It wasn’t pretty, and this assessment of Saturday won’t be, either. LSU dominated Alabama in the box score, but for the 14th time in 16 games, they failed to dominate where it matters most — the scoreboard.
We do it every Sunday, and this may be the most frustrating one of the season so far. Here are two truths and a lie, Alabama-LSU edition.
Truth No. 1 – Vanity metrics don’t matter.
One of the first things I learned in social media was this — vanity metrics don’t matter. Likes, views and impressions are all great. They make us feel warm and fuzzy inside, and they make us feel important. Sadly, they also tend to make us feel more important than we are.
Vanity metrics cloud the numbers that actually matter: the bottom-line metrics. The money. The wins. Those are far more important.
That is exactly how this season is going for LSU right now. They are the box score champs of the SEC. The offensive numbers are great. The defensive numbers are great. But that number next to the win column against top 25 teams still sits at zero. No one cares how great the offense looks between the 20s if they can’t score in the red zone. And no one cares how much they are able to move the ball on the first three downs if they can’t convert on fourth.
It’s cliché, but it’s true. The first nine games have been far more style than substance, and that needs to change.
Truth No. 2 – There’s a difference between trying to win and trying to score the most points.
That may sound dumb, but Nick Saban said it, not me. Hopefully that counts for something.
There is a difference. And that was on display once again on Saturday on a national stage against Alabama.
How many opportunities did LSU have to punt Alabama deep? How many opportunities did Lane Kiffin have to play the long game instead of the short one? How many times did he choose to play it smart? Almost never. Part of that is because I think the idea of playing it “smart” is somehow viewed as playing it safe or playing it conservatively.
There were multiple times in Saturday’s game, particularly in the second half, when Lane Kiffin had the chance to pin Alabama deep and force an offense that had gained just 150 yards through the first 43 minutes to drive the length of the field and score. Instead, he went for it on fourth down. Then, like a gambler trying to dig himself out of a hole to cover his losses, he kept doubling down over and over.
The most inexplicable decision was the one to go for it on his own 25 with all three timeouts and eight minutes left in the game.
There’s a difference in trying to win and trying to score the most points, and that was on display all afternoon on Saturday.
The Lie – Lane Kiffin is a better coach than Kalen DeBoer (right now).
That may sound like a very simplistic statement given the beauty of hindsight. But this needs to be said, and more importantly it needs to be heard for once. Kalen DeBoer is a really good coach. Lane Kiffin is too, but at some point, the national conversation about DeBoer needs to resemble the conversations surrounding Dan Lanning, Steve Sarkisian and Kiffin.
There’s beauty in being the underdog and flying under the radar. Just ask DeBoer. He’s 11-5 as an underdog and just beat his 10th top 25 team in his first 37 games as the head coach at Alabama. By no means should Lane Kiffin make wholesale changes to his personality or approach. After all, you dance with the one that brung ya, as my grandpa used to say. But it does feel like one of the biggest lessons to learn from his first year moving forward for Kiffin is that there’s beauty in simplicity, in flying under the radar and in keeping the focus and attention on the field and only on the field.
Maybe that’s an overreaction, but it feels like it’s necessary as well. The theatrics that have come in season one of the Kiffin era have been incredibly entertaining. The celebrities walking down Victory Hill. The leaked audio of the locker room speeches. The villain role being leaned into so incredibly hard. But what will also be remembered, at least for now, is the possibility of missing the playoff after losing their first three games against ranked opponents, with the distractions overshadowing the results.
