Welcome everyone to the latest edition of #4Downs where I break down what went right and what went wrong for the LSU Tigers! This week, I look at LSU’s big win over Florida.
1st Down: Jetsetting Offense
If anything LSU’s offense committed to a big part of their offense on Saturday in Gainesville utilizing the jet sweep. A lot of that can be accounted to it working pretty well, including when Russell Gage took it to the house from 30 yards out.
What’s even more interesting is that only one receiver caught a pass in the entire game. Looking at how it was distributed, the Tigers running backs caught five of the nine completed passes. While that may have been a product of losing Derrick Dillon in the first quarter due to a targeting call, it’s something worth keeping an eye on.
2nd Down: Getting Shifty
Last week, head coach Ed Orgeron intervened on the Tigers using a lot of pre-snap motions and there were minimal usage of these shifts in the first half against Troy. Whatever was said in that meeting between Alleva, Orgeron, and Matt Canada must have been the trick for this offense because they looked better than they had in the last two games.
While it wasn’t like LSU’s offense last year against Missouri, seeing an offense that looked dormant for a few weeks is a step in the right direction as they begin their murderer’s row of a schedule the rest of the way.
3rd Down: Mea Culpa
Those words may have been said by Orgeron after the ballgame to Connor Culp. During the Coach’s Show on Wednesday, Orgeron stated that they would recruit the best kicker I the country and largely throwing his kickers under the bus.
Culp’s lone field goal was pretty good as the first half came to a close from 38-yards out. Having a freshman do that in Gainesville has to be a big confidence boost and it could be huge for this team going forward.
4th Down: Devin White Midseason MVP
After the loss to Troy, the team got together for a players-only meeting and according to the players, a lot of things were said by some of the veterans on this squad, but also by Devin White. He has become the defensive leader on this team in more ways than one and Saturday’s win proved it.
White was all over the place on Saturday with 13 total tackles, including a sack on Feliepe Franks in the first quarter. If he can keep that going, this defense has a chance to keep the scoring way down.
-Clint Domingue