LSU hit a major speed bump on the road to redemption last week as the Tigers wilted in the Swamp against the Florida Gators. A speed bump, of course, assumes something needs slowing down, but that’s a faulty assumption with this LSU team, at least offensively. The Tigers are slowing down themselves and the road only gets rockier from here. LSU’s next four opponents have a combined 20-1 record, are all ranked in the top 25, and two are ranked in the top 3. Yikes.

LSU’s offense is plain painful to watch. Poor execution, dumbfounding play-calling, a lost quarterback, incompetent use of highly-talented and heralded athletes . . . the list goes on. The salt on the wound for Tiger fans is that these issues are not new. They’ve been around for years.

Will this Saturday’s contest against South Carolina reveal that head coach Les Miles can adapt and adjust his team’s offensive approach? We’ll find out as the reeling Tigers host the red-hot Gamecocks before a national television audience on ESPN. Toe-to-leather is set for 7 p.m. – nighttime – and the home crowd will erupt when Tiger Stadium public address announcer Dan Borne proclaims that the sun has set in the western sky, and it is now Saturday night in Death Valley.

Back to those Bayou Bengal offensive woes. Les Miles’s bread and butter of run run run will not work against the South Carolina defense, which is more stout than Florida’s and is anchored by monster defensive end Jadeveon Clowney. The Tigers must use misdirection, quick slants, screens, and creativity to turn the Gamecocks’ greatest asset – aggressiveness – against them. Close observers of Les Miles and this LSU Tiger team doubt they’ll see such an offensive attack on Saturday night, what with the mounting injuries, a goofball quarterback, and the general malaise the Tigers have shown this season.

But enough with the Chicken Little attitude. Let’s keep some perspective here, Tigah fans. LSU just lost its first regular season game since November 2010 to a team now ranked in the top 5. LSU has won more home games in a row – 21 – than any team in the country and hasn’t lost in Death Valley since October 2009. LSU’s defense is ranked in the top 10 in three major defensive categories. LSU is ranked in the top 10 in both polls for the 24th consecutive week. Les Miles has compiled an 80-19 record and, during his tenure, the Tigers have won more games than any other SEC team. In other words, let’s relax and see if LSU can’t pull off a win on the bayou on a Louisiana Saturday night.

I’m not sure how they’ll do it. LSU doesn’t match up well against this South Carolina team. The ball isn’t bouncing LSU’s way this year and the magic seems to have disappeared. I really don’t know how they’ll do it. Les Miles may not know, either. But sometimes that's when the enigma that is Les Miles is at his best.

The Tigers get back on the road to redemption by, well, redeeming themselves from last week.

Prediction:

LSU 20
South Carolina 16

Geaux Tigers!

BONUS! Back by popular demand from longtime readers, below are actual text messages I received during last week’s LSU-Florida game. To encourage the free flow of texts during LSU games, I have not included the senders’ identities. Enjoy!

Florida’s band is total white trash.

WTF?? Worst play calling ever. [sent during LSU's second possession]

Game over. [sent in 2nd quarter with LSU leading.]

Put in Rivers.

Is it me or is our quarterback in slow motion?

Our receivers suck. Just suck.

Holy sh*t our offense!

This is maddening to watch.

Guaranteed LSU fumble coming.

Bench Miles.

Can’t believe our offense has sucked for FIVE years.

Offense is a disaster. F’ing disaster.

No toughness. They have quit.

It’s a one possession game and does anyone think we have a shot? Not me.

When was the last time LSU was out of the top 10 and the Saints sucked?

We’re a bunch of Ferrari parts sitting in a garage without an engineer to put them together.

[Response] Uh, I don’t see a lot of Ferrari parts.

That was a fun football season. See you in 2013.