At a university where students expand far and wide, LSU football brings fans from all over the world together, particularly its alumni.

As we already know by now, fans are the strongest part of sports, so we talked to some of LSU’s former students about this weekend’s game against Oklahoma.

They talked to the Reveille about where the Tigers went wrong with Vanderbilt – despite their 24-17 win – what players they’re looking forward to seeing on the field this weekend and how the team can improve as they take on Oklahoma.

Lisa Wyatt

Dr. Lisa Wyatt spent two years at Louisiana State University and graduated in 1984 with a degree in dental hygiene. While at LSU, Wyatt was a member of the Alpha Omicron chapter of Alpha Omicron Pi. 

Since graduating, Wyatt has not only continued her practice in dental hygiene but has remained a loyal LSU fan, where she has attended football games and even returned to campus thirty years later as her daughter started as a freshman with the university.

Like hundreds of other people, she feels that LSU has been spoiled over the last four years with Heisman-winning quarterbacks like Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels, with these players giving LSU’s fanbase unreasonable expectations when it comes to quarterbacks.

“They’re horribly spoiled,” Wyatt said. “It’s unheard of to have two back-to-back Heisman winners like that.”

However, she feels that when talking about redshirt junior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier’s struggles, we shouldn’t be talking about head coach Brian Kelly, but instead about LSU’s offensive coordinator, Joe Sloan.

“He came from Louisiana Tech, but he’s not really ready for SEC,” Wyatt said. “He needs a little more something before we put him in SEC territory – he’s not there just yet.”

Wyatt expressed how LSU can’t always run up the middle on its first down and then go for long passing plays on the second down. She made note of how the opposing defensive line quickly becomes aware of those kinds of plays, giving them more room to “murder” LSU’s offense.

She feels that in order to improve, LSU needs to find a new offensive coordinator as soon as possible.

“I think Nussmeier needs to throw more to tight ends and then to wide receivers – if they’re covered,” Wyatt said. “Lacy can’t even breathe, but at least he can catch the ball.”

While Wyatt won’t be attending the game this weekend, she will be cheering on the Tigers from her home this Saturday night and feels that the difference in the score will be a touchdown.

“It’s going to be a touchdown,” she said. “I’m praying that it’s the touchdown difference instead of a point for Oklahoma winning.”

Prediction: LSU 28-21 Oklahoma

Matthew Branch

Matthew Branch earned his degree from Louisiana State University in history with a minor in geology in 2015, and has, of course, been a loyal football fan ever since then.

During his time at LSU, Branch was a member of the BCM and is also a former member of the Painted Posse.

In recognizing LSU’s growth as they took on Vanderbilt, Branch referenced the players-only meeting that was led by Nussmeier, graduate running back Josh Williams and senior linebacker Greg Penn III.

“I really admire that they did that,” Branch said. “Because it’s not very fun to be the bigger person in those types of situations.”

Branch felt that while the team has been dealing with a rather temperate Kelly as of recently, it’s important for them to know that they have each other’s backs and can come together, which is what the meeting accomplished.

With the Oklahoma Sooners rounding the corner of Death Valley this weekend, Branch said that while he has never rooted for a single player, he is at least looking forward to seeing Williams, freshman running back Caden Durham and, most of all, junior tight end Mason Taylor on the field.

“I don’t want to see any extravagant plays,” Branch said. “I just want to see good plays.”

Branch elaborated on this statement and said that he wants to see the Tigers make five- to seven-yard plays – marching their way down the field as they go – while keeping the defense on its toes.

“I just want to see us move smoothly and execute everything well,” he said. “We shouldn’t be trying to go for broke every time.”

While Branch will not be attending the game in Tiger Stadium this weekend, he believes the Tigers will bring home a win by six points.

“I’m proud to be an LSU fan and look forward to watching them anytime I can, regardless if we win or lose.” Branch said.

Prediction: LSU 27-21 Oklahoma

Laramey Howard

Laramney Howard graduated from LSU in May of 2013 with a degree in sports administration. 

Growing up only 20 minutes away from Baton Rouge, Howard feels that he truly grew up with LSU long before he was a student.

“I’ve been to more games this year than I have since I was in college,” Howard said. “I had a scholarship so I worked with the athletic department.”

In addition to his employment with LSU’s athletic department, Howard was also an active member of the BCM, where he played the drums and found a community in tailgating – a community that he still finds himself in an active group chat with years later.

Howard attended the Vanderbilt game this past weekend and made note of how it wasn’t as crowded upon arriving compared to previous games.

“When we got there, there was nobody there,” he said. “We parked closer than we parked all season.”

He felt that since fans have been aggravated over the last three weeks and LSU lost its playoff contingency, it made sense for there to be a lack of turnout for the Vanderbilt game. However, his expectations were refuted as 102,086 fans were in attendance that night.

Howard expressed that even though the Tigers triumphed over the Commodores, Kelly and his team should’ve been more prepared for a mobile quarterback – something that they would face against Vanderbilt.

“They struggle to pass the ball,” Howard said. “But they run the ball really well.”

After the Commodores managed to score a touchdown within the first few minutes of the game, Howard said that the people around could feel how burnt out the team was and felt like LSU had a greater chance of losing than winning.

Howard claims that he understands that as a fan he knows he can’t get hung up on back-to-back losses and feels that if the team wants to improve anytime soon, the players can’t hyperfixate on those either because it can affect how they play and communicate, not only with one another but with their coach as well.

With that being said, Howard feels that the Tigers will come out on top by at least a touchdown against the Oklahoma Sooners.

“We’re playing for pride,” he said. “And if they play like they did against Vanderbilt, then I think we’ll see a similar result.”

Prediction: LSU 27-17 Oklahoma