Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images
By Hunt Palmer
Brian Kelly bristled at the notion his offense wasn’t good enough following the 20-10 win over Florida.
His outburst drew national headlines and triggered an apology. On Thursday, he acknowledged the root of that questioning. And he agreed.
“We can’t win in the SEC saying we’re just going to lay on our defense, and whatever happens there, we’ll let it go,” Kelly said. “Our offense has got to rise to the occasion, as well. And certainly, Florida was not exactly what we wanted to do in that game, but we wanted to win the game and find a way to win as we continue to develop our offense.”
That day LSU picked DJ Lagway off five times and won with one offensive touchdown. Impressive? Absolutely. Sustainable? Not so much.
Saturday in Oxford, LSU’s offense probably has to answer the bell. That stingy Blake Baker defense figures to play extremely well. However, Ole Miss’s offense ranks 12th in the country in scoring. Florida ranks 101st. Even Clemson, LSU’s other Power Four win, ranks 113th.
A stellar defensive effort against Lane Kiffin’s bunch may yield closer to 20 points than 10. Maybe 24. To win, the Tiger offense will have to pull its weight.
“We have to have production from our offense, and it’s an offense that’s capable of it,” Kelly said. “It’s just taken some time, and I want to be consistent on defense in this game, be who we are and then continue to see the growth and development that we say last week going into this week.”
LSU’s offense found a bit of a groove against an overmatched Southeastern Louisiana defense a week ago. More importantly, quarterback Garrett Nussmeier played closer to his potential.
A source confirmed to LouisianaSports.net that Nussmeier’s worst week, in terms of the torso injury, was the Louisiana Tech week. Nussmeier may have pushed himself a little bit harder than he needed to in practice that week, and it showed in his performance. The Tiger quarterback misfired routinely on makable throws and was picked off on his lone deep ball effort.
With time, that injury has healed, and Nussmeier is full strength headed into Saturday’s test. LSU will need him. But Nussmeier can only do what he can do.
Kelly knows that.
“Look, we’re not a dual-threat offense,” Kelly said. “We don’t have a quarterback that is going to rush for 100 yards. So, when you look at it, what does that look like for us? It’s efficiency runs. Efficiency runs are first down runs. So, on third and one if you get a yard but it impacts your overall stats at the end of the day, that’s an efficient run. We want efficient runs.”
Ole Miss sports the worst run defense in the Southeastern Conference. That’s been well publicized. LSU will attempt to take advantage of that, but ultimately Nussmeier and the passing game are going to have to carry LSU. The Tigers have struggled to run the ball this year, and starting running back Caden Durham is very questionable for Saturday’s game.
“I think we found a rhythm that we like, an identity that is clearly what we want to be from an offensive standpoint,” Kelly said. “And then we want to be able to use the run game to set up everything else that we do, and that’s really where when we start to step back and look at what you want for an offense.”
On Saturday, LSU’s offense will either prove itself to be a cog in a machine destined for the playoff or the weak link opposite a championship defense.
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