These are three key takeaways from the LSU Tigers' great offensive night against the McNeese St. Cowboys.
The LSU Tigers had a fairly easy night on Saturday against the McNeese St. Cowboys, winning the matchup 63-14, with only a couple of hiccups throughout the night.
For the most part, the night saw some exciting bench players take advantage of increased snaps, and the starters built confidence with another strong performance. Here are some of the key takeaways from the game:
Rushing Attack Looked Far Better
The Tigers offensive line finally looked like and SEC-level offensive line. They should have been the stronger group on the field, and they were, but that hasn't always been the case in recent years. Earlier this season against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, they struggled to get a push.
Jordan Seaton, in particular, was a standout. He has been stellar in pass protection all year long, but hasn't offered much impact in the run game. He was moving folks in this game and opening up a ton of holes while on the field Saturday.
It helps to have players like Dilin Jones, Harlem Berry and Stacy Gage all in the rotation. Caden Durham not getting snaps is the result of a good problem to have for the school. The rushing attack combined for 367 yards and six touchdowns in this game. The offense as a whole had 731 yards as a result, the second-most in school history.
LSU Tigers Should Continue Backup Competition
Landen Clark has been fantastic in his role throughout the year and should continue to be used this way all year. If there is ever a point where they need a full-time backup, they should give Husan Longstreet another look.
In the passing game, Clark has been a bit inefficient. He has gone 14-of-31 (45.2%) through the air for 235 yards with a touchdown. That matches what he did last year on a larger sample size at 56%.
Longstreet looked strong on Saturday, and is now up to 7-of-10 through the air for 95 yards. He has five rushes for 35 yards, and was the team's second half punt returner.
To be clear, having two talented backups is a great problem to have. This is less about the play of Clark, and more about just allowing talent to shine through competition.
Roman Mothershed Has The Chance To Be A Season Saver
This offense losing Trey'Dez Green had a chance to throw everything off for this offense. To that point, the passing attack had been mostly lackluster when it wasn't going to Green or Winston Watkins and Green was by their best red zone target. Sam Leavitt has been better since, but the tight ends didn't offer much last week.
Mothershed was a 6-foot-5, 215-pound redshirt junior wide receiver. He transferred over from the Troy Trojans and was often mentioned as a standout in camp, but hadn't broken through at wideout. Now, they moved him to tight end and gave him Green's old number.
He had just two catches for 11 yards, but one of those was a touchdown on a route that would have gone to Green. If they can get Mothershed involved consistently until Green returns, their offense will be far more productive because of it.
