The eyes of the country are back on LSU ahead of their road trip to Oxford this Saturday. But first, we continue our weekly Sunday tradition looking back at Saturday’s game with two truths and a lie. LSU got to 2-0 after their 45-14 win over Louisiana Tech, and there are a lot of things to discuss from the performance.
Truth No. 1 – The win was underwhelming, and that’s a good thing
A week ago, LSU beat the daylights out of one of the premier programs in college football over the last two decades. The 51-10 drubbing of Clemson on national television confirmed what LSU fans and administration felt all along about hiring Lane Kiffin. It was the right decision no matter the off-field distractions. This Saturday was different. The offense sputtered. The scoreboard rarely lit up in the first 30 minutes, and the complacency that Kiffin screamed about avoiding during his leaked halftime locker room speech seemed to set in for the Tigers.
At halftime it was 10-7, a far cry from the 31-3 score in Week 1. Without sounding like a sunshine pumper, I’m not sure Lane Kiffin could have drawn up a better start for the big picture of this team. Nick Saban used to love games like this, and a Week 2 sleepwalk to a win wasn’t unusual when he was at Alabama. That’s how Saturday night felt. An underwhelming 31-point win with over 500 yards of offense? What a difference a year and a new head coach make.
There are two positive takeaways from Saturday that should outweigh any negatives. One, good teams and great coaches make halftime adjustments, and that’s exactly what LSU did scoring on six of their seven possessions in the second half. And two, now Kiffin and this team can collectively refocus and get back to playing with a chip on their shoulder after realizing just how bad this team can look if they aren’t focused for all 60 minutes.
Truth No. 2 – Blake Baker has the best defense in America
Alabama’s defense looks really good. Kirby Smart and Brent Venables’ units are still as dominant as ever. But, the best defense not only in this conference but also the country resides in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Diminish the numbers all you want since it’s Louisiana Tech, but that’s a Bulldogs team that scored 80 points a week ago. Through the first 30 minutes of play on Saturday night they were held to zero yards of offense. Zero. Four of their first five possessions ended in zero or negative yards. They ended the night with -3 yards rushing on 31 attempts. The Tigers forced three turnovers and recorded seven sacks on the night.
We said all offseason the biggest reason to believe in this team being able to compete for a championship wasn’t the offense. Kiffin’s offenses will always put up points. However, he finally gets to have a defensive coordinator that doesn’t need you to spot him 30 to go win a game. You get the feeling that if the Tigers can score 20 or more each game, there aren’t a lot of teams that will be able to beat them because of how dominant the defense is.
The Lie – Sam Leavitt is LSU’s biggest concern after throwing three interceptions
Leavitt’s Week 2 numbers weren’t great. The three first half interceptions would almost certainly put LSU in a bigger hole against good competition. The bigger concern though was the run game looking like a shell of itself compared to Week 1.
It’s unrealistic to think the offense will rush for over 300 yards every week, but being held to 3.3 yards per carry was pretty shocking. Dilin Jones was held to 66 yards on 18 carries (3.7 yards per rush). Even more concerning though, is the growing feeling that Kiffin and Charlie Weis Jr. may not be as high on the depth of their running backs as everyone else was coming into the season. The backup running backs combined for just seven carries between three players. The wide receivers and tight ends combined for five.
Maybe it’s nothing, and they are just trying to show more wrinkles in the run game, so it’s another thing on tape for opponents to prepare for. Still, Harlem Berry and Caden Durham combining for three carries and 2 total yards against Louisiana Tech was not something anyone had on their bingo card.
