The Auburn Tigers are coming off one of the biggest wins in program history after taking down the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs this past Saturday, but according to the head coach of the Tigers’ next opponent, Lane Kiffin, that win may make things even more difficult for Auburn this coming week.
Kiffin, the first-year head coach of the LSU Tigers after leaving Ole Miss last season, spoke with the media on Monday about exactly why he believes the Tigers’ win over the Bulldogs may give his Bayou Bengals a better chance against Alex Golesh’s squad.
“Relief syndrome is a real thing,” Kiffin said. “Doesn’t mean we’re gonna win this week and that they’re gonna lose, but that is a real thing; it’s a real challenge. I think it’s a harder challenge now… I was rooting for [Auburn] at the end of the game, knowing we were going to play them this week. It makes it more challenging.”
For reference, Kiffin’s ‘relief syndrome’ is the idea that, after a highly passionate win like the one the Tigers had over the Bulldogs, the team suffers a severe emotional and physical letdown that can lead to a crash in the next game.
Many attribute this idea to being part of the reason the Bulldogs fell to the Tigers; after all, they won their own very highly emotional game the week before, as they took down the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, 20-17, and the ensuing emotional letdown made it much harder for their team to take on the much-lower-rated Tigers, resulting in a classic ‘trap game.’
Though emotions may still be riding high in Auburn, the Tigers have not fallen under the delusion that LSU is any form of a lesser team and are preparing as such; Alex Golesh would tell you that himself.
“We got in Sunday morning and flipped the page,” he said on Monday. “That's the piece, and I’ve said this before: good win or tough loss, it all has to be the same on Monday morning.”
Golesh’s team is, as it stands, still unranked and an underdog to the 18th-ranked LSU Tigers, and they’ll need to overcome what ESPN’s FPI lists as a 28.9% chance to win. Helping their case is the fact that LSU has not won an away in-conference matchup this season; after all, given the magnitude of the week the Tigers have had, it’s safe to say Jordan-Hare Stadium will not be doing Kiffin any favors.
The Tiger Bowl, as some call it, is scheduled to be played this Saturday at 11:00 a.m. CT and will be broadcast on ABC.
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