LSU came up two games short of the national title last season, making a powerful run through Omaha only to be stymied by conference rival, Florida. The most frustrating part of coming that close and losing is not just that we lost to the friggin’ Gators of all people, but that the team lost more than its fair share of talent to graduation and the draft.
That’s the way it goes. Paul Mainieri was building the program to a crescendo that resulted in a legit national title contender last season, and it will take some time to replace the core of that team.