The LSU Tigers remain undefeated as they take their home debut against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs by a score of 23-7. It wasn't a pretty game, but they did come through with a victory.
The first half was a carbon copy of what happened last week against the Clemson Tigers, except that the Tigers were able to find the endzone this time around. Elite defense and poor offense. It never changed this time, though.
Starting with the negatives, because that’s what stood out the most, this offense remains clunky.
It felt like something was always going wrong for the offense. It would be a playcalling issue, Garrett Nussmeier not looking like himself, the offensive line getting bullied or even a wide receiver dropping a pass.
Nussmeier did have some more NFL throws down the stretch, but had far more ugly plays in this one. He ended the day 26-for-41 with 237 yards, one touchdown and an interception.
The interception was him making the right decision this time, but he just underthrew the pass, which allowed it to be deflected into a receiver's hands. There was an instance of him taking the unnecessary deep ball down the field, but it fell for an incompletion.
The Heisman-favorite also had some instances of overthrowing his receivers, sailing over their heads with passes and taking some bad sacks.
Nic Anderson got off to a hot start, but cooled off after the first touchdown drive. Aaron Anderson and Barion Brown took over, though, combining for 16 catches and 167 yards. Their speed looks game-breaking at times.
The offensive line also struggled mightily, both in protecting Nussmeier and in creating room in the run game. The only runs that worked were with Brown and Zavion Thomas again, until five-star freshman Harlem Berry broke out late.
Berry had an early big run and then broke off a 43-yard run late, showcasing the play-making ability that had him so highly-touted out of high school. It would be great to see him more involved in the offense in the future.
Taking away that 43-yard run, LSU running backs combined for 23 attempts and 44 yards. Nothing was working at all for most of the day.
The Tigers had some bad injury luck in this one. Offensive starters Braelin Moore and Trey’Dez Green both went down and ended up in boots before the game was over. It could be two major losses for an offense that already wasn’t looking up to snuff.
To focus on some good, this was a standout game on defense for the Weeks brothers at linebacker, both Whit and West. There was a lot of running and short passes, putting the pressure on the linebackers.
West, the older brother, had 10 tackles with one for a loss and half a sack. Whit had three tackles with half of a TFL and half a sack. At one point, the brothers combined for a sack.
It was a fairly boring game to be an LSU cornerback because they really didn’t get tested at all. DJ Pickett and Mansoor Delane each had a pass breakup. PJ Woodland and Delane tied for the most tackles with just two.
The most exciting play for Pickett came when defensive coordinator Blake Baker sent him on a blitz, much like the one with Woodland last week. The five-star freshman looked like a natural pass rusher out there with his 6-foot-5 frame, albeit much lighter.
Baker has continued the experimentation with much success. This season could look much different through two games without his unit completely dominating through two weeks.