MULE’: Oh, The Irony

Talk about a twist. In another day and time, Alfred Hitchcock could have written the script for the LSU-Alabama game.

by Marty Mule’
Tiger Rag Featured Columnist

Let’s face it, the Tigers were playing with an arm – some might argue two arms – tied behind their collective back, with no consistent threat at quarterback to loosen the Crimson Tide defense, at least sufficiently over the course of 60 playing minutes.

Against an Alabama team fairly oozing with a body-language plea of “BEAT ME, BEAT ME, BEAT ME,” just a mediocre passing game from LSU would have done just that.

This is not to throw Jarrett Lee under the jalopy – as so many Tiger zealots are doing with relish right now. There were enough dropped passes to spread the chiding around, and one of Lee’s four interceptions should be charged to Demetrious Byrd, whose missed first-quarter reception bounced into the hands of a defender.

Be that as it may, Lee has been unceremoniously hustled into a terrible spot that no one, except maybe Nick Saban, could have foreseen. Remember, Lee was supposed to have spent this season standing on the sidelines learning the game, as redshirt freshmen at the highest levels of the college sport are expected to. Circumstances changed the short-term destinies of Lee and LSU football.

The Hitchcockian irony of it all is that four years ago, when everybody else in college football was drooling over super quarterback prospect Ryan Perrilloux, then-Tiger coach Saban was cool to his recruitment. He sensed then that Perrilloux might be more trouble than he was worth. There were those in the LSU hierarchy, though, who wanted the Destrehan phenom in purple-and-gold togs in the worst way.

They got their wish when Saban bolted for the Miami Dolphins and new coach Les Miles was brought in. Perrilloux, by then, had committed to the University of Texas, but the silver-tongued Miles successfully sweet-talked him out of that pledge and into the Tiger Den.

You know the saying: Be careful what you wish for.

Perrilloux was a magnet for misbehavior, and after several suspensions, even the reluctant Miles eventually had to yank his scholarship. The final straw came during spring training when Perrilloux was to be gearing up to finally run the LSU offense, to show all the superstar talent he was said to possess. That was never to be, or to be seen in Tiger Stadium. What we have seen is young Lee’s inexperience – a feature exacerbated by the unforeseen shortcomings of the Tigers across the board.

(At left) Harry Coleman and the Tigers had a bead on John Parker Wilson and the Crimson tide, but couldn’t deliver (Photo by Steve Franz/LSU)

It’s not hard to surmise that Lee’s four interceptions – two directly leading to Bama touchdowns on a day when the Tide offense had only one drive in a 27-21 overtime loss – were the single biggest factor in the outcome.

But when he threw the last, in the end zone in overtime, negating even a chance at a field goal in OT, it was hard not to think of a comment made inside the Tiger athletic department recently: “Ryan Perrilloux set us back two years.”

This is how much. LSU could be playing Florida from then until now and never taken a lead against the Gators. But a theoretical argument could be made that without three interceptions that led to 17 points against Georgia, in a 14-point loss, the Tigers might have found a way to come out on top. Obviously the same with Alabama.

LSU wouldn’t threaten the Gators for the SEC championship, with or without Perrilloux, but doesn’t 8-1 sound a lot better than 6-3, with another “L ‘’or two probably coming up in the stretch.

Here’s the kicker: Had Perrilloux not changed his commitment from Texas’ Mack Brown to Miles, the conventional wisdom said LSU would have signed its second choice: Colt McCoy. He’s not having too bad a season in Austin.

Of course, no one should be upset. If Tiger fans said it once when Miles was anguishing over Perrilloux and his transgressions, they said ten thousand times: “Coach, let him go. He’s not worth it. This is just football, and we’ll just have to sacrifice a year or two.”

Well, that’s what LSU is doing.

And somehow there’s a feeling things are turning out about the way Saban thought they might.

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Longtime Times-Picayune sports writer and noted author Marty Mule’ can be reached at mjm981two@charter.net.