ONLY 3 TO GEAUX...TOP10 TIGERS OF 2019: FLAWED FREAK-OUT2020 ANALYSIS

I cheated...

Not on my taxes...not on my girlfriend...but on this list.

With the rankings edging closer to the top, spinning senselessly outta control towards the shocker at #1, we only have so many spots left.

Many are wondering how they've only seen two players from the greatest offensive juggernaut of all time on the list thus far, (only Thaddeus and starting center / Team MVP Lloyd Cushenberry).

We understand this was without question the greatest offensive unit in college football history, and outside of the 2014-2019 Golden State Warriors, 2011 / 2015 Barcelona, or any army under George S. Patton's command, Joe Burrow's James Cameron meets Dexter offensive exorcism became the most impressive and unstoppable offensive powerhouse known to mankind...

I write all of that without hyperbole or raging ridiculousness foaming from my mouth...only settled confidence:

If it has to come that way for me, at least this Tiger fan can die happy:

I've done everything to provide for my family, met the most amazing woman on planet earth and get to wake up next to her every single day, I've traveled to different countries, excelled in three different sports, finished 4 novels, nearly had a book published by 19, punched Bob Dylan and was rewarded with a song written about me ("Things Have Changed"), I've scaled the cliffs of Monument Valley in the nude, I even fooled an entire NRA convention audience into thinking Jack Palance was Charlton Heston....and after this season in 2019, as an LSU fan, I could, I would rest easy...but I don't think certain UGA fans would agree.

Despite this offensive Hamlet, two sides of the coin won the 2019 CFP National Championship for LSU...this was never the grinding, heart-stopping defensive warfare we were used to, but 2019's schedule wasn't a shoot em up beatdown annihilation of all who stood in their path either...

There was difficulty, as well as burden: everyone of these players faced titanic adversity, trials, tribulations and a litany of doubting fools, some wearing purple and gold, too.

Many of these guys were misfits who'd been cast asunder as trash...some coaches, teammates, fans and even their own family members weren't expecting their 180 transformation.

Coach Orgeron took a loss to Troy (and screaming fans / media clamoring for his blood) all in stride, developing a championship program and perennial contender-offender at LSU.

Joe Burrow went from 16 touchdown passes to 60, needing only a single off-season.

Chaisson went from an ACL tear to tearing quarterbacks and offensive linemen's heads apart, all the way to the 1st or 2nd Round of the NFL Draft;

Patrick Queen ascended from limited time into a bona fide starting outside linebacker, announcing himself via game-deciding swagger vs Bama and Clemson, positioning himself as the most NFL-ready linebacker in the 2020 NFL Draft...oh yeah, he was a running back only two years ago;

Ja'Marr Chase became the "duh" target after enduring a lukewarm freshman year, 23 catches for 313...aka numbers he nearly coaxed in a single game on 3 different occasions during last campaign.

The inherent magic of LSU circa 2019 will forever rest within the stories...the hijinks, the celebrations, the wild antics of our close knit guys, the people around them who watched this group every day...to Coach Ed Orgeron, Joe Burrow, Steve Ensminger: everyone mattered.

From Racey McMath's long touchdown vs Texas A&M, Derrick Dillon's 4 catches, touchdown and many targets vs Utah State, expert NFL-ready lineman Breiden Fehoko tackling running backs for a loss nearly every appearance on the field, linebacker Damone Clark issuing 55 tackles from the bench (starter vs Texas, Alabama, Auburn, then lost the job to Patrick Queen); linebacker Ray Thornton's fumble recovery vs Alabama and Tua, authoritatively setting the tone for the victorious afternoon and later, a national title; linebacker Micha Baskerville becoming a special teams menace, nearly returning two TDs vs Vandy (an onside kick he returned to the 2 yard line, then blocking a punt, scooping the ball up and scoring a TD)...Baskerville's TD became one of only two special teams TDs on the season (Trey Palmer PR).

What we've seen after going through every defensive, offensive and special teams rep from a variety of angles, multiple sources, a plethora of homegrown (as well as official) statistical data?

This isn't just the G.O.A.T college football team, the debate isn't even close...we know they're the G.O.A.T in NCAA history...their place in history is much more multi-faceted and ultimate than the base societal effects of a successful team....this was elevated life...turning everyone (who came within their orbit) to gold.

