The day after Christmas, the stores are all filled once again but, this time by customers returning gifts either in general or in an exchange. Everyone has gotten a gift that was one size too small or something you already owned but, we all still love the idea of getting what we want.
What if that theory applied to College Football, and we could all get another shot at fixing things in the short term or the long term.
This season LSU had a few gifts we wouldn't trade for anything, the breakout by Aaron Anderson, Kyren Lacy's Overtime winner Vs Ole Miss, and the thriller in South Carolina. We got gifts like Caden Durham's emergence, growth from Whit Weeks and Garrett Nussmeier, and a top ten recruiting class that we're all excited for over the next years.
Not all gifts are the best, and these three things are what LSU would exchange in a perfect world.
Returning: The loss to Florida
Exchanging for: SEC Championship berth
When LSU took its second SEC loss to Alabama the craziest part was that LSU still had a realistic path to the College Football Playoff. LSU ended up getting all the help it needed as Alabama lost to Oklahoma, Tennessee lost to Georgia, and Texas A&M lost to Texas which meant that LSU had the strength of schedule advantage over Georgia and could've played Texas for the SEC Championship.
Except, LSU lost a weird game to the Florida Gators which squashed any hopes of making the SEC Championship Game and the College Football Playoff. The game was weird from the star as Sage Ryan and Bradyn Swinson were suspended the first quarter for not meeting team standards while Da'Shawn Womack wasn't allowed to travel with the team.
The game was tied heading into the fourth quarter before LSU allowed Florida to score a touchdown. The Tigers cut the deficit to four points before Florida iced the game on a 55 yard touchdown by Jadan Baugh where Florida picked up 55 of their 116 yards on the game. The loss was ugly and a game LSU shouldn't have lost and in the end it cost them a chance at the College Football Playoff.
Returning: Defensive Backs not recruited by Corey Raymond
Exchanging for: Defensive Backs recruited and developed by Corey Raymond
The best return and exchange we're currently seeing is LSU capitalizing on Corey Raymond being back in Baton Rouge. Whether you want to blame Matt House or Robert Steeples, the LSU Football team quickly slipped from being DBU to being a program that was allowing big play after big play on defense.
Corey Raymond came back to Baton Rouge this season and developed Zy Alexander into a top cornerback and Ashton Stamps into a solid corner. Now we're all excited to see what Corey Raymond can do with players he's recruiting and another offseason to develop them.
We've seen a few defensive back leave for the NFL Draft or to the transfer portal but, that means we get to see Raymond bringing in players that fit his mold. We saw Raymond land the Nation's top cornerback in DJ Pickett and we've now seen the Tigers bring in Corey Raymond product Ja'Keem Jackson and cornerback Mansoor Delane.
Going forward, we're all thrilled to be exchanging underwhelming defensive back play for Corey Raymond's level of development and recruiting.
Returning: Unsure expectations heading into 2024
Exchanging for: Championship expectations in 2025
Heading into the season, it was hard to tell what this year would really be for the LSU Football team. The Tigers were replacing a Heisman Trophy Winner in Jayden Daniels, 2 First Round Wide Receivers, and three defensive tackles drafted into the NFL while changing both coordinators. The Tigers wer starting a first year starter in Garrett Nussmeier while the majority of the defense was recruited by the past regime.
It was clear at points in the season that the staff and players were experiencing growing pains whether it was defensive let downs and miscommunications or the offense's struggles running the ball and scoring in the red zone.
Going into 2025, there's a clear change in mentality and after LSU landed one of the Nation's top transfer classes there's a clear expectation for the 2025 season. The Tigers have loaded up adding the pieces to field a SEC Championship contender and a team hopeful for earning a College Football Playoff bid. Now the coaching staff has to develop the pieces and make everyone fit in the system but, the expectations can't be anything less than contending.
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