re: How important is this series for Coach Mainieri?

Misread

All good brother.

Just a little sarcasm

quote:

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Of course he won't be fired any time soon. But the fan base might crank up the heat if he loses

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For one, the majority of the knowledgeable fan base understands the college game better than the majority of the people who post on here. The NCAA has changed the bats, balls (twice) and venue of the CWS, and all three have an effect on how the game is played. Since the seams were lowered on the ball, the style of play LSU is known for under CPM has more of an advantage.

With the scholarship restrictions in place, you see a lot of parity--this fact alone is something most people on here cannot fathom. It's the whole reason you see teams like Stony Brook, Fresno State, Coastal Carolina, etc. making a run for a year or two. LSU is always in the mix because they're always going to recruit well, and this is a direct result of what happened during the Skip Bertman era, and also because they continued to make their presence known into the first decade of the 2000's without Skip.

With all that said, this is the first time since 2009 CPM has at least three serviceable starters who have all proven over the course of the season that they are capable of carrying the load. The bats are as hot as they've been, and there's an intensity in this squad that we haven't seen since the last time they won it all.

Will he take heat if he loses? Yes, because there will always be the crowd that hates him. He'll take even more because it's Mississippi State and he'd be losing to a guy who worked for him just last year.

Now, with that said, if he reaches Omaha and doesn't win the title, there's no reason for anyone to get in an uproar unless the team completely shits the bed and shows up hungover and without a pulse.

The game has changed. LSU kept up with the change well enough to stay competitive, unlike a number of used-to-be powers. USC hasn't regularly sniffed the postseason--except for 2015--in a while, Miami has to be rethinking the Jim Morris era, and some of your smaller programs like Wichita State have been off the map for a while now.