When most of these plays went down, we were so caught up in the whirlwind fancy of our rampant offense to stop and remember the great catch or sick spin by Clyde the play before, or Ja'Marr's uncanny defiance of nature when reaching up for a pass....our offense's track meet ethos and hedonistic, Gordon Gekko production will take a decade to really process...but one thing that sticks out so clearly:

Strength and conditioning Coach Tommy Moffitt...

A Bayou Legend at LSU since 2000, Tommy made Orgeron's young men impossible to stop, purely from a mano e mano physical endurance level (let alone the superior scheme, collective athleticism or otherworldly talent in addition to the state of the art conditioning)....Moffitt also enjoyed coaching & winning a national title alongside his own son, TE/DE Aaron Moffitt.

Thanks to Moffitt's drill sergeant mania, LSU's players hulked and stalked opponents' dreams, frightening or disturbing all 15 collegiate blue bloods on the schedule (Ohio State were scared, too);

As a collective, the Tigers mentally drained, frustrated or limited opponents emotionally and, thanks to Moffitt, they wore them down physically: through our WRs' or DBU aerial duels, in the trenches and over the middle of the field:

10 of LSU's 15 contests were over before the 3rd quarter (and only our two games in Alabama came within an onside kick / last second touchdown to save face after LSU dominance);

Our Tigers never trailed in the 4th quarter during any game...our largest deficit will forever remain the most impressive: coming from behind 10 points in the 2nd quarter of the National Championship Game vs Clemson, taking an 11 point lead by halftime.

Additionally, all three phases of our squad never even allowed an opponent the chance to possess the ball with an opportunity to take the lead in the 4th (3rd and 17 vs Texas and Clyde's "play of the season" 3rd and 10 conversion against Bama prevented that scenario)!

As for their placement in an ordered list, based on merit and performance metrics?

Not only was this a trying undertaking to write, research (we went deeeeeep), format and edit, the selection itself became horrorshow.

So, I simply put down the Top 10 based on my own instinct and feel following a weekend where I purely re-watched and ruminated...it all became about one thing more than any:

Pure value.

For Example: Had Andre Anthony or Justin Thomas played 2 out of every 4 snaps and delivered a TFL or big time play every time, chances are they'd be on this list due to their inherent impact upon LSU victories.

Chaisson made the Top 10, valued by lsuodyssey.com as the second highest graded defensive player from the 2019 squad, though his stats are meager offerings of only 6.5 sacks and 12.5 TFL.

Why?

Cause I watched for hours and hours to cut through all the pomp and circumstance in exchange for the truth at the root of our own disbelief...and yet 90% of Chaisson's 6.5 sacks and 12.5 TFLs were amassed during skirmishes vs the seven Top 10 units we defaced:

Screw the official stats...we needed to re-interpret the games themselves, creating our own metrics and steadfast statistical gatherings to illustrate just how good this team was and will forever be.

I needed to know who, why and most importantly how LSU did this....and so do you...

There are those among the Top 10 of 2019 list who belong based on the cementing of their legendary Tigers career with a championship, there are those who belong due to the pedigree they built over 2019 alone, there are those who's preceding prestige had to be overcome in order to establish newfound greatness...but then there's the top 3 of this list.

How do you separate the greatest Tigers of all time, let alone the best from 2019?

How do we possibly say one is more crucial than the other?

With #3...we....you'll see...

Hope you're enjoying the list so far, join us and subscribe for first looks at all the best LSU content....#3, #2 and #1 coming at ya...also...

TIGER DREAMS:

LSU'S 2019 ODYSSEY

COMING THIS SUMMER!

Subscribe at lsuodyssey.com for updates and pre-orders. It will be available on paperback and E-book, this is for the fans, baby....check below 4 a list of more coming content:

By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN

GEAUX TIGERS

Copyright 2020 Uninterrupted Writings Inc LLC

WHAT'S COMING IN THE NEXT WHILE:

- #3 PT.I & II, #2

- TOP 10 DBs FROM DBU

- MAKING & BREAKING: RUSSELL SHEPARD

- DISCOVERY HIGH VS THE WORLD (INTERVIEWS WITH COACH P.J SPRUNK & STARTING SS ZANDER MILTON)