In reality, the No. 22 LSU football team’s 31-28 loss to Notre Dame in the Music City Bowl means nothing but one less trophy in the football headquarters on Skip Bertman Drive.
But sports fans don’t live in reality.
Every game matters to a sports fan for any reason from money to love of the school or bragging rights. But a bowl game is meaningless unless it’s for whatever we call the new ugly College Football Playoff trophy, and today is no different.
The message boards are already ablaze, calling for the firing of Les Miles for running the fake field goal just before the half, the firing of defensive coordinator John Chavis for his defense allegedly “constantly allowing late game-winning drives,” the benching of quarterback Anthony Jennings for leading the inept passing game and the firing of offensive coordinator Cam Cameron for his inability to develop a consistent passing game.
But what those fans are missing is what freshman running back Leonard Fournette proved against the Irish.
Through the season’s first six games, some considered the former-No. 1 recruit a bust of Russell Shepard proportions. He did show signs of the “Buga” that Tiger fans expected against New Mexico State. No offense to the Aggies, but they aren’t exactly the 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers.
Fournette flashed his skills as he spun and danced LSU to victory in the Swamp, essentially putting a fork in Florida coach Will Muschamp’s career in Gainesville.
But during the next three weeks, the St. Augustine alum averaged only 77 yards per game and once again had some fans questioning his talents.
Fournette disappeared the following week against Arkansas with only five carries for six yards. In a game in which LSU’s offense could never find its footing, it was inexplicable to give the freshman so few carries, but that’s a moot point.
But in the regular-season finale against Texas A&M, Fournette was back. He plowed through a real defense (again, sorry New Mexico State) and set a career-high in rushing yards with 146 and a touchdown, not to mention his highlight-reel run over a Texas A&M safety that brought comparisons to former Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker.
The hype train hit top speed, charged its way to Nashville, Tennessee, and didn’t stop rolling.
The New Orleans native looked like a grown man among boys, which the commentators pointed out countless times. Every time he touched the ball, he looked like he was going to score.
He took a kickoff back 100 yards, scampered his way to an eight-yard score and set a Music City Bowl record with an 89-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
But the bad news for LSU fans is Fournette’s Herculean effort wasn’t enough to carry the Tigers to a victory.
Earlier this week, I wrote that whether LSU won or lost we would see the type of team the Tigers can be in 2015. But now the result has been decided, one major question mark still remains going into what could be a special season in Baton Rouge — where will LSU find a passing game to take the pressure off of its star running back?
Jennings did nothing to quiet the doubters in the game. Junior Brad Kragthorpe was more efficient than Jennings, appearing to find the end zone on his one carry despite being ruled down just short of the goal line. Freshman Brandon Harris was invisible, even on the sidelines.
Somewhere, somehow. LSU needs to find a quarterback to complement Fournette. If so, the last stop on Fournette’s hype train will be at the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York.