Randy Rosetta for Nov. 30

• By RANDY ROSETTA
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Nov 30, 2008 - UPDATED: 10:42 a.m.

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As each loss piled up this season for the LSU football team this fall, it always seemed like there was an easy enough explanation.

That’s not the case with the Tigers’ 31-30 loss to Arkansas on Friday to end a regular season of frustration and disarray.

Simply put, it shouldn’t have happened. There’s really no good explanation.

On proverbial paper, the Tigers were just better than the Razorbacks — more guys with more stars in the recruiting rankings and all that jazz. Plus LSU ostensibly had so much more to play for, with bowl positioning to think about.

But Arkansas had more of some pretty meaningful intangibles.

More of that thing beating in every player’s chest. More fire burning in the Hogs’ bellies. More attention to detail. More discipline. More of just about anything you can name.

It’s impossible to paint a wide swath of criticism and say “LSU quit” Friday because so many players didn’t. But there were an awful lot of Tigers who looked and played like they were indifferent to how the season finished, just as long as it finished quickly.

Players will be evaluated closely over the next 4-5 weeks leading up to a bowl game. Assessing the job performance of the coaches needs to be more urgent.

LSU head coach Les Miles has to take a long hard look at himself and his coaching staff — particularly defensive co-coordinators Doug Mallory and Bradley Dale Peveto — and demand very specific and brutally honest answers.

Not just what went wrong, but why did it keep going wrong. As loyal as Miles is to those two men, he needs a look-me-in-the-eyes answer about whether they feel like they were ready for the challenge of replacing Bo Pelini and if they deserve a chance to prove as much after 12 games to the contrary.

If Mallory and Peveto are equally as loyal to Miles — which I believe they are — they may have to dig deep into their souls to give him the most honest answer they can. Because starting with the Florida game and disintegrating from there, the Tigers defense just hasn’t been good enough.

Against Arkansas on Friday, the Tigers defense came out and again looked confused and drastically unprepared, allowing the Hogs to churn out 162 yards on their first two drives — both finishing with touchdowns that dropped LSU into another early hole.

After so many poor beginnings by the Tigers defense this season, only a few assumptions make sense.