O’Gara: Pretty? Far from it, but LSU’s chaotic win at South Carolina was the break it needed
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Garrett Nussmeier dropped to a knee and closed his eyes.
It was unclear if the LSU quarterback was saying a prayer to the football gods for South Carolina to miss a potential game-tying kick in the final seconds, or if he was taking a brief snooze after 4 hours of playing in a football game that was the equivalent of an adult corralling dozens of sugar-hyped toddlers.
Maybe it was a bit of both. Whatever the case, Nussmeier was relieved when he opened his eyes to the roar of the LSU sideline (and not the raucous Williams-Brice Stadium crowd).
Somehow, Nussmeier and LSU survived Saturday. Unlike the postgame-podium-pounding-enduced loss to USC in the season-opener, the breaks went the Tigers’ way. Take that how you will. Gamecock fans and others take that as the penalties that were called on a seemingly phantom defensive pass interference in the middle of the fourth quarter, as well as an unnecessary roughness penalty that brought a Nick Emmanwori pick-6 all the way back to deep in South Carolina’s own territory.
It was a weird, wild game that could’ve gone anyone’s way.
Had LSU lost and started 1-2, you can bet the heat on Brian Kelly would’ve cranked up. No, his job wouldn’t have been in jeopardy. He’s coming off a pair of 10-win seasons to start his time at LSU, and he has $67 million left on his fully guaranteed contract after this season. AD Scott Woodward wasn’t pulling the plug on that for a 1-2 start.
So what’s heat? Heat is realizing that the guy pounding the podium might have a significant role in LSU losing these close games. Heat is realizing that even when he spends big to hire an entirely new defensive staff, his group still has major lapses like allowing a 66-yard rushing touchdown to a 1-dimensional offense that has no business retaking the lead in the 4th quarter.
There goes that man https://t.co/fum4lxgCyv pic.twitter.com/qocD79TyVK
— Gamecock Football (@GamecockFB) September 14, 2024
Heat, in Kelly’s case, is wondering if he’s not progressing enough to keep LSU’s head above water in the new-look SEC.
Kelly would’ve felt that heat. Shoot, it’s safe to say he and that podium in Vegas both felt the heat a couple of weeks ago.
(Sorry. Last mention of that.)
Instead, Kelly’s team rallied. It overcame mistakes like not finishing drives and having a miscommunication that led to a botched snap and a turnover that gave South Carolina a short field. The Tigers didn’t leave Williams-Brice as some juggernaut. It left Columbia as a team thankful to survive a challenging matchup.
It also left with a potentially key answer to a pressing question. That is, where’s the ground game identity?
Enter stage left, Caden Durham.
Go figure that the true freshman entered the day with 5 carries for 4 yards in 12 snaps at the FBS level. By day’s end, it was clear that Durham was exactly what LSU needed in its search for a lead back. He finished the game with a career-high 98 rushing yards and 2 scores. Meanwhile, Kaleb Jackson and Josh Williams were held to 17 carries for 47 yards. Williams did, however, cap off LSU’s go-ahead drive late by finding a running lane near the goal line.
At times throughout the Kelly era — and on Saturday when South Carolina’s pressure forced a failed off-balance throw by Nussmeier — LSU made that short-yardage task look like quantum physics. It’s a pivotal question for the Tigers to continue to try and answer, especially in the likely event that they aren’t quite as explosive as last year’s No. 1 scoring offense in America.
Speaking of that unit, LSU did score 36 points against a respected South Carolina defense. Gamecocks linebacker Debo Williams said that his group had “the best defense in the nation, and we’re gonna show it.” At times, it lived up to that billing.
Kyle Kennard was everywhere (including on the wrong end of that aforementioned unnecessary roughness penalty). Tonka Hemingway continued to be an underrated force on South Carolina’s interior defensive line and lightning-rod true freshman Dylan Stewart recovered the fumble on the aforementioned miscommunication with Nussmeier on the botched snap.
But even though LSU’s decorated offensive line allowed a sack for the first time this season — the Gamecocks had 2 sacks by day’s end — it still gave Nussmeier enough time to settle in. It was a bit reminiscent of his first career start in the ReliaQuest Bowl victory against Wisconsin last season. There wasn’t any panic.
Well, check that. We don’t know what was going on in his mind as South Carolina lined up for the 49-yard kick to potentially tie the game. For all we know, his heart rate was through the roof with the game out of his hands.
All that mattered, though, was that Nussmeier and LSU found a way. In this 12-team Playoff era, teams don’t need to be perfect to have a shot to play for a title. We could see a 9-3 team make the field.
Time will tell if that’s what’s in store for LSU again. The way this season started, it’s safe to say “smooth sailing to Atlanta” feels far-fetched. Any road to late-season national relevance looks like it’ll have twists and turns.
For now, though, maybe LSU will be able to put it on cruise control until its next SEC matchup. A game against UCLA will be followed by a game against South Alabama, then a bye week. No matter what happens the next 3 Saturdays, LSU will go into that Oct. 12 matchup against Ole Miss with an undefeated record in SEC play.
After Saturday’s events, that’s hard to fathom. Also hard to fathom for significant chunks of the afternoon in Columbia was LSU flying back to Baton Rouge with anything but disappointment.
The Tigers earned the right to rest their eyes on that trip home. Maybe 2024 won’t be non-stop turbulence after all.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
