LSU-Texas winner could step back into national spotlight

There was a peculiar sight you might have missed last Saturday: An LSU quarterback repeatedly and determinedly threw a football. This is something we’d forgotten was even possible over the course of the past several years, as the Tigers seemed content to let the spread-offense revolution pass them by.   

But no more. LSU finally seems determined to shed its reputation as the most stubbornly anachronistic program in college football. The Tigers threw the ball 39 times in a 55-3 win over Georgia Southern, which, to put it in context, is precisely the number of passes the Tigers threw in a 74-72 loss to Texas A&M in 2018 -- a seven-overtime game.

It was one thing to hear LSU coach Ed Orgeron, possessor of the most apt coaching voice in college football history, promise to open up the Tigers’ stubbornly buttoned-up offense. It was another to actually watch quarterback Joe Burrow repeatedly shred a defense, spreading the ball to myriad receivers and chucking the stultifying LSU power-run attack into the dustbin of gravel that Orgeron seemingly gargles from every morning before he speaks.  

And sure, you might say, this was only Georgia Southern -- as opposed to, say, Georgia -- but that little tease in Week 1 leads us directly into Week 2, and the most intriguing matchup of this young season. On Saturday, LSU will put its newfound progressivism to the test against Texas, another program that is looking to prove, once and for all, that it’s no longer an afterthought on the national scene; that it’s back, and for real this time, and no more Twitter memes, thanks. 

Texas gathered momentum at the end of last season, culminating in a 28-21 upset win over disinterested Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. The Longhorns entered this season -- their third under coach Tom Herman -- as a trendy choice for that third or fourth playoff seed. That would likely position the Longhorns as a sacrificial lamb to either Alabama or Clemson. For a program that was essentially lost in the wilderness for a decade, it would be a huge step forward. 

The primary reason for that Texas optimism, quarterback Sam Ehlinger, threw for 276 yards and four touchdowns in a 45-14 win over Louisiana Tech last Saturday. And, you might say, this was only Louisiana Tech -- as opposed to, say, Louisiana State. But here we are now, poised for a matchup between quarterbacks who can boost their national profile -- and perhaps enter the upper echelon of the Heisman Trophy conversation. 

Ehlinger will face one of the most talented defenses in the country, anchored by ridiculously athletic LSU safety Grant Delpit. Burrow must decipher a Texas defense that lost a ton of talent after last season, but probably has more raw athleticism than at any time in recent years.

And so this becomes an opportunity game for both programs, a chance to prove that they’re good enough to defeat a high-profile program from a rival conference -- and maybe even win their own conference. The victor gathers momentum heading into the conference season, which, given the raw strength of Oklahoma and Alabama, is something both teams will need.

But the winner also gathers big-picture momentum, with a victory on national television that could boost recruiting and bolster an argument that either Texas or LSU truly is a national player once again.  

What happens after this one game is an open question, but a loss ---particularly a lopsided one -- will put one of these teams back in precarious territory, at a point where they’ll no doubt begin to wonder if anything’s really different than it’s been for the past several years. And at that point, you go beyond wondering whether the revolution has passed you by. 

You start to wonder if you’re never coming back.