After calling them out Saturday, Kirk Herbstreit tips cap to LSU

Kirk Herbstreit called out the LSU Tigers last Saturday on College GameDay. In addition to picking them to lose to Mississippi State, Herbstreit called LSU fragile — stating that they shut down at the first sign of challenge.

With their season on the line, the Tigers made Herbstreit eat his words. LSU got their revenge on the Bulldogs, defeating Mississippi State 28-25.

Afterwards, Herbstreit showed respect to LSU for making them eat his words on The ESPN College Football Podcast.

“I want to just tip my cap to LSU,” stated Herbstreit. “I wondered after LSU lost, after the year they had in 2020. After the championship in ’19. They had a lot of guys that left, went to the NFL, they lost their coordinator; 2020 got sideways on them. They had players opting-out, it was just like, a disaster.

“They come back in 2021 — early in the year, how they gonna play? Lose to UCLA. There’s more examples from [Derek] Stingley and others with not necessarily the maximum effort that you would normally see. Just some bad looks on tackling and that kind of thing. And you wondered, uh oh, has Coach O lost the team? After last year and what they had this year, is this on the verge of a boat that’s about to capsize and it’s over?

“And I wondered, the reason I picked Mississippi State .. do they care? Do they want to compete, do they want to play? In that game, I feel like it was the fork in the road on their season, and I feel like it could’ve gone one way or another.”

Evidently, Herbstreit was impressed with LSU’s ability to get a victory with their season on the line.

Herbstreit: ‘There’s not a team that they play that they can’t play with’

Moreover, Herbstreit was complimentary of LSU quarterback Max Johnson.

“This Max Johnson. Not only can he make throws — I know he’s Brad’s son, played in the NFL. He’s got some juice to him that this program desperately needed against Mississippi State,” said Herbstreit. “You could just see how much he cares. I think it rubs off on his teammates.”

Furthermore, Herbstreit stated that talent has never been the problem for LSU. Finally, he believes that the Tigers could play with anybody if they’ve truly rediscovered their old selves.

“LSU’s never been about talent, it’s been about playing for each-other, and getting back to the LSU brand. Which is pride. And chip on our shoulder, and playing for each-other and playing for the state. That’s LSU. And they’ve gotten away from that,” said Herbstreit. “So if they’ve kind of recalibrated, and found that — make no mistake, there’s not a team that they play that they can’t play with.

Last weekend, Kirk Herbstreit was proven wrong when calling the LSU Tigers fragile. This weekend, they can continue to reintroduce themselves if they defeat the Auburn Tigers.