Stephen Lew
By Hunt Palmer
LSU’s scuffling offense only produced 20 points on Saturday night. That probably won’t suffice in several games moving forward.
Some of what we saw against South Carolina will, though.
The Tigers moved the ball consistently, racking up 420 total yards including an encouraging 166 on the ground courtesy of 30 carries at 5.5 yards per rush. Trey’Dez Green proved as uncoverable as he did all of August when an elite Tiger defense struggled with him daily in camp. Garrett Nussmeier wasn’t sacked. He tucked the ball and ran with it on a handful of occasions. His 30 yards rushing were a career high.
The positives were obvious. The negative was the 20 points.
Fans have voiced frustration with playcalling, gameplan and production. Brian Kelly notably criticized a reporter who asked about the offense following the similarly sloppy win over Florida. Two weeks later those offensive concerns cost LSU against a functional Ole Miss offense that couldn’t be manhandled by this LSU defense the way Clemson, Florida and now South Carolina have been.
I didn’t think the coaches cost LSU on Saturday. That was on the players.
Twice the Tigers turned the ball over inside the South Carolina two yard line–first on Ju’Juan Johnson’s fumble and then on a horrid interception from Nussmeier in the fourth quarter.
LSU’s second drive, which was set up by a South Carolina fumble on the Gamecocks’ first offensive snap, stalled because Nussmeier missed Green wide open in the middle of the field. Whether it was a poor throw behind Green or a miscommunication where Green was supposed to sit down in the zone, the players made the error.
Chris Hilton raced by the Carolina defense four minutes before halftime. Nussmeier underthrew him slightly, and Hilton dropped it. Again, not exactly coaching.
Nussmeier’s first interception came on a third down and 12. Kyle Parker came wide open near the sticks, and Nussmeier sailed the ball high into the grasp of the deep safety. That should have been pitch and catch.
Nussmeier fumbled a quarterback sneak inside the two yard line on LSU final drive. I don’t think he was coached to do that.
The running game showed new wrinkles.
Harlem Berry got early carries. Johnson was used in the wildcat with Malachi Lane at fullback. Jack Pyburn played fullback, too. Nussmeier went under center. Thanks to some big runs, LSU ripped off 166 yards on the ground.
It’s not perfect. Far from it.
But how different is the story if the 420 yards produces 30-plus points? If Johnson scores from a foot away and Hilton catches the deep ball that preceded the first interception, that’s at least 3o. If’s and But’s are just that, and ultimately the 20 points is what matters. But there are positives that aren’t hard to dig for. Had LSU averaged 30 a game in September, we’d be saying this 20 was a bit of an aberration because of the errors. Since the offense has been questionable, the discussion flips to the point total instead of the positives. And that’s fair.
The bottom line is that Nussmeier must play better for LSU to compete with the best teams on the schedule. The red zone interception was unacceptable. When the deep ball is open, he’s got to either get it out there far enough or stop throwing it. He just hasn’t looked like the same guy this year. LSU’s defense has been able to cover for that through six games. The Tigers are 5-1 and very much in the thick of it.
Doubt remains in the fan base and with the national media. That won’t change until the offense does something to change it.
The coaches aren’t blameless, but the players will have to step up.
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