Five years ago this morning, LSU fans had the best hangover ever.
It was the day after the Tigers tore up Clemson 42-25 (it was not that close) and won the natty in New Orleans. Odell Beckham Jr. handed out Ben Franklins in the winning locker room, Joe Burrow cradled a victory stogie in an iconic pose, and Ed Orgeron was on top of the college football coaching world.
Things have changed more than a little bit.
Tiger fans are unsettled, many with mixed feelings about coach Brian Kelly, but hopeful the transfer portal and LSU’s $20 million NIL war chest can elevate the 2025 team into the College Football Playoff.
OBJ, a three-time All-Pro, is at the end of his playing days, 11 seasons in, not bound for Canton as once seemed his destiny, but set for life if he chooses to be – his net worth is estimated at $40 million.
Burrow might be the best quarterback in the NFL, but his surrounding cast in Cincinnati, on defense and up front, is in dire need of an upgrade and the Bengals’ front office exemplifies the franchise’s “Bungles” nickname.
It quickly fell apart for Orgeron, but he is living happily on the $17 million LSU gave him to bail out at the end of the 2021 season. His net worth is an estimated $35 million.
LSU hasn’t approached the brilliance of its 2019 season. No disgrace there. Those Tigers certainly rank at the very least, as one of the greatest teams in college history, and when you look around the NFL and see all of the stars who were wearing purple and gold that fall, it probably was the most talented as well as the most dominant team ever.
Not a lot has sparkled since 2019 for area college or NFL teams. We didn’t know how good we had it then.
The New Orleans Saints were 13-3 in 2019, but got upset in the first round of the playoffs in OT at Minnesota. Sean Payton’s next team went 12-4 but bowed out in the second round and the Saints haven’t sniffed the playoffs since.
After missing the postseason for the seventh time in 10 years, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said farewell to Jason Garrett after the 2019 season. Mike McCarthy rode in to the rescue. The best thing Jones has done since then is his recent cameo on Landman. Five years later with McCarthy delivering just one playoff win, Jones is going to hire his ninth head coach since buying the ‘Boys in 1989.
There are sweet memories of 2019 around Louisiana Tech. A 10-3 season finished with an Independence Bowl victory over the U – a Hurricanes’ team without any punch, but it was a win over one of the game’s brand names. The Bulldogs haven’t been over .500 since, although they were close to breaking through this season but suffered three overtime losses and a few other near misses.
Their biggest loss may be shining star Jeremiah Johnson – not as played by Robert Redford, but apparently in his role running the 2024 Tech defense, just as sturdy a character. He was just hired away by Coastal Carolina after his troops ranked 12th nationally in total defense.
Grambling was 6-5 in 2019. Looks pretty good now, but after a 29-8 start in resurrecting the Tigers’ program from a massive meltdown, it was a second straight just-above-.500 finish for Broderick Fobbs. Thanks to a discontented faction in the GramFam, he was fired two years later, leaving with a 54-32 record. Dubious decision.
Northwestern was 3-9 six seasons ago, and only slightly better since (a 4-2 Southland Conference record in 2022) but Brad Laird’s 2019 club did battle mighty LSU on fairly even terms for the first 30 minutes, enough that some Tiger Stadium attendees booed their team into the halftime locker room with a wobbly 24-14 lead that was not very convincing. The 2025 Demons are beginning Year 2 of coach Blaine McCorkle’s rebuild. In this era of NIL and the portal, the former LSU deep snapper is zigging when nearly everybody else is zagging, laying a long-term foundation with a base of in-state high school talent headlined by Airline’s spectacular quarterback Ben Taylor.
Consider all those rides on the struggle bus. Then blend in the Biden presidency and a New Year has rarely looked better to most Americans: 68 percent expect the Donald to control illegal immigration, 60 percent anticipate reduced unemployment and improved safety from terrorism, 58 percent see the economy improving, 55 percent believe Trump will keep the USA out of war, 54 percent are counting on reduced taxes, and 51 percent envision crime rates dropping.
That’s the spirit. And when it comes to the football, one thing that fans of LSU, Louisiana Tech, Grambling, NSU, the Saints and the Cowboys can embrace – next season’s surely going to be better than the last ones.
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com