By Hunt Palmer
Six years is an eternity in college football terms.
It’s been that long since LSU opened with a win. In that case, it was a clinical, 55-3, beatdown of Georgia Southern where Joe Burrow threw for five touchdowns and the Tiger defense held the visiting Eagles to 98 yards of offense.
Since then, KJ Costello set a passing record in front of literal stick figures in end zone seats, UCLA ran it down LSU’s throat, Florida State swept a neutral site double dip and USC escaped Sin City a winner.
Brian Kelly has been at the helm for the last three, but reasonable minds can suggest the first Florida State loss was excusable. Having two placekicks blocked isn’t, but the circumstances around that game with a brand-new coaching staff, roster and program base made things a bit dicey.
LSU has just been beaten the last two seasons. The question becomes, why?
I took a look at the, 45-24, loss to Florida State in Orlando and the, 27-20, loss to USC in Las Vegas to see if I could find any commonalities that LSU could work to prevent this time around at Clemson.
AEREAL ATTACK
LSU’s passing defense against Jordan Travis and Miller Moss was abhorrent in both ballgames. Awful.
The two quarterbacks combined to complete 50-of-67 (75 percent) of their throws for 720 yards and five touchdowns against just one interception. Over two games, five different pass catchers had a reception of 38 yards or more.
That’s just not offering any resistance at all through the air.
Travis went on to have an excellent season throwing to Keon Coleman, Johnny Wilson and co. He threw for 20 touchdowns against just two interceptions and led the ACC in passer rating. LSU’s passing defense finished 118th of 133 FBS teams.
That matchup was a bad one.
USC finished 10th in the country in passing offense last season, but Moss missed time due to injury. His season high in passing yards was against LSU.
The Tigers went on to finish 10th in the SEC in passing defense and 12th completion percentage allowed. Those losses were a harbinger of things to come.
LSU faces another veteran, talented quarterback on Saturday night in Cade Klubnik. He’s got an exceptional trio of wide outs at his disposal in Antonio Williams, Bryant Wesco Jr. and TJ Moore. This time around LSU’s defensive backs have had a much better fall camp running alongside the LSU receivers.
The test will be stern, but LSU has to cover more effectively.
HOUSED AFTER HALFTIME
LSU hasn’t even been competitive in the second half in the two games. The scoreboard was competitive near the end of the USC game, but the Trojans controlled the action late. Florida State just embarrassed the Tigers.
In those two games, the combined score after halftime has been 52-13. FIFTY-TWO TO THIRTEEN. Florida State ripped off 31 unanswered on LSU, and USC won the second half 21-6.
Travis only threw one incompletion after halftime. He threw two touchdowns. Moss threw for 202 yards after intermission. The combined fourth quarter score alone was 35-10.
It’s not that LSU hasn’t come prepared to play in the openers. The Tigers led 14-7 with just over a minute to play before halftime in Orlando. They played USC to a tie after the first quarter and second quarter and led after three periods.
So, what happened?
Well, Florida State leaned on LSU. The Seminoles led time of possession 19:35 to 10:25 in the second half. Kyren Lacy had a crucial third down drop to stall a drive, and Malik Nabers fell down on a route that led to an interception. LSU’s defense couldn’t stand up to that type of pressure.
Against USC, LSU had one great 78-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter. The other five possessions resulted in two three and outs, a five-play punt, a nine-play drive that stalled for a red zone field goal and a desperation interception. Twenty-one plays, 25 yards and a pick.
Not great.
Call it poor late-game execution. Call it a lack of adjustments. Call it getting beat by a better team.
Any way you slice it, LSU was a shell of itself in the second half of both games. That’s winning time, and LSU got smoked.
TAKE THE POINTS
Here’s one everyone remembers.
The last two LSU seasons have started with long drives that produced no points.
In Orlando, Tre Bradford took a swing pass deep into Florida State territory. LSU drove inside the five to the three and couldn’t convert a fourth and goal. The turnover on downs was a killer.
Fast forward a year, LSU drives 74 yards down to the goal line and again failed a fourth down try to come away with nothing.
The consensus in Saturday’s game is that Clemson’s defensive front is a far more draft-able group than LSU’s offensive line at the moment. Nothing exposes that more than tight spaces and fourth down. It’s the toughest matchup LSU will face on either side of the ball. Featuring your worst matchup in huge spots is a losing formula.
LSU needs to take points when they’re available.
The Tigers came away with nothing on two red zone trips against Florida State and another at USC. That’s three empty red zone possessions in two games. For example, Vanderbilt had three last SEASON. Missouri had five.
Points are good. Take them, especially early.
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