LSU lost points to downfalls of defense
Anger, disgust, embarrassment and apathy – this was the gamut of feelings that ran through me after watching LSU’s 27-24 loss to Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss. Then out of nowhere it hit me – “Third and Chavis!” It stuck in my head like that ridiculous song “What does the fox say?” “Third and Chavis!” This was what my old buddy Cris Perkins, who is a huge Tennessee Volunteers fan, used to say about LSU’s defensive coordinator John “Chief” Chavis. Chavis was the long-time defensive coordinator at Tennessee before coming to LSU. His Volunteer defenses were always very good statistically and had many great players go on to the National Football League. However, his Vols defenses had a propensity to give up big plays and allow first downs on thirdand-long situations. In layman’s terms, they couldn’t get off the field on third down. The colors and venues may have changed, but the situation remains the same.
In the last few seasons, LSU’s defense has had major problems getting off the field in third-and-long or even fourth-and-long situations, particularly at the end of games. It didn’t just begin with last season’s heartbreaking loss to Alabama, where the Tide drove down the field in the last minutes of the game to win. It’s been there since Chavis has been in Baton Rouge, albeit that was the most visible moment.
For me, “Third and Chavis” has morphed into the perception that LSU’s defense can’t prevent an opposing offense from driving down the field and scoring to win the game in the final minutes. It happened against Alabama. It happened against Clemson in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl. In that loss, the LSU Tigers defense gave up a first down on 4th-and-16. It happened against Georgia earlier this season, and low and behold it happened against Ole Miss. The frequency of these defense collapses is becoming all too familiar and even more gut wrenching for LSU fans.
It’s one thing to lose to the top-ranked team in the nation on a final minute drive. Alabama is and has been the best program in the country the last few seasons. However, it’s a whole different scenario to lose to an Ole Miss Rebels team that was 3-3 at the time. “It’s about matchups,” Tim Brando frequently says on his national radio show, and it certainly is. For some inexplicable reason LSU’s defense does not match up well against the Rebels’ offense led by quarterback Bo Wallace. That was certainly the case last season when Wallace and the Rebs gouged the Tigers defense, which was then full of NFL players. LSU needed a miraculous punt return by Odell Beckham, Jr. to win that game in Tiger Stadium.
It’s so frustrating for LSU fans, not only to lose to a mediocre Ole Miss team but especially to lose when the Tigers had so much to play for, yet seemed to have a laissez faire attitude about the situation. That begins at the top, and head coach Les Miles took some of the blame for the loss.
“Now, [I’m] disappointed with Saturday’s game,” Miles said. “The Ole Miss team, I really felt like the players gave great effort. There’s a number of reasons why we don’t win that game, but in my opinion it’s me. I did not get it across to them. I made the points, I spoke the words, but I need to teach better. I challenge myself that way. It’s hard to admit as the coach of a team that’s best and better that they finished second, and I’m doing that today, and I’m going to tell my team the exact same thing, that in fact I’ve got to do a better job. I’ve got to get their attention.”
Miles certainly does need to get his players’ attention. We all knew this team was young and inexperienced as a whole. No one, not even ESPN’s Desmond Howard, who picked LSU to win the national championship, could’ve expected the Tigers to go through the gauntlet of the 2013 schedule unscathed. That being said, I do believe it’s not too much to expect the Tigers to come to play every game day with fire, passion, desire, heart and great effort. I don’t think we’ve seen that on a weekly basis from this LSU team, and even Miles commented about that.
“One thing about this program and the teams that I’ve been fortunate to represent, they have all had great confidence and swagger, and they go out and they play within the scheme, within the play that’s called with great confidence and with great ability,” Miles said. “That’s all they needed to do. If they would have done that on Saturday, we’d all be very fortunate.”
As bad as the loss to Ole Miss was, LSU still has a lot left to play for and hope is not lost. Besides, the way the Southeastern Conference teams have been beating or “cannibalizing” each other this season who knows what can happen. Alabama certainly looks like it is headed back to that SEC title game and possibly the Tide’s third straight National Championship, but that is certainly not a Bama birth right. Just don’t tell that to Tide fans.
Can the Tigers get their swagger back and get back to playing tough, hard-nosed LSU football? Sure they can, as long as it doesn’t come down to a “Third and Chavis!”
Charlie Cavell may be reached at [email protected].
