After opening loss, we still don't know what to expect from Myles Brennan or the LSU offense
The LSU offense was the most productive one in college football last season.
It was one of the most productive in the history of college football.
But in the season-opener Saturday, it was the 2nd-most productive offense in mostly-empty Tiger Stadium.
The inability of Myles Brennan and the LSU offense to keep up with KJ Costello and the Mississippi State offense in a 44-34 loss was a stark reminder that they won’t be able to catch up to what their predecessors did during the 2019 national championship season.
The only consistent thing about the offense’s performance was that across the board, it was uncomfortable from the outset.
Brennan and the passing game were awkward in the early going and that contributed to a nearly non-existent running game in the first half.
The offensive line was uncomfortable all game as Brennan was harassed routinely and the running game averaged 2.1 yards per rush. The Tigers finished with just 80 yards — the 2nd consecutive year MSU held them to double digits.
And offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger and first-year passing game coordinator Scott Linehan were uncomfortable in their play calling until the 3rd quarter when they finally seemed to get a feel for how to use the running game – such as it was – to help Brennan find a comfort zone.
In the end Brennan’s numbers weren’t bad – 27-of-46 for 345 yards with 3 touchdowns (2 to Terrace Marshall Jr. and 1 to freshman tight end Arik Gilbert on a blind alley-oop) with 2 interceptions.
We all know the key players from last year’s group that are not part of this year’s group. But it’s no longer about last year or who’s no longer at LSU.
That page has been turned and Saturday was about establishing a baseline for this year’s group.
It was bad in the beginning, encouraging in spots and concerning overall. This offense, this whole team really, was always going to be a work in progress because of a record number of personnel changes in the wake of a national championship.
That hasn’t changed. This is going to be a week-to-week challenge to consistently improve and move toward maximizing what this group can be by sometime later in the season.
That’s true of all teams, but this one will be watched more closely because of what happened last season and more significantly because of all that has happened since that championship game 257 days ago.
In the 1st quarter, neither team gave a hint of what the final score or statistics would look like. The 2nd quarter suggested both teams were acclimating themselves to a season opener that came 3 weeks later than it was supposed to.
Then in the second half all hell broke loose.
LSU’s offense had just 1 touchdown drive in the first half as the Tigers trailed 17-14 at intermission.
It was clear right away how much different the beginning of this season will be than last season was for the offense.
There was no rhythm in the 1st quarter in the blocking, the running, the passing or the play calling.
Either the receivers weren’t getting open or Brennan wasn’t locating the ones who were open, but it appeared to be the former more than the latter.
Ensminger leaned on the passing game early and the lack of success made it difficult to get the running game going.
But the lone 1st-half touchdown drive was the best the passing game would look. The Tigers started being a little more ambitious and it paid off.
Brennan threw a 7-yard completion to Jaray Jenkins before finding Gilbert for 16 yards and Jenkins for 47 yards to the 10.
LSU reached the 2 before Brennan faced a smothering pass run and lofted the 50-50 ball that Gilbert claimed. All but 4 of the 84 yards on the drive came through the air.
On their opening possession of the 2nd half, the Tigers had their best run-pass balance. They ran 5 times for 27 yards and Brennan completed 5-of-6 for 46 yards as they drove to a 1st-and-goal at the 2.
Things were starting to click.
But Tyrion Davis-Price was stopped for no gain on consecutive plays and Brennan was sacked and LSU settled for a tying field goal.
It was a microcosm of the offensive performance. Whenever good stuff started to happen, it wasn’t sustained for very long.
Brennan threw 37- and 33-yard touchdown passes to Marshall to keep LSU in it, but it was nearly enough to keep up with Costello, who looked pretty Joe Burrow-ish except for a few turnovers while setting an SEC single-game record with 623 yards.
It was a rocky start for everyone on the LSU offense – the coaches the runners, the passer, the pass-catchers and the blockers.
In fact we don’t know anymore about how good Myles Brennan, or the passing game or the offense as a whole are going to be than we knew going in. They have 2 weeks to figure it out before traveling to Florida on Oct. 17.
With Brennan I am reminded of John Brantley. Highly recruited, patiently sat behind a legend and waited his turn, and then a big disappointment.
