By Hunt Palmer
LSU’s month-long meltdown continued Saturday evening.
What looked like a program on the ascent four weeks ago now looks like a middle-of-the-road SEC outfit searching for answers on both sides of the ball.
Florida fought hard Saturday night. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium oozed energy and optimism. Everyone in orange and blue deserves credit for that. It doesn’t negate the facts that Miami and Texas A&M toyed with the Gators in that stadium earlier this season and Florida hasn’t posted a winning season since the COVID year.
These Gators entered the game ranked 15th in a 16-team SEC in scoring defense and gave up 35 in the first half seven days ago. LSU scored one touchdown.
These Gators entered the game ranked 10th in the SEC in sacks. They sacked Garrett Nussmeier seven times, one more than he’d been dropped in total through nine games.
These Gators were without their starting quarterback and best wide receiver and rushed their top tailback twice. They scored 27 points in just over 18 minutes of possession time.
LSU lost by double figures to a program that had to publicly back its 14-19 head coach who called Saturday’s game for a redshirt freshman quarterback playing on one leg. DJ Lagway never once crossed the line of scrimmage for a rushing attempt.
He wasn’t sacked, either. LSU’s pass rush, clearly the defense’s strength through the first month and a half, couldn’t get home for a sack for the second straight week.
LSU’s early-season identity of a pass-happy, productive offense and a defense that terrorizes opposing quarterbacks has vanished.
Dating back to halftime of the Texas A&M game, the Tigers have scored touchdowns on 3-of-27 drives. One of those was mop up time in the rain down 42-6 on Alabama.
LSU did accomplish some offensive goals on Saturday.
The Tigers held the ball for nearly 42 minutes of game time thanks to a rushing attack that consistently produced. Josh Williams and Caden Durham combined for 33 carries for 160 yards. That’s a hair under five yards per rush without a single big play.
Therein lies one issue. LSU didn’t create big plays. The Tigers took 92 offensive snaps, and one of them went for 25 or more yards. Florida produced three of them on 43 snaps. Two were touchdowns, and the other went down to the one to set up a score on the next play.
Whit Weeks’s explanation of the game-sealing 55-yard touchdown from Jalan Bough won’t go over well.
“Miscommunication,” he said. “Half of us thought we were running one play. Half of us thought we were running a different play.”
This LSU team has none of its preseason goals left to achieve. The slim path to the SEC Championship game has been cut off. And now seems laughable.
Brian Kelly and his staff have a multitude of issues on hand, the first of which becomes Vanderbilt in Tiger Stadium next week. Then comes National Signing Day. Then comes the transfer portal window.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that a month ago things were very much trending up for the 2024 Tigers and the program as a whole. It’s now not an exaggeration to say that the bleeding has to stop.
Two more wins won’t satiate a fanbase with playoff expectations. That ship has sailed. Two more wins could better the energy around the program with Signing Day providing a jolt.
Three weeks ago, LSU was swallowed up by a Kyle Field crowd and a surprise wrinkle at quarterback. That can happen.
One week ago, one of America’s premier programs took it to LSU. That can happen.
Saturday, a floundering program rode the back of a five-star freshman and a hungry crowd. That can happen.
When all three happen, it’s time to stop looking at the three variables and start looking at the one constant. LSU hasn’t been good enough.
There were excuses two years ago. That time has passed. LSU’s fanbase and coaching staff expect to compete for championships in November.
This November has produced an embarrassing home loss to Alabama, a two-score loss at four-win Florida and significant anxiety about a home game with Vanderbilt.
Yeah, that’s a meltdown.
