For some of these college players, this could potentially be the last time they’ll touch the gridiron. The sound of 100,000 fans screaming, scoring a touchdown and just being able to put the helmet on one more time will one day come to an end.
And with it being the end, a lot of teams and players throw the entire kitchen sink on the field in hopes of giving everything they’ve got one last time.
The LSU Tigers will cap off their regular season by traveling to Oklahoma to play against the Sooners before they head off into bowl season.
Luckily for LSU, it’s guaranteed one more game at the end of the year, entering the game against Oklahoma with a 7-4 record and already securing bowl eligibility.
However, before the Tigers can go bowling, they’ll have one more to take care of in Norman in hopes of finishing the season on a three-game winning streak despite the treacherous collapse they’ve faced starting halfway through the season.
It’s going to be a tough challenge facing off against the No. 8 team in the country, with a talented roster and great coaching, and in combination with LSU’s internal struggles. The Tigers will still have a chance to end the season higher by playing spoiler and throwing a wrench in Oklahoma’s playoff plan.
As big a task as it may seem, especially with its problems on the offensive side of the ball, LSU is no stranger to leaving it all on the line in the final regular-season game of the year and even causing problems for teams with higher aspirations.
Since 2020, LSU has a record of 4-1 in its regular-season finale games. In the 2021 season, it was eerily similar to this year’s season.
Although the 2021 team didn’t have the same hype and college football as a whole was much different than it is now, it was also another disappointing season that can be very forgettable for a lot of LSU fans.
It was announced that head coach Ed Orgeron was going to be fired at the end of the season, the Tigers had a 5-6 record, lost multiple close games and were on the verge of missing a bowl game.
Yet, in the season finale, taking on their rival No. 15 Texas A&M, the Tigers sought the opportunity to somewhat salvage the season by upsetting the Aggies.
And so they did. LSU protected its home turf by upsetting Texas A&M with quarterback Max Johson connecting on a game-winning touchdown to wide receiver Jaray Jenkins with 20 seconds remaining.
A season that was filled with doom and despair was lifted by finishing the year strong and giving fans something to look forward to in the future.
It’s been a common theme for LSU in recent years, excluding the excruciating loss the Tigers suffered the following year against the Aggies, which knocked them out of playoff contention, but aside from that one stumble, LSU has proven that they don’t give up on the season and come to play regardless of the circumstances.
This year it’s no different.
Everybody knows that the season didn’t go the way they wanted, but it’s not about dwelling on the past; it’s about taking advantage of the opportunities that are still guaranteed.
Junior linebacker Whit Weeks has been battling all year, both figuratively and literally. One of the SEC’s best linebackers has been through multiple trials and tribulations that have kept him off the field more than he’s been playing.
It was revealed on Tuesday that Weeks broke his ankle during the game against Ole Miss and even played on it two weeks later during the South Carolina game before getting the results back on an MRI.
The injury has kept him off the field for multiple weeks, but recently he’s been trending in the right direction, even playing a few snaps last week against Western Kentucky. He’s deemed as probable on Thursday’s availability report.
It looked all to be over for Weeks this season, and he could have easily sat out at the end of the season with championship aspirations out the window, but that’s not who he is.
With the chance to play in the final game of the season, Weeks is doing everything he can to be out there with the rest of his teammates.
“Anytime you go out there to play a football game, you’re going out there to win, no matter if your record’s 11-0 or 0-11,” Weeks said. “It doesn’t matter who you are; you’re going out there to compete and to win. Nobody wants to come home losers, so it means a lot for us to go out there and get a victory.”
By no means will it be easy, but LSU has a stingy defense, a lot of playmakers on offense and now the heart and soul of the team is listed as probable; it wouldn’t be crazy for the Tigers to put everything together one last time.
“I’m excited to play a good football team,” Weeks said. “That’s why you come to LSU, is to play top-10 matchups all the time. We’re going on the road at 2:30. It’s a prime-time game. It’s going to be exciting. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
