Despite losing 24-10 against Alabama, LSU’s optimism for the future was not shaken. The Tigers went toe-to-toe with what some believe to be the best team in the country, and did not seem over-matched by the Crimson Tide.
“We coming,” said LSU coach Ed Orgeron. “We coming. And we ain’t backing down.”
The belief and frustration stems from a strong defensive performance, and the ability to move the ball — especially on the ground — against Alabama’s defense. The Tigers outgained the Tide 306-299 and had multiple opportunities to complete passes downfield, but failed to connect.
“We played a great game,” said LSU defensive back Donte Jackson. “It was really down to about four or five plays that we weren’t dialed in on, and it was really on us. They didn’t do anything spectacular on offense, it was really us.”
The loss shined a light on just how narrow LSU feels the gap is between the two teams.
Sophomore linebacker Devin White and sophomore defensive end Rashard Lawrence both pointed toward the future — one they believe to be very bright.
“It starts with the rest of this year,” Lawrence said. “We got three SEC games, we want to finish this year strong, and we coming. We have got a brotherhood right now that nobody can break. The coaches put us in the right position, and we are just sticking together.”
“We just said we’ll be back,” White said. “Next year is going to be our year. It’ll be our team because we are going to be juniors, and we are just going to have to lead. The way we are leading the team right now, it’s just the start for what’s to come in the future. We know we are going to get the job done, we’ve got big goals and we set the goals before we even came to LSU.”
The two sophomores have been two of LSU’s best defensive players all season long. White leads the team and the Southeastern Conference with 89 tackles and also has three sacks.
The performance of White is a credit to the play of Lawrence and seniors Greg Gilmore and Christian LaCouture. The two seniors have played an enormous amounts of snaps due to LSU’s lack of depth up front.
“Coach O told me to trust the process a long time ago after the Troy loss,” White said. “We’ve got some guys that can’t play right now — transfers, recruits, Tyler Shelvin, Fehoko. We’ve got some guys who are coming in and they’re going to be ready to play and we’ll be even better next year.”
One of the players who will be expected to come in and play is freshman quarterback Myles Brennan. Orgeron put him in the game at the end of the fourth quarter, allowing the freshman quarterback to gain experience against an SEC defense.
Brennan finished the game 3-of-5 passing for 18 yards, but was sacked twice.
Orgeron said that Brennan looked good in situations and made good decisions, but was not ready to proclaim Brennan next year’s starter or even if Brennan will see more playing time in the next three games.
“Myles is going to have a chance to be our quarterback,” Orgeron said, “I don’t know if he is going to be our quarterback next year, but he has to get some experience.”
“What we are doing over here is special with Coach O,” Lawrence said. “Y’all saw that [on Saturday]. We fought for 60 minutes, didn’t get the W, but we will be back.”

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Whitney Williston

LSU freshman freshman quarterback Myles Brennan (15) runs with the ball during the Tigers' 10-24 loss to the University of Alabama on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017, in Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa.