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, we look at the Tigers 31-0 win over Southeastern Louisiana.
1st Down: Offensive Line Play Not Up to Par
Things looked good for LSU’s offense to start the ballgame. Joe Burrow was able to keep his composure for the entire first quarter, but somewhere in the second quarter the offensive line started to show some flaws. Throughout the rest of the ballgame, Joe Burrow was under pressure and that led to him going 10-for-20 after having a solid debut in the purple and gold for Miami.
This is definitely a warning sign for next week’s matchup against Auburn and if more of the same happens, Burrow will have a rough time at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
2nd Down: Brossette Keeps Rolling
For the second week in a row, Nick Brossette showed that it is his time to shine as the RB1 after waiting behind greats like Derrius Guice and Leonard Fournette. He didn’t record a touchdown, but he was able to have another standout performance with 137 yards on 19 carries, with his longest being a 42-yard run in the third quarter.
The run game has been an integral part of this team’s identity the last several years and there was some concern if they could keep that going without a true bellcow. Well, Brossette has answered that call with authority the last two weeks.
3rd Down: Good Defensive Effort
No need for a turnover chain, chalice, or even a throne down in Baton Rouge. This defense is motivated simply because of the fact that defensive coordinator Dave Aranda has given the proverbial keys to the castle when it comes to his schemes and it showed in the win with 5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss. One play that stood out to me was when Chason Virgil was sacked by Breiden Fehoko within seconds of snapping the ball. It was clear that this defense wasn’t playing around.
Add the fact that they racked up three turnovers and shutout the Lions further proves that this is one of the better defenses that the Tigers have had.
4th Down: No Brennan?
When a Power 5 program like LSU faces off against an FCS program or an inferior Group of Five program, you’d expect to see the Tigers bring out Myles Brennan especially with the new redshirt rule that allows players to participate in four games. In fact, many people thought that we’d see the sophomore either to begin the second half or in mop up duty in the fourth.
Without reading too much into the tea leaves, it seems like head coach Ed Orgeron wanted to see a little bit more from his starter in the second half despite being up 24-0 headed into the locker room. It’s another interesting wrinkle in LSU’s quarterback situation after Narcisse and McMillan transferred out of the program a few weeks before the regular season kicked off.
Extra Point: More Questions Than Answers
A ballgame against Southeastern Louisiana shouldn’t have you posing any questions about the program, but here we are after some questionable offensive line. Can they hold up against an SEC-caliber defense? Can Joe Burrow come out of next week healthy, especially if he doesn’t slide like he said during postgame interviews?
It felt like last Sunday a lot of things were answered about this team, but to paraphrase the late Roddy Piper, LSU just changed the questions.
-Clint Domingue