That was a weird one.
LSU handled much of the sustainable portion of Saturday’s game. Kentucky threw the knockout punches. The last one landed in the form of Kenny Minchey’s quarterback draw on a two-point conversion and 35-34 victory over the Tigers.
This is not a bad LSU team, but it’s one with some flaws that have dominated a pair of losses.
LSU’s highest grades from the loss to Kentucky came from role players. The lowest came in some key spots.
Let’s get into it.
HIGHEST GRADES
- Roman Mothershed, WR/TE – 77.9
- Jackson Harris, WR – 76.0
- Richard Anderson, DT – 72.6
- Dylan Carpenter, DE – 72.2
- Dilin Jones, RB – 71.9
The top two on the list made LSU’s two biggest plays of the game. That double pass for a 41-yard touchdown was a thing of beauty. Harris fired a perfect spiral on the money to a streaking Mothershed who got a foot inside the pylon. You’d rather the “meat and potatoes” of the roster to grade the highest as opposed to the razzle-dazzle, but it was a great play.
Harris also made one hell of a catch on the touchdown that made it 17-14 Tigers in the second quarter. He got rocked on the play and held on. For the game, he finished with six catches for 54 yards and the score.
Mothershed graded just a 54.7 in running blocking, but a 41-yard touchdown helps the cause.
Anderson played just 16 snaps. It’s encouraging that he graded so well, but he wasn’t a key player in the game. His run defense grade was 67.6, and he batted a pass down.
Carpenter played 20 snaps. He hurried the passer once and was credited with a tackle, the same story as with Anderson. You’d rather your 50-70 snap players grade the highest as opposed to rotational pieces.
Jones isn’t a rotational piece. He’s a damn good back. He graded a 90.7 in the passing game. He caught all seven of his targets for 84 yards with four of them going for first downs. His pass blocking grade was just 16.5. He allowed two pressures on seven pass blocking reps. That’s got to improve, but Jones was productive with the ball in his hands.
LOWEST GRADES
- Eugene Wilson III, WR – 47.5
- Zach Grace, TE – 50.3
- Aliou Bah, RG – 53.5
- William Satterwhite, LG – 55.1
- Davhon Keys, LB – 57.9
Head coach Lane Kiffin’s decision to punt on fourth-and-one will be criticized for a long time. His guards grading out so poorly is another data point in the decision.
Bah graded a 45.7 in the running game and Satterwhite 54.8. LSU’s guard play hasn’t been great this year. Bah’s 88.7 pass blocking grade is exceptional, but failure to get consistent push on the ground is an issue. Satterwhite allowed three hurries and a sack. The search for quality left guard play continues.
Wilson had a drop and was actually dinged for tipping a pass that got intercepted. That wasn’t on him, but the throw sailed.
Grace was just a 49.7 in run blocking. He did finally make a touchdown catch on a gorgeously designed flea-flicker play that freed him along the right sideline.
Keys was actually excellent against the run for the most part. His run defense grade was 82.5, and his tackling grade was 84.0. He was credited with nine tackles, seven solo. He also broke up a pass. Coverage, though, was a problem with four of his five targets being caught for 91 yards. He was also penalized for touching Minchey’s facemask.
