Lane Kiffin is asking LSU to tune out the noise, but the noise around the program is only getting louder.
After a 31-13 loss to Alabama, the Tigers were greeted Monday by a message that played across television screens inside the football facility. It was addressed to every player and employee, and it leaned hard into the idea that criticism comes with the territory at a program like LSU.
“Welcome to LSU and the dark side of being the villain,” the message said.
The note urged the team to stop worrying about what people outside the building are saying and get back to work. It made the point plainly.
“You cannot control what they say,” the message continued. “You cannot control what they write.
You cannot control what they think. But you damn sure can control how you respond.”
Kiffin echoed that sentiment later Monday. “I just spent time with them today discussing, ‘Hey, you can’t listen to the noise,’” Kiffin said on Monday.
But the messaging also opened the door to a bigger question: who is being held accountable for LSU’s problems? USA TODAY Sports columnist Matt Hayes pushed back on the idea that outside criticism is the real issue, arguing that Kiffin should be looking inward instead of pointing the spotlight at fans and media.
“Everybody wanted in your big tent circus at LSU because there’s nothing bigger in the state. Not even politics. You knew this, and fueled their passion with your circus,” Haynes wrote.
“You figured out how to bring those two unstoppable forces in the state - football and politics - together to do your dirty work. To take on anyone who dared step in your path of winning right now. A happy, fruitful marriage with the SEC, be damned.”
The loss to Alabama was a rough one for LSU, which fell to 6-3. The Tigers actually outgained Alabama 457-285, but they couldn’t turn that edge into points and finished 0-for-4 on fourth-down attempts.
It was also another setback in a season that has already included losses to Ole Miss and Kentucky, adding more pressure on Kiffin in his first year at the helm.
Now LSU has to try to reset quickly. No. 8 Texas comes to Tiger Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 14, giving the Tigers a fast chance to show whether they can answer the criticism on the field.
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