Thoughts, wide ranging and varying in scope

Last Thursday I noticed two things: the SC defense is stout. and you can run on Ole Miss. Hell between that and a decent defense stopping them cold, they may be a big let down for the Rebels. Either way, it will be fun watching the season play out for these squads. I have no idea which way to pick Auburn and Tennessee. So this will be the learning game for me this week.

I wasn't the only one who called Southern Cal at Washington. What's funny is how all the bloggers had them vastly overrated in the polls. And refused to acknowledge such after their battle of mediocrity in Columbus the previous week. You want to see good prognostication? Forget mainstream media, forget even the bloggers. Go listen to habitual degenerate dirty bettors. Everyone was all over Washington.

To say nothing of how I was after LSU won in Seattle. So yeah, I called Washington being good, giving SC fits and going to a bowl after the first game. I'm sooooooo smart (really I did, in the airport in Seattle). But really, having them at #2 for weeks before their comeuppance was just foolish. Bloggers who style themselves amongst the best were guilty of this mistake. No one's perfect, but it irks me when people place any team up there without thinking one little bit about it.

Which brings me to the hypocrisy of the talk about LSU. Everyone and I mean everyone is and has been talking trash about LSU, questioning how good they are and placing them far far down in their rankings. And that's fine, free speech is free speech and everyone has an opinion. But this just makes the people I mentioned earlier look really stupid. Touting an obviously deficient Southern Cal and trashing LSU reeks of amateurism and shoddy work. As I said, these are bloggers holding themselves out as the elite and they're only making fools of themselves.

LSU, contrary to mass groupthink in the media and blogs, is not as much an unknown as they say. LSU has 3 decent wins and one blemish of a game (which was a win!). Someone over at ATVS summed it up, you can rationalize every game, including State. Moreover, everyone is bitching about #4 LSU. But every team some pundit suggests or ranks there has the same record. Some like Iowa, some Houston, some Boise or TCU. Everyone of those teams has the same type of performances as LSU, or worse. It's just a goofy season like that so far. Outside of UF, UT and Bama, no one is that impressive.

Of course, UGA will tell us much more. But LSU can take it one game at a time, they can be in every game. But that's asking for some improvement. And I think the easiest improvement they can buy is on the defense. But we've gotta get a pass rush out of the front four.

On offense, I think Jordan can come along, but it may take all season. In the meantime, the quick improvement is, again on the line. We've gotta get the straight ahead power running game going. That or change some playcalling. I think LSU could be deadly running a spread and wildcat with Jefferson, Sheppard, Williams and Holliday. That's fodder for an explorative post of another time.

So it kind of comes down to our lines. They improve, LSU can easily attain my 10-2 mark. They don't we're perilously close to 8-4. Either way, as suggested in comments below, these are investments that can come to maturity for us next year. What MUST happen for success now and in the future, is to find the leadership, pride, fight, fire, whatever that LSU had in 2007 and other seasons. It is imperative for leaders to step up and take control of this team. I think we may be seeing that with Jones. Let's keep an eye on it.

I read my Phil Steele's like a good boy in the preseason. I ended up reading about the Pac10 after studying up on Washington. I meant to say it earlier, Stanford is for real. They were my dark horse before the season. They are covering every game and playing solidly so why are they not ranked highly and respected? I will admit I had Cal as my Pac10 favorite and Southern Cal as losing 2 -4 games. This weekend's game will make me look average or brilliant in that respect. But keep an eye on Stanford, they are rolling. They could actually sneak in there, but I'm sure they'll drop a game.

I was watching ESPN News during their college football roundup and you know they have the bottom line running all the time with updates on every sport. They had one little runner for the WNBA saying Diana Taurasi was going to win MVP. I really don't care less about the news. I mention it because they ran a little portrait of her down there. Someone should tell ESPN doing so hurts my eyes and makes it reeeeaaaaal easy to change the channel. Talk about WNBA or other crap all you want, just put pictures of someone else up there. It can be completely unrelated, I don't care. Just no more Diana Taurasi.