Saturday night’s final score was predictable. The way we got there probably wasn’t.
LSU stumbled early on offense and then turned the ball over on four straight drives. One of those was a red zone interception that quickly became a pick six.
After that, LSU outscored Louisiana Tech, 35-7.
Unsurprisingly, the defense carried the day in terms of high grades. Sam Leavitt’s marks were surprising considering the turnovers. LSU will have to be cleaner on offense to compete in the next two games. Defensively, it’s hard to nit pick.
HIGHEST GRADES
- TJ Dottery, LB – 95.1
- Deuce Geralds, DT – 92.5
- Tamarcus Cooley, S – 87.4
- Whit Weeks, LB – 82.6
- Sam Leavitt, QB – 81.6
I’ll lump the linebackers together here, because Dottery and Weeks have been exceptional through two weeks. Dottery’s grade is as high as I’ve ever seen for someone with 40 snaps played. He led the team with nine tackles, but the two forced fumbles elevate the grade in a major way.
One was a strip, and the other was a punch out. Dottery didn’t miss a tackle and graded 94.0 in coverage. Weeks made seven tackles, four were solo. Three of his tackles stopped drives.
Geralds is an easy pick for the next breakout star on defense. He played 29 snaps, made four tackles, hurried the quarterback twice and notched a sack. He also chased a play down and forced a fumble with the ripcord action that produced a turnover. He’s a really slippery in that B gap where he spent most of his time.
Cooley graded 88.7 in coverage where most of his work was done.
I’m really stunned Leavitt graded so highly with three interceptions and an overthrow of Trey’Dez Green. One was a poor throw on a red zone slant, and the other was a bad decision. However, he did make plays with his legs to the tune of three rushing touchdowns. Leavitt will have to play better, but he is a playmaker.
LOWEST GRADES
- Davhon Keys, LB – 30.0
- Weston Davis, RT – 43.4
- Jayce Brown, WR – 52.1
- Bo Bordelon, LG – 57.5
- Zach Grace, TE – 60.1
The two returning players on LSU’s offensive line were question marks entering the season and their PFF grades haven’t been good through two weeks. Davis played 73 snaps, 45 in pass protection. He allowed three pressures including a hurry and a sack. He was also flagged for a false start. Bordelon allowed three hurries from his left guard spot. He graded 63.5 in pass protection and 54.2 in run blocking. Lane Kiffin said he needed better guard play, and I’m not sure he got it.
Keys only played 20 snaps, missed a tackle and graded 28.9 in coverage. It wasn’t impactful, though, as he only gave up one catch for six yards.
Brown has been targeted downfield in back-to-back weeks, but he’s not creating any separation when he’s called on. That was his only target.
Grace is an H-back who graded 30.6 in pass protection.
