An LSU football prediction ... for 2043

      Joe Burrow reminds me of Steve Spurrier, and vice versa. And I have a prediction that will be a common bond concerning the Heisman Trophy.

Steve Spurrier (left) was one of the Heisman Trophy winners standing
behind Joe Burrow when the LSU QB accepted his award in December 2019.

     (You will have to read to the bottom of this blog to see the prediction.)
     Maybe even Spurrier -- never bashful -- would laugh at the quarterback comparison. Yes, both are Heisman Trophy winners (Spurrier 1966, Burrow 2019), but in complete different eras of football. Spurrier loved the passing game even in 1964-66 as Florida's starting QB, but in that era, the passing game was so limited.
     He was a good enough passer -- and a leader, and kicker -- to be a first-round NFL Draft pick. Burrow likely will be the first player to be selected in the 2020 NFL Draft. 
      Spurrier is partisan still to the Gators he coached into a national power for 12 years and also to  South Carolina, where he coached for 10 1/2 years. But we have to believe that he loved this LSU passing game and its quarterback (even if he was rooting for Florida on October 12 (Tigers 42, Gators 28).
     This is what I believe is the main common bond for Spurrier and Burrow: Both are total winners. 
     They both have national-championship credentials -- Spurrier in 1996 as The Old Ball Coach, director/designer of Florida's sensational passing game; Burrow in 2019 as the leader of LSU's best-in-history offense.
     Both honest, maybe too much so for some people. Brash -- Spurrier with his words, his biting "fun"; Burrow with his actions -- waving bye-bye to Texas fans, his "show the money" gestures, his pointing-to-the-ring-finger display Monday night.
     Spurrier, in his Florida association, was as much of a nemesis for LSU as Nick Saban has been as Alabama coach.
      Steve Superior, as the Gators' QB, was 3-0 vs. LSU in 1964-65-66. As Florida head coach (1990-2001), he was 11-1 vs. LSU, and most of those games were not close.
     LSU's only victory was in 1997 -- 28-21 -- when Florida was the defending national champion and ranked No. 1 again, and after that upset, LSU running back Kevin Faulk was on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
     But Spurrier this week was on LSU's side.
     He told 247Sports, prior to the national-championship game: "... They [LSU and Clemson] both know how to win. They aren't going to beat themselves. Both teams have excellent quarterbacks. As an SEC guy, I have to sort of pull for LSU.
     "Joe Burrow -- I got to know him a little bit during high school when he came up there. He's a wonderful young man and has a good family. ... It's really going to be an interesting game to watch."
     And it was.
---
     Burrow, barring a trade, appears headed to the Cincinnati Bengals as the first pick in the NFL Draft. Good luck to him.
      No guarantee that he will be a great NFL player, a star, anywhere close to the magnitude of his 2019 LSU performance. 
      Look at the list of Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks starting in the 1960s, and it is a history lesson. 
      Terry Baker (Oregon State, 1962) was the first; Burrow is the 32nd.
      Baker was the first pick in the '63 NFL Draft, by the Los Angeles Rams, and lasted three years -- basically "a bust" -- before he was off to play in Canada.
       Only two Heisman Trophy QBs in the last six decades (Roger Staubach, Jim Plunkett) led Super Bowl winners, only one (Staubach) is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, only one other (Cam Newton) has played in the Super Bowl.
      Evaluate the group and you find some starters who had nice seasons, some that faded away, some were busts (hey, Johnny Manziel) and some that never had a chance or even tried. 
      We'll see about the five Heisman QBs before Burrow -- Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield, Lamar Jackson (this season's NFL MVP, playoff flop last weekend), Marcus Mariota, Jameis Winston. 
       I will make no prediction on Burrow's NFL future -- no "rocket" arm, just a darned accurate one -- except I would not underestimate him. His command of the game, his incentive and leadership will carry him a long way.
      But remember, he's going to the Bengals. They are not the Bayou Bengals.

