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 the Tigers 19-3 win over Mississippi State.
1st Down: Phenomenal Defensive Performance
If the Tigers defense played like this all season long, they could very well be the second-ranked team headed into the open date. They stifled the Bulldogs offense with only 260 net yards. On top of that, they attacked Fitzgerald with four interceptions.
Over the last few week, some listeners have said that we haven’t shown appreciation for Dave Aranda and the job he has done with the defense this year. Here’s the thing, the defense hasn’t been the issue for LSU in recent years and it’s done a very solid job.
This is an outlier of a ballgame in terms of the statistics and when you get four interceptions in a single game, you’re going to get some love.
2nd Down: Sloppy Offensive Performance
If not for that defensive performance, Mississippi State would’ve rolled to an easy win. The Tigers offensive output, especially in the first half was laughable with only 79 yards, 17 of which were on the ground.
The Bulldogs front seven seemed like they were paying rent in the backfield for a good chunk of the ballgame, stopping Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Nick Brossette from getting out into open space. The run game for LSU has been their calling card in recent years, but Saturday night it was almost non-existent.
3rd Down: Delpit Continues to Ball Out
I mentioned earlier that the defense was able to get four interceptions on the afternoon, including two from Grant Delpit. We all knew what kind of talent that the sophomore would be from the second he stepped on campus and now he’s making it look too easy against some of the bottom dwellers in the SEC, which sounds strange to say about Mississippi State.
That being said, DBU looked a little bit more like DBU despite what some people out in Gainesville are saying.
4th Down: Cole Tracy Master Class
Yes, the offense has a hard time finding the endzone but would you rather need to get into the endzone or have an insurance policy that is as accurate as Cole Tracy. As long as you have him within 50 yards, he’s like J-Stew from back in the day on the Jim Rome Show: Mr. Automatic. Last night was a prime example of that, going a perfect four-for-four.
While it seems like that won’t get the job done against Alabama in two weeks, the Tigers have a reliable kicker in the event that this becomes similar to that 2011 game.
Extra Point: Worst Targeting Call Ever?
Speaking of the Alabama game in two weeks, there’s Black Helicopters abound with Devin White being ejected for targeting in the fourth quarter. I’ve looked at the film, some of the photos going around, and even talked to various people about it. That was NOT targeting and I hope the SEC can see if there’s some other angles that show it’s not that and we could see White be able to play all four quarters.
We saw what happened in that one drive against Florida where the junior linebacker wasn’t on the field. You can only imagine what that’d be like against a Crimson Tide offense that has had their way with every team they’ve faced for an entire half. It’s not a knock against Patrick Queen, but White is the leader of this defense and being without him for an entire half could be a complete mess.
-Clint Domingue