The Good

  • 14: The number of total tackles by junior defensive lineman Danielle Hunter. It might come as a bit of a surprise, but Hunter is leading the team in tackles, with seven solos and seven assists, and that’s without recording a sack. He’s been stout against the run, and with the way he’s playing it won’t be long until the sacks start to flow. That could come this week against a weak ULM offensive line.
  • 281: Leonard Fournette’s total yards. The freshman got off to a slow start on the ground, but he’s made his impact in other places and is second on the team in total yards. He’s been very good in the kick return game, averaging more than 23 yards per return. Les Miles seems intent on getting the ball in his hands, as evidenced by being the only non-wide receiver to catch a pass in the Sam Houston game, and it won’t be long until he’s running people over in all facets.
  • 7: Sacks for LSU’s defense. Six of those sacks came against a pass-heavy Sam Houston squad, and that bears positive signs for the ULM game. The Warhawks have thrown the ball on about 52 percent of their plays so far, far more than the Badgers, against whom LSU only registered one sack. The Tigers’ defensive line should have plenty of opportunity to get after ULM QB Pete Thomas, who is attempting 42.5 passes per game. ULM is only allowing two sacks per game, but o-line was one of their weaknesses coming into the season.

Bad

  • 2.92: Terrence Magee’s yards-per-carry average. Magee was chosen to wear No. 18 this year, so plenty was expected from him from a leadership standpoint. That hasn’t carried over to the field yet, as the senior is putting up paltry numbers on just 12 carries through two games. Magee has been a change-of-pace back throughout his career, and he’ll certainly get his chances at some point, but there are currently three RBs on the roster running the ball better than Magee is (not to mention two QBs).
  • 15: Catches by wide receivers. Travin Dural has been awesome, but he’s done his work on just six grabs. If Dural does indeed miss this weekend’s game, it could be a benefit to the other young pass catchers on the roster. John Diarse, Trey Quinn and Malachi Dupre are the only other receivers to haul in a pass this year, and they have nine catches between them.
  • 7: LSU passes that have been broken up. Louisiana-Monroe’s secondary has been quite active through two games, which is bad news for LSU passers. ULM has broken up 11 passes through two gamess. If they try to air it out early on Saturday as they did against Sam Houston they could be in for a rude awakening. Anthony Jennings and Brandon Harris will have to be a little more precise with their passing to avoid having their tosses knocked down.