LSU shows rest of SEC West just how wide gap is to Alabama

LSU’s best defensive player had to sit out the first half against Alabama on Saturday night and it appeared the offense stayed with him in support.

Devin White came back in the second half, but it didn’t matter. The Tigers’ offense didn’t matter much, either, as the Crimson Tide rolled to a 29-0 win that produced more yawns and shrugs than anything else.

“There was nothing we could do about it,” Ed Orgeron said later.

Alabama’s win was so dominating there wasn’t even need for the usual coach-speak. What would be the point? Everybody saw the Tide’s dominance.

It also should have shown Orgeron that you have to score points these days to win a championship. Yeah, in football today the defense will win you some games, but offense wins championships.

You have to be good in both areas unless you’re in the Big 12 where you only have to win a key game every year to land in the playoff.

In the SEC West, you’ve got to get past Alabama, who is now No. 1 in the nation in offense and No. 12 in defense.

Nick Saban, like nearly every other great coach in college football history, has shown a willingness to change his thinking as the game has changed. Ten years ago, the Tide won by running the ball and playing great defense.

Now they throw the ball to set up the run and the defense starts the season as a work in progress and gets better every week.

Don’t believe it? Arkansas put up over 400 yards on Alabama. LSU on Saturday night didn’t get half of that.

You get the idea Orgeron wants more offense, but until they change their approach and — maybe more importantly — the perception, that isn’t going to happen because they simply don’t have the offensive personnel.

That comes from years of following the defense-first mindset. It kinda worked for Les Miles until he couldn’t make it work anymore.

Now it’s on Orgeron.

“We weren’t even close to them tonight,” he said after the loss Saturday night.

It did show just how far the gap is between the Tide and the rest of the West. Over the last few years that gap has started getting bigger … much bigger.

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Comparing results against Alabama is folly, at best. Yes, the Razorbacks put up better numbers, but the Tide wasn’t really too worried about their trip to Fayetteville. They were more focused going to Baton Rouge.

“We really wanted to make a statement in this game,” Nick Saban said later. “A lot of people talk about our schedule. What better opportunity is there to make a statement than the circumstance we were in?”

Now the motivation turns to LSU.

Remember, Miles wasn’t fired because he couldn’t beat Alabama. He was fired because he would turn around and lose to Arkansas (6-5 in his time) and Ole Miss (7-4) after losing to the Tide.

There were some other issues, but losses to those two threw Miles’ wagon into the ditch after it was already wobbling.

The Tigers come to Fayetteville this week in the only night game at Razorback Stadium this season against an Arkansas team looking for something to salvage in a season of a few ups, but mostly downs.

Beat LSU would avoid the worst record in Razorback history since 1952. That was at the end of the Otis Douglas era.

Which, of course, was the worst hire in program history until Bret Bielema who is responsible for the situation with the Hogs now. Considering his two coordinators in Fayetteville will be coaching the SEC Championship Game in December, well, it’s pretty easy to see where the problem was the last five years.

Hey, when the gap to Alabama is so wide, you have to find some interesting games where you can find them in the SEC West these days.