By Hunt Palmer
THE STORY: LSU got the job done Saturday night. It was the final dress rehearsal for a seven-game SEC stretch, and for much of the 60 minutes the Tigers were sharp and dominant. Does Garrett Nussmeier need to take better care of the ball? Sure. But overall, the Tigers rolled offensively and steadily smothered the South Alabama offense outside of a pair of third quarter drives. Leading 42-10 with 14 minutes to play tells the story.
LSU’s defense eliminated huge plays for a second straight week. The passing game kept on clicking, and the Tigers ran the ball effectively.
The last two weeks LSU’s defense has relied on big plays like sacks and turnovers. On Saturday it was a more clinical effort in terms of assignments and tackling. South Alabama’s read-option offense did not confuse LSU and proved ineffective.
Caden Durham’s injury will be worth monitoring. His explosiveness and shiftiness are the best compliment to this offensive line’s pass blocking ability. He’ll need to be back in short order.
A short week of practice and the open date now give LSU a chance to reset as Ole Miss comes to town. Tiger Stadium will be full. Tiger Stadium will be loud. A win in that one will have people talking about major opportunities in 2024. A loss will all but take most of those away.
THE PLAYS: On the game’s first snap, the fireworks stared. Durham took a simple swing pass from Nussmeier and turned it upfield with a convoy of blockers. He weaved through a level of South Alabama defenders and turned on the jets for a 71-yard score. It was LSU’s first touchdown on the game’s first opening snap since Dalton Hilliard scored against Ole Miss in 1982
Durham tried to make it two plays and two scores when he broke free on LSU’s second snap. He bolted 81 yads down to the one yard line to set up Nussmeier’s sneak score.
Nussmeier completed back-to-back beauties for LSU’s fifth touchdown. On consecutive plays he hit Mason Taylor and Aaron Anderson with darts in tight windows. The first to Taylor for 30 yards, the second to Anderson for 23 more as he fell into the endzone. Those types of throws make Nussmeier an NFL candidate.
After South Alabama scored to open the second half to make it 35-10, Nussmeier was intercepted to give the Jaguars the ball back. They drove it all the way inside the LSU five yard line and faced fourth and goal from the four. Jaguar quarterback Gio Lopez dropped to throw and decided to keep. He approached the goalline where he was met by Tiger linebacker Whit Weeks. The collision popped Lopez’s helmet off and stood him up just shy of the goalline. LSU took over on downs. That was South Alabama’s last chance to make a game of it.
THE STATS: LSU muzzled the South Alabama rushing attack in the first half. The Jaguars ran 19 times for 2.6 yards per carry before intermission. Fluff Bothwell and Gio Lopez have been a formidable rushing tandem. LSU wasn’t having it early.
South Alabama ran 34 plays in the first half. LSU ran 33. The Tigers won the yardstick 429-124.
Nine more Tigers caught passes from Nussmeier. LSU continues to spread the wealth in the passing game.
Greg Penn made 14 tackles, a career high.
