In Memory of the 2012 LSU football season: February 1, 2011- January 9, 2012.
By buzz
On January 9, 2012, the LSU football season passed away. The cause of death is unknown at this time. The team will be remembered for their excellent play on the field, even in the face of off the field issues. The 2011-2012 season should be remembered as the greatest regular season in LSU history, but because of a tough 21-0 loss to Alabama in the BCS title game, most of the season is only a distant memory.
This should go down not only as one of the greatest regular seasons in LSU history, but maybe in college football history. How many times has one team defeated the eventual national champ, Rose Bowl/Pac-12 champ, or Orange Bowl/Big East champ? The answer is never. In over 100 plus year of playing the game, this has never happened. LSU defeated eight teams ranked in the top-25 when they played them (Oregon, Mississippi State, West Virginia, Florida, Auburn, Alabama, Arkansas and Georgia). Three of those wins came against teams while they were ranked in the top-three (Oregon, Alabama and Arkansas). Not only did they go undefeated with this impressive schedule, but dominated it. In 12 of LSU’s 13 victories they won by 10 or more points. A feat that eclipsed the 2003 (10), 1936 (9) and 1908 (9) teams.
LSU celebrated it largest margin of victory over rivals Ole Miss, Tennessee and Auburn. The 49 point win over Ole Miss was the largest in the 100 meetings between the two. The 35 point beat down of Auburn was the larges in 66 games, and the 31 point victory over Tennessee was the largest in 32 meetings. Their 32 point win over Georgia was the second largest margin of victory, the top was a 40 point win in 1936. LSU celebrated the third largest margin of victory against Florida (30), which is the largest since the 1971 season (41).
The success of the team on the field was celebrated with rewards off the field. Les Miles won numerous coach of the year awards. Defensive coordinator John Chavis won the Frank Broyles award for top assistance coach/coordinator. Tyrann Mathieu won the Bednarik award for the nation’s best defensive player, and Morris Claiborne won the Jim Thorpe award. Four Tigers were named to the AP All-American team (Mathieu, Claiborne, Brad Wing and Will Blackwell) and 11 Tigers were honored with All-SEC team selections ( Mathieu, Claiborne, Wing, Blackwell, Sam Montgomery, Rueben Randle, Chris Faulk, Drew Alleman, Michael Brockers, Barkevious Mingo and Eric Reid).
The 2011-2012 LSU defense goes down as one of the greatest in the history of LSU. The rankings speak for themselves. LSU finished the season ranked fifth in rushing, eighth in passing and second in scoring and total defense. All of those ranking were better than both the 2003 and 2007 national championship teams. The stellar defensive play made the LSU offenses one of the most efficient in the country.
In ten years when someone asks me about the 2011-2012 season, this is how I will respond: “It is the equivalent of you and your significant other or some friends trying to pick out a restaurant to go to on Saturday night. You want Italian, they don’t. They want seafood, but you’re allergic. Finally, everyone decides on a “Applebee’s” type restaurant. A place that has a variety of food, but nothing great. All you are expecting is a fun environment and a decent meal. Everyone arrives and finds out there is a 20-25 minute wait, but you soon realized that it was been 45 minutes and you still haven’t been seated. Once seated, the manager gives the table free rounds of drinks and a couple of appetizers. You order a combination of steak and shrimp (can’t go wrong with the surf-n-turf). The steak melts in your mouth and is cooked to perfection. It turns out that instead of a eight ounce New York strip, they cooked you a two pound porterhouse, and instead of just four shrimp, they gave you 12. The same happened for everyone at the table. As the check is coming to the table, the manager again appears, but this time to give out complementary deserts because of the confusion seating us earlier.
On the ride home all you can do is talk about how great the meal was. You tweet and Facebook about it, you even join their email list and like their Facebook page. You can’t stop talking about how great the meal and service was. Before you get home, your stomach begins to bubble. As soon as you get home you rush to the bathroom before your anus explodes. Arriving at the toilet, and avoiding having to redo your living room, you sit there for at least three hours, becoming ill from the odor, and eventually faint from exhaustion.
When you snap back you see that it is the next day, and you try to get off the toilet, but your legs are dead, you’re stuck. Luckily, you have your phone, so you call 911. Not wanting them to smell what was in the toilet you flush it…big mistake. It overflows, while you are on it and begins to flow throughout the house. Did I mention the entire house is carpet! EMS finally arrives, and one of them is an ex. Before assisting you they mock and laugh at you and take a few pictures for “your file”.”
That is how I would describe the season. Too graphic? I had over a month to cool down before I came up with a real life scenario to describe the season, just think if I would have done this earlier. Buzz might have been institutionalized. Wow, I am speaking in third person, I need a break…
Okay I’m back. I re-read the first part of the article and I am better know. See what I mean, all we can think about is how the season ended, instead of the overall resume. Here is something else that will make you happy: no more Jordan Jefferson or Jarrett Lee. They are gone… to where, who cares. Filling in for them will be a real quarterback. A guy who hasn’t been rattled from 16 interceptions his freshmen year, or looking to see if you were going to be benched after a bad play. LSU finally has a guy, and the last time that happened they won the national title.
Also the schedule sets up very nice for LSU next year. Assuming the SEC is still a little down next year, LSU’s only difficult road game is at the end of the year against Arkansas. The others are Auburn, Florida, Texas A&M. That leaves eight home game in Tiger Stadium, including a night game against Alabama.
LSU will be ranked preseason number one or two and will have every advantage to avenge the way the 2011-2012 season ended. Just to prepare myself, I did go a buy a pantry full of Imodium just in case…