Welcome to the fifteenth and final edition of junior year The Hangover, where I recap the previous weekend in college football. This week, The Hangover comes from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where I stayed home and watched LSU dominate Clemson in the CFP National Championship. Let’s break it down, football fans.
With 10:36 left on the clock in the second quarter, Clemson’s Tee Higgins scored a touchdown on a reverse to give the Tigers a 17-7 lead over LSU. At the time, Dabo Swinney’s squad was out-gaining Ed Orgeron’s team 263-117.
From that point, it was over. After that touchdown, LSU outscored Clemson 35-8 and out-gained the opposition 511-131 to bring the national championship back to Baton Rouge. Joe Burrow, who started off quite poorly, finished the evening 31/49 for 463 yards and five touchdowns, with a rushing score included. His favorite target on the night, Ja’Marr Chase, notched 221 yards on nine receptions with two touchdowns. The story of the game was Ed Orgeron, Joe Brady, and Steve Ensminger making adjusts to Clemson that Dabo Swinney and Brent Venables couldn’t counter.
You could argue this was Trevor Lawrence’s worst game in a Clemson uniform. The formerly undefeated Tigers starter went 18/37 on the night for just 234 yards. After a strong first quarter when Lawrence collected 130 passing yards, LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda made adjustments and Clemson was flummoxed.
So, is this the best single-season in college football history? Where does 2019-20 LSU rank in the annuls of the sport? Frankly, it may be the most prolific offense ever seen in the sport. Let’s take a gander at the points scored against some of the defense faced this year:
-Against Oklahoma, the 38th best total defense in college football, LSU scored 63 points.
-Against Texas A&M, the 30th best total defense in college football, LSU scored 50 points.
-Against Auburn, the 28th best total defense in college football, LSU scored 23 points (easily the worst output of the season).
-Against Alabama, the 20th best total defense in college football, LSU scored 46 points.
-Against Florida, the 9th best total defense in college football, LSU scored 42 points.
-Against Georgia, the 4th best total defense in college football, LSU scored 37 points.
-Finally, against Clemson, the 2nd best total defense in college football, LSU scored 42 points.
It might be recency bias, but can you find a team that’s been that consistent offensively against defenses of that caliber? I can’t. In week two of this column, I wrote that “LSU was scary now.” That proved true, mainly because of Joe Burrow.
When you mention the best individual season in the sport’s history, Joe Burrow should be the first name vocalized. With his performance tonight, Burrow set the NCAA single-season passing touchdown record. In his last three games against Georgia, Oklahoma, and Clemson, Burrow threw for four, seven, and five touchdowns, respectively.
As a college football fan, it’s hard not to be impressed. Ed Orgeron knew what he had this season and stepped aside, letting his all-star coordinators and quarterback lead LSU to the promised land. Coach O motivated his team along the way, and that formula led to LSU’s fourth national championship.
Clemson isn’t done. The Tigers bring back Trevor Lawrence and a very young defense next season. Still, tonight wasn’t their night. Monday was all about Joe Burrow, Ed Orgeron, and LSU. A team that was viewed as archaic and too “old school” to win a championship for the latter part of the last decade got it done to start off the 2020s. In College Football’s 150th season, we have seen the best team to ever get it done. Yes, let the band play “Neck” indeed.
Gray’s Final 2019-2020 Top 10
- LSU
- Clemson
- Ohio State
- Alabama
- Georgia
- Florida
- Oregon
- Oklahoma
- Penn State
- Notre Dame
LSU finishes number one after the best college football season in recent memory and, in my opinion, ever. Clemson, obviously, comes in second. Ohio State, after a tough loss to the Tigers in the Fiesta Bowl, hops into third. Fourth is Alabama. Yes, I know what you’re going to say, but the Crimson Tide looked top-to-bottom like one of the best teams in the country talent-wise. Lots of errors in the biggest games of the year kept Alabama out of the CFP, but I think Nick Saban’s squad at its best could be everybody except the teams ahead of them in these rankings. Georgia comes in fifth after a dominant 26-14 win over Baylor at the Sugar Bowl, and Florida follows at six after a strong showing in the Orange Bowl against Virginia that wasn’t nearly as close as the final eight-point margin might indicate. Oregon’s Rose Bowl win has the Ducks at number seven, and Oklahoma comes in at eight after the embarrassing loss to LSU in the Peach Bowl. Penn State moves into the nine spot after a 53-39 win over Memphis in the Cotton Bowl, and Notre Dame closes out the top ten following an obliteration of Iowa State and a strong close to the regular season.
