Does our football program have an identity?

"if you show up, you can beat us, but don't get over confident unless of course you have coached here before..."

We never give up and never put anyone away.

Doom, gloom, unrealistic expectations, and catastrophy. Oh sorry. That's the fan base.

One thing that bothers me is that our program ultimately reflects our head coach. It seems like we do the little things that keep us from being great.

Most of the rational LSU fans saw us going 9-3, not 11-1 like some people. And hey what do you know, LSU went 9-3. They are playing for the Capital One Bowl, which is fine with me, Bama and Florida were better this year. Florida, with Tebow gone, and Bama losing most of their defense, will be worse next year. And if some "fans" thought that a 9-3 year was terrible, I will take it. And with Les Miles recruiting his arse off, our future looks bright and our record and SEC Championships will increase. So please don't say stupid remarks about LSU's identity because they have one, LSU will kick some arse.

Agreed with dandan.

If I was to give LSU an identity as of right now, it would be "the team you really want to play, yet don't want to play."

LSU has such an amazing collection of pure athletes which can match any team in the country. And as much as I don't want to sound cliche by throwing the coaches under the bus, I have to. I still do not understand why it takes Crowton/Miles until bowl season to figure out what they truly have. Every regular season I watch as Trindon Holliday, Richard Murphy, and the rest of LSU's dynamic players stand on the sidelines while Crowton dials up the most predictable gameplan ever (I'm not exaggerating or being a couch QB. I can seriously predict 75 % of LSU's plays.) Then once we get to the bowl game, I finally see different formations every play, spreading the ball around to all of LSU's playmakers, and a gameplan adjusted to a developing QB (think Matt Flynn and JJ in the 2005 and 2008 Peach Bowls.)

With all of LSU's talent, defenses should ("should" being the operative word here)be scared to death of LSU's offense. LSU should be running quick-hitting passes to our talented recievers, screens, RB and QB draws from different formations, reverses, counters, sweeps, throwing to backs drifting out of the backfield, etc. I still cant figure out why Crowton has never thought of putting more than one of our backs in at the same time (a la Ronnie Brown and Carnell Williams). Could you imagine (when they were healthy) putting any combination of Charles Scott, Keiland Williams, Richard Murphy, Trindon Holliday in the backfield at the same time? If you're a linebacker, who do you key on? Anyways, I'm getting long-winded here.

Conclusion: When LSU plays to their full potential, including play-calling, I think they are, quite literally, unbeatable. Unfortunately, I can count the number of times on one hand that LSU has played to its true potential since Miles arrived ('05 Peach Bowl, '06 Sugar Bowl, '07 Nat'l Championship, '08 Peach Bowl). Don't get me wrong. It's great that LSU has played so well in bowl games, but when you play to your potential in the regular season, you get to go to better bowls.

After the 2008 season, they took baby steps with Jefferson. Opposing defenses keyed in on him, and that, along with a less than dominant o-line, pretty much nullified our ground game. Result: a team that was not confident in its passing attack, and not competent in its running attack. Result: a crazy quilt of approaches with little apparent pattern or consistency. Add to this Crowton's irrational play calling and failure to adjust for our weaknesses, and you have ... no discernible identity, at least on offense. That's my take at least.

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Does our football program have an identity?

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Well, this decade the LSU program is averaging 10 wins a year, 3 SEC titles, 4 west titles, 7-2 in 9 bowls games, 4 or 5 top 5 finishes, and two national titles. So, what identity do you think goes with such excellence?

I would say elite, but each to our own.

With a chance to finish in the top 10 for the 6th time in a decade(and I believe they will)I think you could accurately categorize them as a perennial contender for conference and BCS championships and top ten honors.

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One of the top programs in the nation according to Penn State players and coaches.

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Correct, take into account what actual other players and teams think about LSU and you will get the answer. Not a bunch of whiny, crybaby fans who think if we don't win the NC every year we're "average".