In the classroom we used to call some element of this “visualize to actualize.” Then we would go beyond that and actually mimic live action expectations to come. We would do it to an even greater degree on the basketball court.

But LSU head coach Lane Kiffin just took it to another level entirely.

The fact that the visiting locker room was part of the exercise only embellishes the standard. Matt Moscona had the most detailed account I came across. Here is a piece:

Lane Kiffin and the Tigers staged a complete game-day rehearsal Saturday in Tiger Stadium. The roads were blocked, the barricades were up and the temporary security staff was in place. The cheerleaders, football team and Golden Band from Tigerland followed their normal procession down Victory Hill before entering the stadium.

Once inside, LSU recreated nearly every detail of a Saturday night in Death Valley. The Tigers wore their game uniforms, while the third and fourth-team players dressed in orange and white and used the visiting locker room to simulate Clemson.

The band performed its pregame routine and played throughout the scrimmage. The public-address announcer called every play, the officials used live microphones and LSU incorporated the scoreboard videos, fireworks, cannon and even a flyover during the national anthem.

Then, according to multiple sources, LSU played an actual game.

The first and second-team Tigers defeated the scout-team version of Clemson, 86-18.

We talked about heads and hearts on Monday. My heart really wants 86-18 Saturday night so I can just relax and enjoy my food.

My head says Clemson has a chip on its shoulder too.

Would this much attention to detail that still kept LSU 0-0 when they woke up Sunday morning qualify as obsession? Probably. But at the heart of it, we have exactly zero problem with it, especially when you cull the movement for inspirations in life.

If life teaches us anything, especially as we grow to understand how little most of us mentally deal well with change or surprises, it is that preparation in life must go well beyond words sometimes. A coach rehearsing a gameday pattern right down to where his players sleep the night before belongs to a larger sequence of responsibilities that all contribute to whether a team wins or loses the actual game.

All of that is obvious when it comes to practice. Or maybe it’s not so obvious, because you see the same teams across sports from year to year, and the same teams losing, generally speaking of course.

It is not so obvious in ritualizing the details Kiffin ritualized. It gives a whole new meaning to the coach—I believe it was Bobby Knight—who once said, and I paraphrase, that everyone wants to be a champion, but not everyone wants to practice like a champion.

Just as being in shape in June is different from the football shape you emerge into in fall camp, knowing an assignment in fall camp and executing it with precision and domination amid crowd noise, opponent fury, and game interruptions are two completely different things. The only way for latent problems to reveal themselves is through the fire, which is why you see so many players able to excel in practice but not when the lights thump on.

Kiffin can’t script every single movement by the orange and purple, no. But he can prepare LSU for its pattern of procedures, and he can do it with their eyes seeing orange and purple.

Attention, familiarity, timing, and execution under pressure—these are all things a fall camp and certainly a simple scrimmage cannot do. A dressed rehearsal such as this can expose those things that Kiffin and his staff need to correct. Moreover, as we saw with quarterback Sam Leavitt, the responsibility is shifted more from the staff to the players on the field in the heat of the moment. This is crucial to understanding how a big time pressure-packed ballgame is won.

The same can be applied to the faith life, and obviously on a much more serious level. Ordered prayer lives, structured devotions, help direct attention. We understand this with everything including football, but so often choose a looser way when it comes to our dedication to God. For instance, one prayer pattern I observe every single day is to say the Matins of the Divine Office and at least one third of the full Holy Rosary, focusing on the Christ mystery of the day. From there my other prayers and devotions flow according to my state in life as a husband and chief operator of the house, but those two anchors, along with prayer before meals I’ll add, are non-negotiables.

The point is that my intention to love God is reflected, more so for myself so that I stay on the right path, in tangible, concrete ritual. Doing ordinary things carefully even when the excitement or good feelings aren’t present is one of the most vivid acts of charity we can perform.

That is why our initial go at this RIGHT LANE series focused on Kiffin’s insistence on subtracting. One must subtract the wrong things in life, the distractions, in order to replace them with the right things.

This is about habit and attention—two virtues my Catholic faith insists on, two virtues that are not always easy to practice.

And so Victory Hill and 86-18, if we allow them, can be more than just cool talking points while we rev up for the big game on Saturday. It can teach us that such patterns, attention to detail, and that dreaded word “rituals” are necessary in virtually every aspect of life, and more, that backbone to our day can transfer to the prayer life. Coach Kiffin is obsessed, yes, with the parts of the ballgame he can control, because he knows there are so many other elements not in his control. The same thing can apply to us, because as a tropical storm sets its sights on us as I finish this column, I know that at least I’ve got my anchor to steady me today as I finish my preparations around the house. I’ve carved out time and the Word of God for God, and now I can rest easy that His will in the next two days is, well, His will.

Thank you for reading The Hayride!