By Charles Hanagriff
I spent a fair amount of time having my ID checked on the Vegas trip.
It wasn’t flattery. I haven’t looked 20 since, well, probably before I was 20. But the airline, hotel and rental car desk all wanted to make sure I was who I said I was.
It might be time to check some IDs on the LSU football team. Are they who we thought they were?
I thought the LSU offensive line would be the strength of the team, and a power running game would be the calling card for the Tiger offense. After one game, it’s fair to ask if that is going to be true. Against a USC team that was 119 of 133 teams against the run last season, LSU couldn’t establish a rushing attack.
On the flip side, the line did an excellent job of protecting quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who responded with accurate throws most of the night. Is LSU’s offense going to make their living through the air? When the game is on the line, how will Joe Sloan call it?
A crucial 3rd and 1 resulted in a run for no gain in the fourth quarter. Another key play, out of the two-minute warning (still getting used to that), resulted in Nussmeier making one of his few bad throws of the night.
I think Nussmeier is going to make that throw more often than he misses it the rest of the season, but I’m less certain that against better defensive fronts the Tigers will be able to consistently run the football.
If they do, Nussmeier is going to have to be a part of it. He will never be confused with Jayden Daniels, but if you’re going to run zone read, the QB must keep it every now and then, just so the defense knows he can.
That applies to when LSU goes empty, as well. USC had nobody in the middle of the field on at least two occasions, leaving ample room for the QB to make a big gain.
I’m not suggesting this will be a staple of the offense, but even the best fastball pitchers throw a changeup now and then.
While we’re on the topic of rushing the football, did we identify the backs in the correct order? At least in this game, Kaleb Jackson looked heavy, Josh Williams looked ordinary and John Emery looked refreshed, running with the best vision of the trio. Unfortunately for Emery and LSU, his season ended with a torn ACL at Tuesday’s practice.
The 12 personnel groups need to be looked at as well. If LSU has two TE’s on the field, running the football isn’t going to be a given, as the young players in this group are not very physical run blockers. That 3rd and 1 was blown up by a defender that came right across Ka’Morreun Pimpton’s nose.
We actually had a better read on the defense from camp. The Tigers looked improved up front, the combination of the addition of Bo Davis and Kevin Peoples, plus a quicker looking Savion Jones and an active Gio Paez. I would like to see more of Da’Shawn Womack, who could develop into a pass rushing force.
However, even with USC turned one-dimensional, and with an improved pass rush to boot, LSU still struggled in man coverage. Twice Miller Moss was able to draw pass interference calls on defensive backs not playing the football, and the Trojan signal caller was able to hit six different receivers for at least 45 yards. The receptions included only a handful of checkdowns, as Moss averaged 10.5 yards per attempt.
The Tigers do not have elite cover guys. What they do have is numbers. Some different combinations, possibly involving the young safeties, could be looked at this week against Nicholls St. The best solution may be just getting Zy Alexander back at corner and returning Sage Ryan to safety. Brian Kelly suggested Wednesday that Alexander’s role will gradually increase as he continues to work his way back from knee surgery.
The read on the return game being improved was correct. Zavion Thomas’ stat line might not have looked impressive, but by itself it would have been 22 percent of LSU’s returns last season and 29 percent of the yards. That is in one game. Thomas caught every punt except one.
LSU also found a kickoff man in Aeron Burrell, who held USC’s Zachariah Branch in check, save for the one time he had to kickoff from the 20. On that play, Burrell made a touchdown saving tackle on the dangerous Trojan return man.
The LSU punters held Branch without a punt return yard, and Damian Ramos continues to be a solid kicker. Special teams look solid at this point.
Ten penalties for 99 yards is a problem. It was a combination of poor execution and foolish decisions, and Brian Kelly has to do more than get angry about it. He’s got to fix it. I have no idea why this team would think a game is over when they lead by less than a touchdown.
A disappointing start for sure, but one that can be overcome (see: 2022). LSU might not have found their identity in Las Vegas, but now they know a little bit more about what they’re looking for.
