More Football

So, I was watching the LSU/Alabama game last Saturday, and the commentator kept saying something that really bugged me. Over and over, he kept saying,

"They are not playing like a defending national champion team."

Well, no. They are not the defending national champion team. That team is gone. Many of its starters have graduated. Many of its playmakers are gone pro.

This just bugs me. It's not like pro ball, where you can have basically the same team year after year. There is a high turnover rate in college ball--mostly because ball players don't make a career out of going to college.

Think about it this way, the New York Giants won the Super Bowl. So what if they came back for the 2008 season and

starting left cornerback Aaron Ross
starting right cornerback Corey Webster
starting linebacker Antonio Pierce
starting defensive tackle Fred Robbins
starting safety James Butler
starting running back Brandon Jacobs
starting wide receiver Plaxico Burress

and

starting quarterback Eli Manning

had all left the team? Would anyone expect them to play the same way they did last season? No. Nobody would be asking what is wrong with the Giants. If they lost that many starters, everyone would know what was wrong with them.

Why is it different with college teams? LSU lost 8 senior starters. Not just starters, but playmakers. The backbone of the team. Not only that, but the quarterback who was supposed to be the starter this year was kicked off the team for repeated rule violations. LSU is being led by three men who are basically unknowns--a sophomore who hadn't played in two years, a red shirt freshman, and a true freshman.

And sports analysts are still asking what is wrong with this team. You've got to be kidding me.

Isn't it obvious?

.