The LSU Tigers are in survival mode now after suffering an early second loss of the year last weekend. There are no breaks in the SEC, as they now host the No. 16 Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday morning.

The outlook of this game will change drastically once the statuses of Bulldogs stars Kamario Taylor and Fluff Bothwell are known, but assuming they play this could be another tough matchup.

Here are some keys to victory for the Tigers to follow as they look to get back into the win column:

Leavitt is obviously a very talented quarterback, but he’s also extremely volatile. LSU saw him begin to regress back into the same mistakes he made earlier in the year.

His great two week stretch came as he sat in the pocket, went through progressions, stayed patient and delivered the ball. Against the Kentucky Wildcats, once the mistakes started to flow, he got sloppy.

The earlier offensive game plan should be centered around getting some easy looks for him to rebuild some of that confidence. They need him playing more securely if they want to win SEC games.

Whether or not Taylor plays, the plan should be the same along the defensive line, apply pressure to the passer. 

If Taylor plays, he doesn’t handle pressure all that well. Everyone’s efficiencies drop, but Taylor  is especially prone to mistakes. The best plays are when he has time to let a route develop and uses his arm to stretch the field.

If Taylor doesn’t play, it’ll likely be redshirt freshman Parker Puckett. Puckett has look ok when he has played, but Blake Baker would be ecstatic to face him with the weapons they have on defense.

This is not about using Jones any less, but rather looking for opportunities to grow this rushing attack. 

Jones has been a great addition from this offseason. He, at many times, has been one of the only things working on the ground thanks to his powerful style and being hard to take down.

Those types of backs thrive when there is a shiftier, speedier guy to throw off the rhythm of the defense and keep everyone fresh. That should be Berry’s role.

Berry started out the year in the doghouse due to not handling the new responsibilities in the offense well. Now, it’s clear that he’s taken over the RB2 role. He had just three attempts in that last game, while they weren’t efficient, neither was Jones. It feels like everyone could benefit from a split share.