As the remnants of Tropical Depression Isaac stubbornly creep away from the Louisiana skies, the sun peaking out from the clouds symbolizes not only an end to the storm at hand, but an end to a long depression of an offseason for the LSU Tigers.
Ever since the clock hit zero last Jan. 9 in New Orleans, the LSU football team, and its dedicated fanbase, has been haunted by the thought of a single, lingering wound: 21-0. For eight long months, that score has served as a constant reminder of LSU's humiliating defeat at hands of the Alabama Crimson Tide for the BCS National Championship.
[caption id="attachment_276" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="LSU coach Les Miles fires up his team before a game against Northwestern State last season"]
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When the Bayou Bengals run out underneath Tiger Stadium's north end zone goalpost to face North Texas on Saturday night, a new season will begin, and that 21-0 score will at last be relegated to the most remote depths of the players' minds (at least until a certain Nick Saban-coached team rolls into Death Valley in November).
LSU was ranked No. 1 for most of the season in 2011. While navigating a difficult schedule that included non-conference heavyweights Oregon and West Virginia, the Tigers executed a season-long blitz of all opposition. They soundly defeated every opponent by at least two touchdowns, with the exception of Alabama, which hosted LSU last November in the "Game of the Century," and fell to the Tigers 9-6 in overtime.
LSU went on to seize the SEC crown and was actually receiving some consideration from the national media for the nod of "best college football team ever," thanks to the impressive resume' built over course of the season. The only obstacle left was to best Alabama again in a rematch for all the marbles, this time in the ever-familiar Superdome, and then the ultimate dream season would come to complete fruition.
But unfortunately for LSU, football does not follow a script. The group of players wearing purple and gold in New Orleans looked astonishingly different than the team that looked so impressive in the first 13 games. Sure, much of the credit is to be given to the Tide, who dominated every phase of the game, but the Tigers appeared to lack the intensity that propelled them throughout the season. The result was an abomination of a performance that has left a sour taste in the mouths of both players and fans for the past eight months in bayou country.
But there is always light at the end of the tunnel, and in 2012, the LSU locomotive emerges from the shadows roaring with a stockpile of talent. A confident new quarterback in Zach Mettenberger, formidable depth along both lines, and a deep stable of backs and receivers all lend credence to the notion that third-ranked LSU will once again present quite the ominous mountain for SEC foes to conquer.
By all accounts, the 2012 version of the Tigers appears to have bested its mental demons, and has moved beyond last January's debacle. A trip to Miami and a return to the National Championship game seems to be the only acceptable outcome to the season, and head coach Les Miles has stated that all eyes on his football team are sharply focused on completing that task.
Only time will tell if the Tigers are, in fact, capable of the feat, but the first test is now on the very doorstep of Tiger Stadium in the form of North Texas. And while they will no doubt be well-prepared and motivated on Saturday night, the visiting Mean Green will play an unenviable role in the therapeutic recovery of a championship level team exorcising eight months of frustration. For the LSU Tigers, at long last, it's game on.
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