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     Speaking of predictions, how about this one from our friend Paul Finebaum (Shreveport Journal sports-news writer, 1978-79) and now well-known SEC Network pundit (and, many think, Alabama booster) on Tuesday, November 19:
      "This will be LSU's last week at No. 1."
      Yes, we took note of that.
      Well, Paul was right ... for a couple of weeks and not entirely. LSU did drop behind Ohio State in the College Football Playoff rankings after that week -- after Ohio State beat Penn State -- but never fell from No. 1 in The Associated Press poll. 
     And, after the conference championship games, Paul was wrong. LSU went back to No. 1 in every poll/ranking ... and stayed. So Paul, on this, is wrong forever.
     It's his job -- analysis, predictions, interviews -- and be outspoken, keep viewers interested and  watching, keep them talking with and about him. So let's give him a break. 
     As my wife always reminds me, throw enough predictions out there, and some might even stick. 
---
     So, back to Spurrier and Burrow, here is my prediction: 
Someday, as Spurrier did at Florida, Burrow will return to LSU as the head football coach. 
     He has the football genes (his father coached for decades), he has the football smarts, he might even play for 10 years in the NFL (Spurrier did, mostly as a backup QB to John Brodie with the 49ers), and then he can go into coaching.
    Like Spurrier as the folk hero returning to his alma mater, Burrow will return to LSU and Louisiana, where he is now a forever legend. 
      It took Spurrier 24 years (1966 to '90) between Heisman Trophy QB to Gators' head coach, so project Burrow at LSU in 2043. Not many of us will be around to see my prediction come true. ... (Throw enough out there and some will stick.)
       So, in 2043, when someone comes across this blog when Joe Burrow is named LSU head football coach, let our kids and grandkids know we got this one right. Thank you.

