Welcome everyone to another edition of #4Downs! This edition will break down the LSU Tigers victory over the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
1st Down: Buga Nation of Domination
Leonard Fournette was pretty much business as usual, but since the sophomore running back accounted for all three of the Tigers scores on Saturday night, how can we not bring him up right out of the gate. Fournette had 28 carries for 163 yards and his longest run was his 26-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Coach Miles seems to just want the leader of Buga Nation to have the ball as much as possible. Based off of Fournette’s performance on Saturday, this could be a smart move.
2nd Down: Harris looked OK
Overall, Brandon Harris looked alright in his first start of the 2015 season. The sophomore quarterback completed nine of his 14 passes for 71 yards and kept it five times for 53 yards at Davis-Wade Stadium. At the end of the day, it’s hard to say whether or not Harris looks good because of the number of plays that Fournette had on the night. Overall, I’m pleased in the performance Harris had on Saturday against an SEC school.
3rd Down: Costly penalites negate huge plays
One big issue was LSU shooting itself in the foot with two plays that would have been scores, but were negated by penalites. The first of which was early one with Harris connecting with Travin Dural for what would’ve been a 32-yard score that was negated by a hold from Josh Boutte. Another moment was a 79-yard jet sweep that was negated by another penalty. This is one of those things that needs to be cleaned up in practice immediately. This could have made the game entirely different.
4th Down: Playing conservatively almost costs LSU
If you look at all three drives the Tigers had in the fourth quarter, all but one play was a run play. If you are up by a significant amount, I would understand this strategy, but only being up by eight points is an iffy situation. At least throw some passes to keep the defense on their toes. This is something that will need to be changed before next week’s game against Auburn.
Thanks for reading another edition of #4Downs!
-Clint Domingue