The View from L.S.U.: Next Season Starts Now Monday's B.C.S. title game could not have gone worse for Les Miles" vaunted Tigers. An undefeated season, a place as one of the best college football teams in the sport's history and a three-game win streak against detested Nick Saban were on the line. The Tigers got stomped. L.S.U. coaches and Tiger fans now, with the bitterness of Monday's 21-0 thrashing still burning on their palate, can gaze into the future at the 2012 Tigers" squad, which many pundits have tabbed as better than the 2011 version. Sophomore quarterback Zach Mettenberger will be the focus of next season's campaign, bringing with him the allure of pairing a competent quarterback with a stifling defense and opportunistic special teams. The Honey Badger, Tyrann Mathieu, returns. Aussie punter Brad Wing is just a freshman, while wideout Russell Shepard (who will likely play more than three plays per game next year), safety Eric Reid and L.S.U."s bevy of tailbacks also come back. Junior receiver Rueben Randle remains the lone possible early entry to the N.F.L. Draft. Mock drafts have Randle as high as the first round, but most place him in the second or third round. Randle will have until Sunday to make his decision. ESPN's Mark Schlabach has the Tigers as preseason No. 1, as does CBS's Brett McMurphy. Barring costly injuries or off-the-field problems (akin to August's Shady's incident) L.S.U. shouldn't be anywhere outside the top five. Mettenberger found himself in Baton Rouge after a wayward journey. The Watkinsville, Ga., native signed with Georgia coming out of high school, and was in a fierce competition with current Bulldogs starter Aaron Murray before being booted off the team after an arrest. He pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of sexual battery in May 2010. Mettenberger spent a year in junior college, leading Butler Community College to the N.J.C.A.A. national championship game. He committed to L.S.U. in November 2010. Many of said returners posted on Twitter after Monday's game that revenge was on their minds. Reid said he would "never forget this feeling," while kicker Drew Alleman, who is also returning, wrote that he's already looking forward to spending the first week of 2013 in Miami, where the national championship game will be played next season. That remains to be seen. But expectations will be high.