My takeaway from tonight

[FlabLoser]

Actually, this takeaway is from tonight and the other L's this season.

When we have a change for a major momentum shift, the other teams makes the play. When we have a chance to really put the other team on their heals, the other team makes the play.

Exhibit A: End of the 1st half with the lead, we need to either score or run out the clock. Instead we go 3 & out. I question the 3rd & 1 play call but regardless the play was there to be made but Tubby & Russell don't connect and we punt to LSU. And LSU does what winning teams do...score at the end of the 1st half.

Same thing happened at several points in the game. We have a chance to extend the lead or turn the game in our favor, but don't. LSU, probably sensing the same thing, steps up and makes the play.

Exhibit B: OSU game, we block a kick at the end of the 1st half, and have blockers set up to return it for a TD, but OSU still manages to split the blockers and make a tackle.

Exhibit C: @ Auburn, many chances on offense and defense to seal the win at the end of the 4th quarter, but Auburn made every play instead of us.

I don't know what the answer to this is.

2009 - Tyson Lee stopped at the goal line to give LSU a W

2010 - Against Cam Newton's Auburn - We drop a pass at the 5 yard line at the end of the game. If we score a TD there, we win (and Auburn doesn't win the national title)

2011 - Going for comeback win @ Auburn, we drive the length of the field in our 2 minute offense. Then Chris Relf is upended at the 1 yard line on 4th down.

2012 - @ LSU, pretty much the same as tonight. When we have chances to push the lead or have a big momentum swing, Milton fumbles, or LSU makes a play instead of us.

We have enough athletes to compete. We have enough athletes to win an upset now and then, but we don't do that. We don't have the depth that the LSU's have. We have weak spots that the LSU's don't have. Sure part of this is that we just need a few more players. But I think the bigger issue is that at critical times, we just don't make the play.

[Todd4State]

I think our team this year is soft.

[bully99]

That sure is a lot of exhibits for one post. Not sure we can handle any more.

[FlabLoser]

I think our team this year is soft.

Which part of the LSU game was soft? Our front 7 on D kicked their ass. Guess you can say our DBs got bitch slapped on every jump ball.

[Todd4State]

Which part of the LSU game was soft? Our front 7 on D kicked their ass. Guess you can say our DBs got bitch slapped on every jump ball.

The fourth quarter where we quit. I would hardly say our front seven kicked their ass. Chris Jones kicked ass. We did well against the run early, but we also missed a lot of tackles and allowed some big runs in the second half. Our DB's looked God awful. All of them.

[Bothrops]

Our secondary is fluffy pillow soft. But, Lsu and Bama, in particular, have innate characteristics of confidence and superiority when they step on the field. They know they're supposed to win and so the game is already half over in reality. This is the case when we play in big games, except for us, the demons come..and the doubt grows into a mental force that eventually makes itself physically present= the feeling of being a loser. It's like duking it out with a fighter that you just can't beat, no matter what. It feels perfectly natural for LSU and Bama to win big games, for us it doesn't feel natural or even normal. It's extremely hard to change this.

[drunkernhelldawg]

So Tyler makes one bad throw on third down early in the third quarter and I don't think he saw the field again until 3rd and 11 with game gone already. Mullen goes for two after the 1st MSU td. My takeaway is that Mullen is doing too much micromanaging and not enough of something else, like coaching. I mean, was Tyler's long bench time reactive or planned? The team was clicking with him last night. Nothing against Dak, who is amazing, but TR could have had a big game but was basically not given the chance to get it.

[Dawgface]

We have enough athletes to compete. We have enough athletes to win an upset now and then, but we don't do that. We don't have the depth that the LSU's have. We have weak spots that the LSU's don't have. Sure part of this is that we just need a few more players. But I think the bigger issue is that at critical times, we just don't make the play.

Bottom line this year is we don't have enough good athletes in the secondary and we need a couple of more good receivers. Accomplish that, we are in pretty good shape. Probably need a couple of tweaks on the coaching staff too.