The Seminoles from Florida State teed it up Sunday Nite against the Tigers of LSU in Orlando, Florida, just a hop, skip and jump from the Magic Kingdon but there was no Magic available for the Tigers of LSU. Florida State dominated LSU in the second half scoring 31 unanswered points which turned out to be an embarrassing moment.
The embarrassment extends to the coaching staff and the players who were out coached and out played. The Seminoles were a more physical team than LSU and during several plays pushed LSU players around like they were flies. Coach Kelly acted like he thought the game was a preseason one when early in the game LSU had first and goal from the one yard line and then inside the 5 yard line and decided to go for it on 4th down instead of attempting a field goal. The result was zero points. Did Kelly forget it was LSU's first game of the season that counts?
The only thing we now know about LSU after the first game against a team they played last year is they lost again, this time big time and ugly and by 3 touchdowns; LSU did not play well overall; Their many good running backs (according to sports writers) were not a factor in the game; The offensive and defensive lines have too many questions still to answer; The defensive backs were burned time and time again; The quarterback was again the team's leading rusher (which is not good); The coaching staff did a poor job preparing the team; The team showed no progress from last year's game against the same team.
This writer's predictions for the 2023 season that were made in commentary after LSU completed its 2022 regular season came true after Sunday's game. And so did its commentary a few weeks ago about this season. Sunday's game leaves a lot of questions to be answered especially in light of LSU's schedule which can be described as lighter than last year's schedule. The only team on LSU's schedule that had a winning record in SEC play last year is Alabama. All other SEC opponents on the schedule had a break even or losing record last year in SEC play. LSU had a 6-2 record in SEC play last year. That tells this writer that LSU's 2023 schedule should not be thought of as overbearing.
The question now is how will LSU respond after Sunday's embarrassment and disappointment. Having the potential does not count, results do.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
