Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
By Hunt Palmer
Football moves at a slower pace than other sports.
A week between games allows the body to recuperate from the dozens of collisions most of the players take every Saturday. Just as important as the physical reset can be the mental rest.
Vanderbilt dealt LSU its second loss on Saturday, putting the Tiger season on the brink. That can shock the system and affect the mood around a team that was flying high and in the nation’s top five just three weeks ago.
“The mood of the team, at first, we were kind of down, but we put that behind us immediately,” said sophomore defensive tackle Ahmad Breaux. “We’re back to the same team, the same positive energy around. I haven’t really seen any downness so far this week, so that’s a good thing.”
Players generally respond quickly. The football facility is an insulated place with plenty on the daily to-do list. Between classes, weight training, meetings, practice and treatment. All the activity can keep the mind moving.
However, social media can turn from a place to unwind to a place to unravel if players pay too much attention.
“It’s just social media,” said redshirt sophomore safety Tamarcus Cooley. “Sometimes I just delete social media. You’ve just got to not pay it any mind. They love you when you’re winning, but when you’re losing, they hate you. That’s how I look at it. We don’t really care what the outsiders think. If you’re not in this building, we don’t really care too much, honestly. We just stick together as a team and prove people wrong.”
For the second consecutive week, the odd makers favor LSU’s opponent. Vanderbilt entered Saturday’s game as about a 2.5-point favorite. No. 3 Texas A&M is favored by that same margin entering Tiger Stadium this weekend.
Cooley called Tuesday’s practice “perfect”, and Breaux echoed the sentiment that progress was made with defensive coordinator Blake Baker’s message.
“Play with energy. Play free. Play aggressive. Play violent,” Breaux said. “That’s what (Baker)’s been saying. (Tuesday), I feel like we took a step forward.”
With LSU’s season on the line every Saturday moving forward, each individual test looms large. Brian Kelly’s teams are 23-2 at home where they’ll take on the surging Aggies.
Despite some negative noise from the outside early in the week, Breaux had a message for the home fans about the home crowd’s impact on game day.
“It helps a lot,” Breaux said “Tiger Stadium, there’s nothing else like it. I feel like we have the best fans in America, and they show it every time we’re at home. So, just letting y’all know, y’all help.”
More LSU Sports