The most glaring issue I had with Brennan is that he doesn’t process info near as fast as Burrow did. He actually seemed below average at that during the game as he held the ball too long way too many times.
I was actually hoping to see TJ Finley in the second half, offensive line wasn’t an issue. Myles had plenty time to throw the ball he just couldn’t make a decision and when he did it’s like he didn’t want to throw it, he was so hesitant. Very hard game to watch.
It was his first start. In Burrow’s first start, he was 11 of 24 for 140 yards. Brennan hit 60% for 345 yards and 3 TDs. No comparison. When the game slows down for him, he’ll be fine.
I don’t know if the game will slow down for him or not. He didn’t show great QB instincts by any means. He doesn’t trust his arm or his receivers enough and holds the ball way too long. He has a long way to go. Thankfully, Vandy is next.
I’m with MC on this one, Brennan just doesn’t seem to have what it takes overall. If he doesn’t absolutely roll with it at Vandy start rotating the back-ups through in the 2nd half.
LOL
Apparently losing 14 draft picks, Heisman winner, DC, Brains of the offense, matters after all huh?
How many LSwho’s were saying you wouldn’t miss a beat? That “we’re just like bama, we reload”..
Who was saying that? At least we won something.
Every single preseason poll put LSU 2nd place right behind bama. Plenty of articles out there supposing a back to back championship team if you google it since apparently you don’t remember all of the sudden
You’re full of it. The inferior types always get bold when the better programs lose. No one was saying anything about back to back titles.
LOL
You aren’t Bama. People were absolutely saying back to back. There would’ve no fall off. Get to back of the bus son.
Oh my. You’re joining the nonsense too. How goofy.
Of course yellowhammers of all stripes are going to pile on, they’ve been listening to Coach O’s gravelly insult on constant loop in their head coming up on a year now. Not sure what srg and auphin and rolltide have been reading, but I never saw those articles and nothing showed up in the search maybe it was just paranoia in Alabama.
LOL!
I’m crying.
I haven’t seen one person say that honestly..
The defense cannot stay in man coverage all game without pressure upfront. Like coach said the crossing route patterns were effective against man coverage, the DC should had made an adjustment during the game. This is a young team and hopefully the team can learn from this loss to prepare for Vandy next week Geaux Tigers!
Wow your team beats Kentucky and somehow this gives you the illogical reason to make up bald face lies regarding LSU fans stating that we will repeat as champions. Your delusional thinking is hilarious.
He’s not lying. I encountered a handful of LSU fans (online) who were riding high after the title win and that nice recruiting class this year and said they wouldn’t miss a beat, they had ‘Bama’s number, etc. I also understand that most reasonable fans realized what they’d lost and didn’t expect that to happen.
Its me.
I was wrong.
We trash.
A team that gives up 44 pts and 600+ yds has a lot more worries than who’s throwing the passes for their offense
First, Slim had a rough start, slow reactions and slow on his feet. Play calling not great, but still too many players not sharp. Front 7 defense, not bad,especially Cox and Gaye. Glaring disappointment, NO DBU. We now know how Sooners felt when Bayou Jeaux picked their dbs to pieces. Ricks will be a good one with experience. Cowbell D looked ready TIGAHS O diddn’t. RPO needs a QB who can run. Slim will get better, maybe great, but NO JEAUX. But remember Jeaux looked awful against Cowbells in 2018. Other than Bama and Gators, no SEC looked that great on 26th. GO TIGAHS!
2 and 8
It won’t be that bad, but the team has a long way to go.
Gee, I remember someone last year making predictions on this site, and was absolutely belittled and disregarded.
It does feel good.
I don’t know what you’re talking about. For whatever reason, LSU losing seems to have emboldened you. That’s always a sad testimony.
All of our fans except myself were calling for another great year.
I’m the only one who had a level head and could see that The Curse of Orgeron was taking it’s toll on our team.
You could see it even before the season started, but I doubt before this weekend any L$U fans besides myself could tell you anything that was pointing to a let-down season.
After that performance, I would expect a few more losses. Brennan was slow with his progressions. Not having Stingley hurt.
Gotta hang much of this on the coaching. Young & inexperienced players didn’t help but that was part of the challenge to begin with. We’ve known all year that would be the case. Coaches didn’t adapt on either side of the ball. Just kept trying to do the same things that weren’t working.
