Win over ’Bama crucial to LSU’s local quarry hunt

    Is it time to press the panic button in Tigertown?
  For the first time since 2008, LSU enters the month of November with little chance of winning the SEC West Division championship. Maybe the loss of 10 underclassmen to the NFL draft was just too much for these Tigers to overcome.
    Maybe three road games in four weeks, with an emotional home win over Florida sandwiched in the middle, was too much for the Tigers to overcome.
    On the night of Oct. 19 in Oxford, Miss., the Tigers looked like a team that was emotionally spent. The LSU defense, so much improved in its last six quarters, allowed 28 first downs and 525 yards to Ole Miss.
    Even though a West Division title is most unlikely, the stakes for Les Miles and his team could not be higher. A great finish over the final four games will only help in the biggest game of all: recruiting.
    Four of the top 29 prospects nationwide in the ESPN rankings hail from the New Orleans metro area. They are St. Aug running back Leonard Fournette, quarterback/wide receiver Speedy Noil of Karr, wide receiver Malachi Dupre of John Curtis and defensive end Gerald Willis of Karr.
    My guess is the big four will be watching intently as the Tigers travel to Alabama and host Texas A&M on Nov. 23.
    If the Tigers are able to land Fournette and two of the other three, it would be a huge boost to a program that potentially is about to take another big hit from the NFL draft. Early departures could include wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry and running back Jeremy Hill.
    And, the class of 2012, ones who will be juniors next season, doesn’t look like one of Les Miles’ most talented groups.
    Guard Vadal Alexander and defensive end Danielle Hunter appear to be the biggest contributors from a class that many recruiting websites had ranked out of the top 10 nationally.
    The 27-24 loss at Ole Miss was one of the worst of the Miles era. The Rebels were without speedy tailback Jeff Scott and super freshman defensive end Robert Nkemdiche. Yet, Ole Miss rang up 525 total yards and 28 first downs. Ole Miss intercepted LSU’s Zach Mettenberger three times.
    Is the program headed in the wrong direction? Those same questions were being asked in 2009 when LSU stumbled down the stretch and lost in the slop to Penn State in the Capital One Bowl. That season, the Tigers finished with four losses.
    Two years later, LSU went 12-0 in the regular season. Two of those wins, against Oregon and Alabama, were away from home. My guess is LSU will play very well against Alabama. In 2007 and 2011, LSU won in Tuscaloosa. And, in 2009, LSU led in the fourth quarter there.
    The stakes against ’Bama and Texas A&M are high. Four of the nation’s best in the class of 2014 will be watching.
    Ed Daniels is sports director of ABC26, WGNO. He can be reached at edaniels@clarionherald.org.