Let’s start this column by going back in time. It’s September 30, 2017. Ed Orgeron just put the clamps down on his OC’s gimmicky, motion based offense, and your LSU Tigers just lost to Troy. The fans that didn’t want Coach O are cursing the administration to no end. The fans that wanted him are silently wondering, “What the hell have we gotten ourselves into?”

LSU has come a long way in two years. The 13-0 top ranked Tigers are SEC champs (led by the coach of the year) with a soon to be Heisman trophy winning quarterback. We’ve just witnessed the greatest season for a QB in SEC history. This statement might be bold, or maybe even downright crazy, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Coach O was the right man for the job. Now that I’ve shown my appreciation for the state of the program, let’s look back at the SEC Championship.

LSU won the coin toss, and opted to receive the kickoff in the 2nd half. I only mentioned this because it set the stage for what has recently become a recurring theme – a dominant defensive effort. I felt that Georgia actually had a good offensive gameplan. They knew they’d need explosive plays to stay in the game, and they were aggressive early. The problem was they didn’t execute when the opportunities were there. Dropped passes and errant throws killed the slim chances UGA had to keep the game competitive. LSU held the 4th ranked team in the country to 2.4 yards a carry and a 46% completion percentage. Delpit looks healthy, Shelvin is unblockable, and Stingley is simply not to be played with. The defense is looking better every game, finally looking like an LSU defense, and at the best time possible. Offensively, I think I’ve run out of superlatives to describe the play of Joe Burrow. The combination of accuracy, decision making, toughness, pocket awareness, and elusiveness has made the Heisman ceremony a mere formality. The scary part is LSU beat the brakes off a top 5 team without playing their best game. JaMarr Chase misjudged a ball he comes up with 9 out of 10 times. Terrace Marshall is probably still kicking himself after dropping what should have been an early touchdown. Mistakes notwithstanding, the game was never in doubt.

Now the Tigers are in the CFB Playoffs for the first time, and the games can’t get here soon enough. In the meantime we’ll be inundated with coaching rumors, but that’s what comes with a championship program. As the 1 seed (FINALLY) LSU will play No. 4 Oklahoma. Anything can happen and blah blah blah, but Edwards-Helaire will run for 150+ and LSU will score 50 on Oklahoma. And yeah, I might be a homer, but I’m an accurate homer. The real question is who we get in the finals. I expect Clemson to beat Ohio St., but that will be a much closer matchup. Then it’s LSU/Clemson on 1/13 in the Superdome where Burrow is going to set it off! I’ll stop now, because we have two excruciatingly long weeks to talk playoffs. Until next time, enjoy the hype and individual awards. It’s a great time to be a Tiger!