re: Ryan Perrilloux: One of the biggest 'what if' stories in LSU football history

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Miles could have denied Saban several of his titles, and would still be coaching at LSU. It says a lot when you can say, RP could have changed the history of college football. LSU not Ala could be at the top of the mountain.

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That's what I said. We've had this discussion on here before, but just look at 2008 for example.

We went 8-5, and while the defense was not good, in actuality, it was made WAAY worse by having a bad and turnover heavy offense. We lost to UGA that year by 14 points. Lee had 2 pick 6s and 3 ints total. We lost to Alabama by 6 points. Lee had 4 ints (one being a pick 6). We lost to Arkansas by 1 point. A true freshman Jefferson had his first start and went 9 of 21 with 2 TDs, but we lost by one point. Perriloux wins all 3 of those games and at worst, LSU is 10-2 that season. However, I still think we beat Ole Miss too with Perriloux. I think we go to the SEC championship game with one loss.

I'm going to say that he comes back for one last year (2nd starting year). In 2009, we had a horrible run game, but we still played several top teams really close. We lost to UF 3-13. Our QB had 96 yards at 5.6 ypa with no TDs and 1 int. Perriloux beats UF. We lost to Bama by 8 points while our QB completed 52% of his passes for 160 yards with 1 TD and 1 int. I say we beat Bama. Against Ole Miss was the Mississippi Meltdown. The "clock it" game. That game isn't in doubt with Perriloux. LSU should have went undefeated in the regular season. Think of what he could have done in that offense with Brandon LaFell in his junior season (he had 930 yards and 8 TDs in a bad 2008 offense) and 5 star Toliver in his junior year and 5 star freshman Randle in his first year. Don't forget 5 star athlete Russell Shepard and senior TE Richard Dickson. LSU should have had a top 10 offense with all the talent at the skill positions. I think we beat Florida and then we play and beat Texas in the national championship game, not Bama.

In 2010 with a horrific passing game, we still went 11-2. Our 2 losses were by 8 and 7 points and both were the result of bad passing performances. Think if fourth year player Jarrett Lee starts as a redshirt junior and wasn't scarred by the 2008 season? LSU was top 10 in pass defense and scoring defense. LSU had 3 5 stars as their starting receivers (one senior and 2 sophomores), with an athletic TE and future single season, 1300 yard 12 TD NFL RB. LSU would have dominated Mizzu in the SEC championship game, and squashed Oregon in the national championship game.

2011 doesn't even have to be explained. A 5th year senior Jarrett Lee probably coming off of the best or 2nd best season in LSU history for a QB with a loaded run game, OL, and #1 defense. Having his two 5 star junior WRs back with high 4 star freshman Odell Beckham, and 5 star freshman Jarvis Landry. LSU would have been the first team to win 3 straight championships.

Les Miles would have never went conservative had the 2008 season not occurred. After 4 national championships in a 5 year period, LSU would have been the gold standard, not Alabama. LSU would have gotten the preferential treatment, not Bama.

What I want to know is, when is it our turn for our true golden era? All the sleeping giant programs have had that era except for LSU. We had a kinda golden era from 2001-2012, but I'm talking a true era like Miami, Nebraska, Texas, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Bama, UGA (currently), Ohio St, USC, FSU, UF, etc. An era where we go 6+ years with 2 losses AT MOST. One to two championships, but always in the mix at the very least. We have the talented recruiting grounds. We have a successful coach. We have the QB figured out. I'm ready for the true golden era.

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Our 2009-10 offenses were an absolute joke relative to the talent on the roster.

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In 2010, our starting QB threw 4 TD passes in the entire regular season. We still only lost 2 games by a combined 15 points. The talent on that team was something else. It's a shame the offense was so vanilla.

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If he was so good, why didn't he have a professional career.

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Good question. I can't give you a good answer since I didn't follow his career post-LSU. Maybe it was talent, discipline, work ethic, or whatever.

But there are lots of great college QBs that do not become NFL regulars - Wuerffel, JaMarcus, Tebow, Manziel, etc.

RP only started two games at LSU. He was player of the game in his second, SECCG.

Finally, he didn't have to be Burrow or Jayden. Had he been just Flynn, we likely win every regular season game in '08 save UF and maybe OM. If we beat OM, we would have re-matched UF in Atl.

He didn’t have much of a brain, not even close to the cerebral talents of JB/JD. , out some respect on those 2.

I coached HS ball, coached against RP, we crushed them, he had his own Website in HS, was always a ME-ME-ME, look at me guy.

A locker room killer, he would have never amounted to elitist, way too much baggage and not very bright, and to be a top elite QB, it’s a lot more cerebral than most people realize.

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RP had a better arm than

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BS! If Flynn had never been injured, RP would have never made any all star list except a recruit list.
How many points did we score vs TN.
All hat and no cattle.

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If he was so good, why did he land at Jacksonville State rather than a higher profile school?

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Back then, you couldn't transfer to another D1 program without sitting out a year. So more guys tended to go the 1AA/ FCS route.

FWIW, RP wound up as the OVC POY his second year at Jacksonville State and got some 1AA All America love.

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FWIW, RP wound up as the OVC POY his second year at Jacksonville State and got some 1AA All America love.

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That is like, I was the fastest kid in my HS class.

Fact, I was the table tennis champion of my HS. Total of thirty five boys in the High School. Wow!

To me the biggest "what if" is, what if Saban does not go to the NFL? I think LSU would have 5-6 more Natties than they do now.