My thoughts too.
Lol
This article should have been about LSU’s defense. Miss State usually has a decent defense, but LSU’s offense did much better in this game than in the 2018 game, due largely to the change in scheme which was made last year. The offensive scheme should continue to serve LSU well. Yes, Brennan had first-start jitters, but no worse than could be expected. His first start was better than Burrow’s first start. I think the 2019 season made us all forget the problems Burrow had in 2018, especially early in the season. We forget that LSU ranked last in the SEC in 2018 in sacks allowed.
In 2018 vs. Miss State, LSU scored 19 points. Burrow was 16 of 28 (57%) for 129 yards, 0 TDs and 1 INT. Yesterday, Brennan was 27 of 46 (59%) for 345 yards, 3 TDs and 2 INTs. Brennan’s first INT was caused by a Miss State player hitting his arm as he released the ball. His second INT was a last-second desperation pass to the end zone. In 2018, Miss State sacked Burrow 7 times. Yesterday, Miss State sacked Brennan 7 times. In 2018, Burrow averaged 4.6 yards per pass, compared to Brennan’s 7.5 yards per pass yesterday. In the 2018 game, LSU averaged 2.5 yards per rush. Yesterday, LSU averaged 2.1 per rush. LSU’s offensive line problems from 2018 are being revisited in 2020. We just have to wait until the line starts playing better as a unit. The protection was good on some plays, and Brennan was often reluctant to throw the ball. I get that. But the stats still show a better first start than Burrow had. In 2018, Burrow threw it away several times, rather than forcing it into tight coverage. As the game started to slow down for Burrow, he found that he could trust his receivers more and thread the needle more. And the pass protection gradually improved. I think Brennan will be fine as the game slows down for him.
The glaring difference in this game was Miss State’s passing offense, for which LSU’s defense had no answer. State ate up chunk yardage numerous times, mostly on crossing routes but also on the edges. When you allow 600 yards passing and only 9 yards rushing, your pass defense has problems. That’s stating the obvious. Their receivers were getting separation on crossing routes too many times. LSU’s secondary was clearly the weakest link yesterday, followed by the offensive line. Yet, this writer wants to talk about Brennan. Articles on QBs get more clicks than articles on DBs.
Dude, the 2018 defense was our best ever.
Don’t know what to expect. Look at every single comment I made after last years season.
To all the fan boys on this site who ate my lunch for predicting this outcome. How do you like me now? God has me gifted and loaded with talent.
LSU is not built to withstand the turnover. Fluke year in 2019. Great season last year. Now sit down and roll over.
Living vicariously through a football team. Yes, that makes you some sort of hero in your own mind. Good for you. Brag on.
LOL
Not here to troll but facts you already had a experienced 25 yr old quarterback in burrows. You bring in a NFL offensive coordinator just to Jedi Burrows up and to beat Bama! both are gone! Now you are back to who you really are just good ole LSU.. Y’all was soooooo obnoxious last year in your temporary Bliss!! As a Bama fan I’m sure the Crimson Tide team will be reminded how Oregon Ignorantly said F*ck Alabama after y’all narrow win last year against not one of Bamas better teams. Be mindful of how you achieve success and how you handle it. Roll Tide
Thanks for the life lesson from another guy living vicariously through Alabama football.
LOL.. Roll Tide
LOL
I wasn’t expecting to see much from Brennan, and I didn’t get much from him. For most of the game he looked like he had trouble reading the defense and making decisions. If you hold on to the ball as long as he did you aren’t going to be productive. The thing that stood out to me most was his feet, he stood flat footed most of the time he was in the pocket, which made it difficult for him to maneuver quickly in the pocket; as well, made it difficult for him to execute on getting that ball quickly out of his hands. Brennan showed no flash of instinct for me, and he did appear to be a leader on the field or on the sideline. I know he’s waited around for 4 years but there has to be a better solution to lead the Tigers than Brennan.
The offensive scheme was also disappointing. No RPO, no pre-snap movement, no misdirection. Frankly looked like a boring Les Miles offense.
I wonder if Chase opted out because of COVID, or did he know that the offense was going to suck (Brennan) and figured why risk it if your numbers are going to be abysmal and just prep yourself for next years draft.
Agree, just fire Bo now. He never impressed me when he was here before.