"A team for the ages" indeed

    Here is one perspective: LSU football is not Alabama football, but this "perfect" national-championship season was a helluva imitation.
     It matches 1958 as an undefeated, untied, No. 1-ranked season, the only two in LSU history. Alabama has had -- count 'em -- seven of those, nine perfect seasons overall and 12 national titles of some sort.
     Alabama, it seems, does this all the time (and don't we get tired of it?).
     It was not until November 9, when these Tigers finally slayed the Alabama dragon after eight long years (and nine consecutive losses), that I thought LSU could win this national championship.
       Until then, I was a bit of a skeptic. Too many so-so to subpar defensive performances -- too many misreads, too many missed tackles, too many big breakdowns.
       Looks foolish now to have underestimated this LSU team. 
       But now, after this fantastic season, this fantastic team and, yes, this fantastic quarterback, those of us who have been longtime LSU fans can relish it.
      Storybook. These Tigers met every challenge. When they faced adversity -- and that wasn't often, or for very long -- they overcame it. 
      They actually trailed in six of the 15 games, three times in one game (Auburn) and by 10 points against Clemson.
      LSU fans know this refrain: 1958 ... 2003 ... 2007 ... 2019 ... and next year. That's football national-championship gold.
      Think most of us agree: Joe Burrow had the greatest season any LSU player -- and any major-college quarterback -- has ever had.
     And I believe even Billy Cannon would have conceded that  "Burreaux" now will be considered LSU's greatest player.
      When Coach Ed Orgeron -- a great story himself -- says this is "a team for the ages," he'll get no argument here.
      We'll see where LSU football goes from here, but we don't expect to see this type season/team in our lifetimes again. Too much to expect.
      But did you expect this 15-0 season? Did I? Heck, no. Knew the Tigers were experienced, had great depth at a lot of positions, had potential big-time talent, and the usual challenging schedule. 
         How good would Burrow be this year? His receivers? Did they have a real No. 1 running back or would it be by committee? Were they really serious about a fulltime commitment to a spread offense? Would they stick to it?
Would the offensive line be much improved over its inconsistent 2018 play? Defensive front looked potentially tough, except what about that huge hole left at inside linebacker with Devin White gone to the NFL? Was true freshman cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. really that good, and with that, would the secondary be as talented as advertised?
      And ... and ... could these Tigers finally beat Alabama?
      Think we have our answers.
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     Orgeron, in recent interviews, said he thought the Tigers could win the national championship after they turned a third-and-17 play, trying to protect a 37-31 lead on Texas, into Burrow's 61-yard TD pass to Justin Jefferson with 2 1/2 minutes to play. Burrow, typically, slid left to avoid the Longhorns' pass rush and found Jefferson wide open.
      Glad Orgeron was so confident after that. I wasn't.
      Great and explosive as the Tigers were offensively, they wallowed through the first halves against Northwestern State and Utah State and Missisippi State. 
      And the defense was just awful at times against Vanderbilt and even worse against Ole Miss, with QB John Ryes Plumlee running wild and scoring on runs of 46, 60 and 35 yards -- some completely untouched -- and for 212 yards overall, part of the Rebels' 614 yards (402 rushing).
     As I posted on Facebook, the linebackers (especially Patrick Queen, Jacob Phillips and Jacoby Stevens) and, surprisingly, safety Grant Delpit were misreading plays badly, caught out of position, and when in position, missing tackles. So un-LSU defense-like. Distressing. Not national-title caliber ... at all.     
    But, but, but ... in two of the biggest tests, Auburn and Florida, that defense made the plays when needed. Against Auburn, lots went wrong for LSU in the first 10 minutes and yet, our Tigers hung in, kept their poise and took control. Same for the Florida challenge after the Gators went up 28-21 in the third quarter. LSU, given a break or two, scored the game's last 21 points.
     And after the Ole Miss defensive debacle, the Alabama showdown and a wild runaway first half, a two-touchdown final minute for LSU and a shocking 33-13 lead. 
     Sure, the Tide helped out with huge turnovers -- Tua's all-alone fumble and a foolish pass intercepted -- and Bama's defense wasn't what we've seen for years. 
      When Bama, as expected, began its comeback and Stingley, on a rare bad day, was burned by the Tide's excellent receivers, LSU's offense proved -- again -- how potent it was and how its receivers were better even than Bama's. So was the QB.
      With that victory, even I could see the end of the national-championship road.
      The last four games were potential challenges met in  resounding and convincing manner. Must admit that the Texas A&M game meant a lot. After that seven-overtime joke a year ago -- that one stuck in our minds almost every day since -- it was especially gratifying that the Aggies were completely dismantled.
      But to beat two great programs always -- Georgia (SEC Championship Game) and Oklahoma (CFP semifinals, Peach Bowl) -- in one-sided games and to outlast a Clemson program that had won 29 games in a row, meant quite a finish. You knew that last step would be a difficult one -- Clemson was talented, well-coached and prepared -- and it was.
      It was LSU's time, and Joe Burrow had the magic touch that turned a potentially very good team into a great one.
       Two other factors: (1) the offensive line, so sporadic in the previous two seasons, was tough enough and consistent; (2) great a passer as Burrow was, it was his pocket presence -- his ability to sidestep the pass rush and pick his spots to run the ball (and he's a deceptively fast and adept runner) --  that kept LSU's offense moving. 
     And that defense? Yes, it gave up some big plays and was burned occasionally. But the last four games, the tackling was solid and those linebackers -- especially Queen against Clemson when, on one play, he had a touchdown-saving tackle -- and Delpit played up to their capabilities.
      Because it wasn't what we have come to expect from LSU defenses over the decades, you could say that this wasn't a perfect LSU team. But what the heck does that matter now? It was a perfectly fine season.
      And whatever the future brings -- with the famous Casablanca line in mind -- we can say this: LSU will always have 2019.
      (Next blog piece: Joe Burrow, a prediction)