Gray’s Way-Too-Early 2020-2021 Top 10
- Clemson
- Alabama
- Ohio State
- LSU
- Florida
- Oregon
- Texas A&M
- Oklahoma
- Auburn
- Penn State
Yes, Clemson is back in the top spot. Trevor Lawrence will be back, the defense remains largely intact, and Dabo will be “Lil Ole Clemson” hungry. Alabama comes in at number two thanks to a plethora of returning players, including Najee Harris, DeVonta Smith, Dylan Moses, and more. Obviously, the quarterback battle between Mac Jones, Taulia Tagovailoa, and freshman Bryce Young will be one to watch. Ohio State brings back Justin Fields and a lot of skill players, and it’ll be interesting to see if Ryan Day can keep things going. LSU is fourth with Joe Brady staying on staff and 17 offensive and defensive starters likely returning. I’ve got Florida at the five spot, mainly because I believe in Dan Mullen as a coach, Kyle Trask as a quarterback, and a very easy schedule that includes only three games played outside the state of Florida. Oregon hops in at six because of a ferocious defense that returns nine starters. Who will the Ducks get to replace Justin Herbert? We shall see. Texas A&M, with a plethora of starters coming back, is in my seven spot, followed by Oklahoma (who could be in the market for D’Eriq King now that he’s in the transfer portal). Auburn is at nine, although the Tigers have some talent that needs to be replaced on both sides of the ball. Finally, Penn State rounds out the top ten thanks to nine offensive starters returning, including quarterback Sean Clifford.
Random Rankings
Today was a big day, because we got the CFP National Championship Game as well as the Academy Awards nominations. We’ll deliver our movie reviews from RR HQ in early February, but for now we’ll detail the top five worst snubs from the Oscars this season. Please don’t reach out–it’s a difficult time.
1-Uncut Gems blanked in all categories
2-Jennifer Lopez in Best Supporting Actress
3-Waves blanked in all categories all freaking awards season
4-Greta Gerwig in Best Director
5-“Wild Rose” in Best Original Song
SEC Power Rankings
With the season finished, it’s time to look ahead at how the SEC will stack up next season. The SEC was crazy good this season, and I’m not expecting much to change. Here are my way-too-early predictions for the 2020-2021 season in the Southeastern Conference.
West
- Alabama
- LSU
- Texas A&M
- Auburn
- Ole Miss
- Mississippi State
- Arkansas
East
- Florida
- Georgia
- Tennessee
- South Carolina
- Kentucky
- Missouri
- Vanderbilt
So Who’s Ready for Next Season?
College football is over, which is obviously very upsetting for all of us who love this sport. College basketball is going, sure, but nothing beats the fall. So while the wait is long, here’s what you can go ahead and put on the calendar for next year’s opening weekend:
Notre Dame vs. Navy in Week Zero (Dublin)
Michigan at Washington
Florida State vs. West Virginia (Atlanta)
Baylor vs. Ole Miss (Houston)
Alabama vs. USC (Arlington)
Virginia vs. Georgia (Atlanta)
Indiana at Wisconsin
There might be more, but this is as exhaustive a list I can find.
I can’t wait for next season, and I know you can’t either. Thanks for reading along with The Hangover this year. It’s truly been a blast to put out content all season long. The Buzzer-Beater will be back soon for college basketball, and I’ve got more SEC Network projects coming in the future. Stay tuned! We’ll see you around.