LSU figured to have a hard time matching its offensive productivity from last season.
It was optimistic that its defense would be better than its poor performance last season.
And the Tigers were hopeful that they would be able to earn 1 of the 12 spots in the expanded CFP this season.
Anything is still possible after one game, but coach Brian Kelly and his staff hope that a few things that happened in Vegas stay in Vegas after LSU’s 27-20 loss to USC in its season-opener last Sunday.
As the Tigers prepare to face Nicholls in their home opener Saturday night, here are 3 alarming things that LSU must fix now:
1. The offense didn’t produce enough points
Sure the Tigers did some good stuff. Garrett Nussmeier was fine as the successor to Jayden Daniels – 29-of-38 for 304 yards with 2 touchdowns and a lone interception that came in a desperate moment in the final seconds. But it wasn’t good enough.
Sure the Tigers were reasonably well balanced (supplementing Nussmeier’s passing with 117 rushing yards). But outside of a 39-yard run by John Emery Jr., LSU averaged 3.1 yards on 25 rushes.
The offensive line is expected to be the strongest unit on the team, but even though it didn’t allow Nussmeier to be sacked, the group mostly was outperformed by the Trojans’ defensive front.
The Tigers hope to be balanced on offense, but when the running game is struggling as much as it was for most of the opener, first-year coordinator Joe Sloan might need to be less reluctant to become more 1 dimensional and ride what’s working best in a given game.
2. Harold Perkins didn’t have a big enough impact
Perkins led the team with 8 total tackles (including 1 half of a tackle for loss), but LSU seemed reluctant to turn loose its most dynamic playmaker on defense, especially when USC zipped through the Tigers for 75 yards in 8 plays to score the game-winning touchdown in the final seconds.
Last season LSU oftentimes seemed unsure of how to best deploy Perkins – inside or outside, rushing forward or dropping back. Better utilization of the presumed future NFL first-round draft choice seemed by be an off-season priority.
But after 1 game, the plan still merits questioning.
Overall Blake Baker’s defense performed better than the one Matt House coordinated last season, but much like the offense’s performance, in the end it wasn’t good enough.
Sure the Tigers limited USC to 13 points until more than halfway through the 4th quarter, but the winning drive was preceded by a lickety-split 3-play, 64-yard touchdown drive and the Trojans gained 139 of their 447 yards when the game was on the line.
The play-in and play-out improvement that was demonstrated for much of the opener won’t mean a whole lot going forward if the defense can’t keep it up when it matters most.
And that isn’t likely to change if Perkins doesn’t have a bigger impact.
3. The Tigers were far too undisciplined
LSU committed 10 penalties that cost them 99 yards. Three of the penalties were for personal fouls. One was committed by Kyren Lacy and contributed to field position that produced a USC field goal. Another was a targeting call on Jardin Gilbert that was followed immediately by the game-winning touchdown.
The Tigers performed like a team that wasn’t as well-coached or disciplined as its opponent.
One of LSU’s priorities going into the game was to contain Zachariah Branch, the Trojans’ most dynamic offensive player/return specialist. The coverage on Branch was adequate – 4 catches for 46 yards – but Lacy’s silly touchdown celebration that rightly drew a flag created an opportunity on the ensuing kickoff that Branch seized with a 46-yard return.
Then with USC trying to march to a game-winning score Gilbert gave the opponent an assist. Though the damage mostly had been done when Miller Moss’ 20-yard completion gave the Trojans a 1st down at the LSU 27 in the final seconds, the Tigers still had hope that Michael Lantz, who had missed a 29-yard field goal on the last play of the first half, might miss again from a longer distance.
But Gilbert’s penalty pushed the ball to the LSU 13, and the pressure was off of Lantz after Woody Marks ran 13 yards for a touchdown.
USC is one of many good-to-great teams on the Tigers’ schedule. Gifting those kinds of teams important yardage can’t continue.
And there’s 1 other thing LSU needs to fix: The loss to USC was the Tigers’ 5th straight in a season-opener, 3rd straight under Kelly.
That’s something LSU needs to work on before it opens the 2025 season at Clemson on Labor Day weekend.
But that can wait.
The Tigers have plenty enough that needs fixing right away.
Les East is a New Orleans-based football writer who covers LSU for SaturdayDownSouth.com. Follow him on Twitter @Les_East.
