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LSU football: Upset alert? Hardly, but there are 5 goals Tigers need to achieve against Utah State
By Les East
Published:
This is the last tune-up.
No offense to Utah State, which is probably a greater challenge than Georgia Southern or Northwestern State – and maybe even Vanderbilt – but the Aggies are LSU’s last nonconference opponent.
Also, they are a team that No. 5 LSU should be able to beat while also preparing for the SEC gauntlet that begins next week against No. 10 Florida.
September is gone and the Tigers haven’t worked out all of the kinks that they would like to dispose of before entering conference play.
This is the last chance.
So here are 5 things LSU needs to do against Utah State:
1. Be the better, faster offense
Both teams have very good passing games. Both quarterbacks – the Tigers’ Joe Burrow and the Aggies’ Jordan Love – are very good. Both offenses like to play at a very fast pace. Both defenses are used to that because they practice against it every day.
So who’s going to be the best at it Saturday morning and early afternoon in hot, humid Tiger Stadium?
LSU has had one of the best passing games in the country. Utah State hasn’t been as good and Love threw 2 interceptions in a win against Colorado State last week. (He threw 3 in the opening loss at Wake Forest.)
The Tigers’ defense has had some bad stretches and the Aggies are capable of providing another one.
This is a challenge to both sides of the ball.
In the end the Tigers’ passing game has to be faster, more productive, more efficient and just plain better than the Aggies’.
And they have to do it in their first game since Terrace Marshall Jr. underwent foot surgery that will sideline him for several weeks.
2. Tackle better
LSU coach Ed Orgeron said a point of emphasis during the open date last week was to get better at tackling.
He praised the Tigers’ talent, but pointed out shortcomings in terms of technique, so they went back to fundamentals.
If LSU tackles better this week, its defensive issues will start to diminish.
3. Be at least plus-2 in turnovers
Another point of emphasis during the open date was taking the ball away.
The Tigers haven’t been great at it, though they finally got their 1st interception, and then their 2nd, in the win against Vanderbilt 2 weeks ago.
Ball security on offense has been pretty good.
The goal this week is to maintain ball security while becoming more proficient at taking it away on defense.
A net of at least plus-2 would be a good indication of this goal being met.
4. Get healthy up front on defense
This will likely mean holding out one or more injured players.
It could mean limited snaps for any nicked-up player testing his progress and trying to regain an edge for Florida.
And it certainly means getting lucky with no new injuries.
Rashard Lawrence, Glen Logan, K’Lavon Chaisson and Michael Divinity Jr. have all missed time and are at best questionable this week.
LSU can’t afford for them to be any worse coming out of this week, and getting on track to have most if not all of them available for the Gators would be significant.
5. Run the ball better
You might have heard this one before.
It has been a goal since the start of the season.
LSU has yet to have a really good game running the football. They rank 13th in the SEC at 131.75 yards per game. Not that anybody needs reminding, but Leonard Fournette averaged 162 all by himself in 2015.
LSU’s passing game has been so prolific it hasn’t mattered, but it soon might. The Tigers have rushed for 122, 102, 122 and 181 yards in their first 4 games. Typically, they’ve had at least 4 200-yard rushing efforts throughout this decade.
If the Tigers can find a consistently good running game to complement its elite passing game, this offense is going to be something to watch – and try to defend.
But you’ve been hearing that for more than a month now.
Les East is a New Orleans-based football writer who covers LSU for SaturdayDownSouth.com. Follow him on Twitter @Les_East.
