re: Good god Hanagriff just nailed it

No one said anything about a downward spiral

But a widening gap between us and alabama? Yea

The issue for LSU is that Bama won't be slowing down and they are losing a ton.

They lose nearly as much on offense this year as they defense, and possibly will be very young on the defense again with lots of Freshmen having to play.

Our LBer core will have at least 2 new starters.
Our DL could have 1-2 new starters.
Our DBs could have 2 new starters at safety.

On offense, we'll likely need to replace our:
QB
2 best and likely irreplaceable WRs for next year
3 of our 4 RBs, possibly 4 of 5 if Brazil is kicked off
OL will likely lose Collins and be downgraded at the LT position.

Replace our kick/punt returner.

So, I'd like to know how that team is supposed to be moving forward?

With Auburn and Ole Miss clearly improving as young teams, LSU is looking at fighting to stay in the top 3 in the next season or two.

Simply put, LSU is going to be mediocre by recent standards at least 1 more year.