump to the pros, and that would make this team look completely different. Just my opinion. There is no shame in winning 9 or 10 games, in any season.