Until I scrolled through Twitter on Sunday night, I honestly didn’t know how strongly people felt about the no-contest match Saturday night at Tiger Stadium.
I wasn’t covering the game, so it’s possible I was living under a rock immediately following the cancellation. That’s not to say I didn’t think people weren’t upset or frustrated about LSU not playing its scheduled opener. It’s only natural to be ticked off about a wasted trip to Baton Rouge — or as some students bravely did, waiting it out for more than three hours to be sent home with no reason to celebrate.
With Texas A&M and Alabama recording impressive wins against ranked opponents, not getting a full picture of how the Tigers looked in week one compared to its divisional counterparts probably felt worrisome.
I can’t be certain, but with all due respect to McNeese State, LSU likely would’ve won that game without stretching itself too thin. Most know the point of opening up with an FCS opponent or some team like it: LSU pays the Cowboys a large sum of money to head east, and the Tigers win convincingly while playing plenty of freshmen.
More importantly, LSU is able to see where it internally stacks up — especially with a new starting quarterback — without risking a loss. As it heads into an early Southeastern Conference showdown against Mississippi State, there is tremendous value to the game from LSU’s perspective.
But Mother Nature kicked the legend of Death Valley to the side and gave it a heaping dose of its own medicine.
As Forest Gump would eloquently say, “It happens … sometimes.” (Actually, an LSU cancellation hasn’t happened since the U.S. was fighting the first World War.)
Even in 2005, following Hurricane Katrina, LSU lucked out and rescheduled its home opener to a simultaneous open date for North Texas. That won’t be the case this year.
I don’t want to belabor why LSU should or should not have tried to squeeze in a game this weekend or in the future. Athletic Director Joe Alleva cited logistics and safety as the main reasons for throwing it out, which may or may not have been a suitable excuse for you. At this point, my opinion on the matter — or anyone else’s — is irrelevant.
What is important now is what’s in front of the Tigers: a game against Mississippi State and senior quarterback and Heisman candidate Dak Prescott.
The Bulldogs probably aren’t who they were last year, during which they climbed all the way to the top of the polls and looked like a strong contender for a playoff spot. But Mississippi State still has plenty of talent on both sides of the ball and will be playing at home to the sounds of repeatedly shaking cowbells. That would be a tall order for anyone, namely Brandon Harris.
Harris not getting a full game of snaps under his belt can’t be understated. You could be understandably concerned about the odds of the sophomore quarterback playing well without having yet completed a pass that gained positive yards this season.
It’s important to remember Harris lit up the scoreboard against New Mexico State in mop-up duty one week but flopped in his first career start at Auburn the next. However Harris would have played against McNeese State may not have been a true indication of how he will fare against the Bulldogs.
I doubt history would have repeated itself because Harris is a year wiser and more physically ready for the SEC. But Saturday’s game against the Cowboys wasn’t Harris’s true test.
That will happen at Mississippi State this weekend, and Mother Nature wouldn’t have changed that.
And if Harris and the Tigers do come away with a victory in Starkville, this whole mess from a very wet weekend will be an afterthought.
James Bewers is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from New Orleans. You can reach him on Twitter @JamesBewers_TDR.