The LSU football team went through more ups, downs, peaks and valleys this season than the typical high school kid who travels to Six Flags over Texas and rides the Texas Giant 10 times in a row.
At the beginning of the season, the Tigers were picked by the media to repeat as Southeastern Conference West champs and play for a chance to win a second straight SEC title.
Many publications named several LSU players to numerous “watch lists” and LSU was well represented on All-SEC and All-America teams.
ESPN’s Lee Corso even picked the Tigers to play in the Fiesta Bowl for the national championship.
Things looked grand in Tigerland, and the talk of the town was the season opener against a tough Virginia Tech team, ranked No. 16 in the country.
Anything that could have gone wrong for the Tigers in Blacksburg, Va. went wrong. Domanick Davis’ opening punt return for a touchdown was negated because of a penalty and it went downhill from there.
Turnovers, penalties, blocked kicks and dropped passes allowed Virginia Tech to down LSU 26-8.
No matter how good one instance was for the Tigers, the next seemed determined to end the celebration, no matter how big or small.
LSU soared back up the slope the following four games with a dominant defense and a powerful offense, but questions surrounded the Tigers’ pass attack.
The fans and the media began to criticize Matt Mauck and the Tigers’ passing game, longing for last year when Rohan Davey and Josh Reed entertained the country and rewrote the LSU record books.
But the stiff LSU defense — nicknamed “The James Gang” after linebacker Bradie James and free safety Damien James — dominated every game and held all of its opponents to less than 250 yards of total offense.
But LaBrandon Toefield’s broken arm kept the Tigers from revelling in their victories.
LSU marched into Gainesville with the No. 1-ranked defense in the country and dominated Florida to the tune of 36-7, silencing the many critics who claimed the Tigers were a product of an easy schedule. It was the first LSU win in “The Swamp” since 1988.
But the injury bug hit the Tigers again when Mauck left the game in the fourth quarter with a broken foot, ending his season just as he became comfortable as the leader of the team.
With new starting quarterback Marcus Randall, the Tigers overcame a 14-6 halftime deficit to South Carolina to score 32 unanswered second half points to win 38-14. Randall had stepped up, and all was well.
But the Tigers could not escape the recurring theme of the season. This time, the absence of Damien James stole attention away from the upcoming game at Auburn, and the team was bombarded with questions regarding his whereabouts.
After completely dominating its previous six opponents, LSU was brought back down to Earth. The loss of Mauck and James was difficult for the Tigers to overcome. And Randall’s three first-half interceptions impeded LSU’s ability to compete as the Tigers made the trip to Auburn and were handed a humiliating 31-7 loss.
LSU had two weeks to lament the whipping they received by Auburn and prepare for a Kentucky team thirsty for a win.
In one of the more exciting plays in LSU history, the Tigers scored on a 75-yard “Hail Mary” as time expired to beat Kentucky 33-30. “The Bluegrass Miracle” could not have been written in Hollywood with more dramatics.
Kentucky coach Guy Morriss was doused with water while Wildcat fans surrounded the field preparing the celebration and the downfall of the goal posts. And as Randall rolled to his right to throw, hundreds of Kentucky fans swarmed the field, storming the goal posts trying to pull them from the bluegrass turf.
Not for a few more minutes did they realize that Randall’s pass actually had been completed for a touchdown in one of the most stunning plays in college football.
But LSU slipped off the crest again the next week when the Crimson Tide washed into Tiger Stadium and dismantled the Tigers 31-0 on a cold, windy night.
The thrilling win over Ole Miss on Senior Day kept the Tigers en route of the SEC West title, but the loss of Devery Henderson — a broken arm — was another example of the Tigers’ struggles to maintain their momentum.
The day after Turkey Day was an exaggerated form of the 12-game regular season. LSU and Arkansas played for the SEC West title in Little Rock, and the theme of the season persevered and knocked LSU off track once more. This time, it ended the hopes of a SEC championship.
The Tigers were leading all game, and a clock-depleting drive that culminated in a John Corbello field goal with 40 seconds left put the Tigers up 20-14 and seemed to give LSU the win and the SEC West.
But Arkansas quarterback Matt Jones launched a pass over the head of the LSU secondary and into the hands of Richard Smith for a 50-yard gain. Two plays later, Jones hurled the pigskin to the end zone, barely escaping the waving claws of Tiger defenders and landing in the lap of Decori Birmingham for a 31-yard touchdown and a SEC West title.
That play dashed the championship hopes of the Tigers and awarded them the same feeling they handed Kentucky on Nov. 9.
LSU’s hope of a second-consecutive SEC championship seemed close at times and distant at others. The West title slipped away right before their very eyes, and they were forced to finish the regular season down, way down, in the valley below.