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Rapid Reaction: Defense carries LSU to victory over McNeese State
By Les East
Published:
LSU’s defense dominated and the offense generated enough scoring to produce a 34-7 victory against in-state opponent McNeese State on Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.
The Tigers (1-1) played much better on defense than they did in a season-opening 38-27 loss at UCLA a week earlier, but their offense sputtered behind a patchwork offensive line.
LSU, which hosts Central Michigan next Saturday, dominated a Cowboys offense quarterbacked by Tigers coach Ed Orgeron’s son, Cody. FCS McNeese fell to 0-2.
The younger Orgeron had passed for a career-high 367 yards and two touchdowns and run for 35 yards and a touchdown a week earlier in a 42-36 home loss to Division II powerhouse West Florida.
But the step up in class was more than the younger Orgeron and his offensive teammates could handle.
The defensive performance enabled the Tigers to control the game as LSU never seemed seriously threatened. But the overall performance resembled the reality of the upset loss to UCLA more than it did the expectations for a team that was ranked No. 16 in the preseason poll and tumbled out of the rankings after the opener.
LSU wasn’t able to run the ball with any consistency. Max Johnson and Kayshon Boutte generated the majority of the offense just as they did against the Bruins.
The Tigers punted on their first two possessions of the third quarter, but the third possession ended with Johnson throwing a 6-yard touchdown pass to Boutte for a 24-0 lead at the end of the period.
That was Johnson’s final play before he was replaced by freshman Garrett Nussmeier. Johnson finished 18 of 27 for 161 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
The LSU offense struggled for much of the first half. The offensive line was missing three injured starters and the Tigers had trouble running the ball just as they did a week earlier.
But the defense smothered the McNeese while the LSU offense tried to figure things out.
On its first drive, LSU converted two fourth downs, the second of which was a 19-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to Trey Palmer for a 7-0 lead.
The Tigers went for fourth and one at their 45 on their next possession and Johnson was stopped for no gain. They forced a punt and held a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Tigers recovered a fumble at the Cowboys 28, leading to Johnson’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Boutte and a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
Cade York’s 55-yard field goal pushed the lead to 17-0 lead at halftime. That was the longest field goal in Tiger Stadium history and the second-longest in program history. The longest kick was York’s 57-yarder to beat Florida in The Swamp last season.
The LSU defense forced the Cowboys to punt again and again. The only McNeese possession in the first half that didn’t end in a punt was the final one of the half, which began with 10 seconds remaining and consisted of one running play to run out the clock.
LSU gained just 166 yards in the first half, but it held McNeese to 53. The Cowboys finally got on the board on Cody Orgeron’s touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, after the result was beyond doubt.
Les East is a New Orleans-based football writer who covers LSU for SaturdayDownSouth.com. Follow him on Twitter @Les_East.
