Mandatory Credit: John Reed-US PRESSWIRE
What happened to the LSU Tigers on Saturday is a perfect example of losing even though you won. The Tigers managed to hang on against unranked Auburn, but College Football poll voters get rubbed the wrong way when that phrase is used in regards to a highly ranked team and an unranked, one-win opponent.
But that’s exactly what happened to the Tigers, who used a safety and a Michael Ford touchdown early to secure their fourth win of the season, but no matter the outcome in the win column, the Tigers are going to get blasted in the Top 25.
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|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
F |
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#2 LSU |
9Â |
0Â |
3Â |
0Â |
12 |
|
 Auburn |
7 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
Auburn came into the game with just one win and was pounced all over by Clemson in the season opener. What this shows voters, is that the Tigers of LSU clearly aren’t better than the Tigers of Clemson. Even if LSU would win a head-to-head, the fact they were put on the ropes by Auburn is not going to help them stay at No. 2 in the polls.
As for the game itself, outside of the running game, not a lot was happening for LSU. Tre Mason got trapped in his own endzone which accounted for the first two points for the Tigers, and it would be those two points that ended up being the difference in the end. Tyler Mettenberger threw for just 169 yards and no touchdowns, but he was efficient enough to stay out of the turnover column, another factor that ended up helping the Tigers.
But there were other areas that LSU failed in, such as failing to take advantage of, at the time, what looked like a terrible call by Auburn to run a draw on 3rd-and-12 which forced them to punt. LSU marched down the field but missed a field goal which would have forced Auburn to score a touchdown with under 0:55 seconds left.
The fact that they played tight football when they needed to is cute, but then again Auburn isn’t a title contender and frankly, they’re not that good. LSU made Auburn look a lot better than they really are on Saturday and that’s something that is going to likely cripple their title hopes. No the Tigers didn’t lose in the traditional sense, but they aren’t going to be the No. 2 team in the country come Sunday, and that’s the real loss in this one.
