GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
The problem with scheduled rent-a-wins is that the favored team often mails it in.
That’s what happened to LSU’s offense as it seemed to go through the motions as the No. 3 Tigers hosted 37-point underdog Louisiana Tech Saturday night. No. 3 LSU still took care of business for a 23-7 win, but it lacked luster in front of about 85,000 at 102,321-seat Tiger Stadium, and LSU coach Brian Kelly was not pleased.
“We’re happy with the win, but we’re not happy with the production across the board,” Kelly said. “We’ve got to coach better. We did’t coach well enough, and got outcoached in a lot of areas. You’ve got to run the football. That made it difficult for us. You can tell by my voice. I’m not happy. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Kelly was a little hoarse after frequently chewing out players on the sidelines in Nick Saban fashion, which continues to be refreshing to see in the NIL and Transfer Portal age.
LSU’s offensive line struggled without starting center Braelin Moore, who was lost to an ankle or foot injury on the first play of the game. The Tigers finished with 128 yards rushing on 34 carries, but had only 28 on eight carries in the third quarter.
Kelly was happy with the defense as it shut out Louisiana Tech until the final minutes and allowed just 58 rushing yards and 154 in all. The Bulldogs (1-1) scored their only points on a 33-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Blake Baker to wide receiver Devin Gandy with 4:02 to go to cut LSU’s lead to 20-7.
LSU, which won 17-10 last week at No. 4 Clemson, did not take a three-score lead in this one until the 1:58 mark of the third quarter when running back Caden Durham scored on a 3-yard run for a 17-0 lead. LSU increased that to 20-0 with a 46-yard field goal by Damian Ramos with 11:14 to play.
JACOB HESTER DEBUTS AS PERMANENT RADIO ANALYST, AND DIXON MCMAKIN TAKES OVER P.A.
There were finally some LSU fireworks with just over three minutes to play when freshman tailback Harlem Berry broke a few tackles and cut outside for a 43-yard run to the 6-yard line. That set up a 19-yard field goal by Ramos with 1:56 left for the 23-7 final.
The Tigers (2-0) shouldn’t feel too bad, though. They open Southeastern Conference play next Saturday at home against a team with many more problems than a below-average performance against a third tier opponent. No. 14 Florida (1-1) fell to 17-point underdog South Florida, 18-16, and will be at Tiger Stadium Saturday for a 6:30 p.m. game on ABC.
Whether Florida coach Billy Napier remains in that position by then remains to be seen.
LSU drove only 33 yards in six plays for its last touchdown as Louisiana Tech’s John Hoyet Chance shanked a punt for just 25 yards.
LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier completed 26 of 41 passes for 237 yards and a touchdown. Berry led the Tigers in rushing with 56 yards on six carries. Durham gained just 29 yards on 13 carries. Wide receiver Barion Brown led LSU with eight catches for 94 yards.
Nussmeier did miss open receivers and at times did not throw to them, choosing those better covered and passed up too many good running opportunities.
“There are some things I wish he would have done better,” Kelly said. “He needs to leave the pocket at times and pick up some yards. We could’ve had better balls (thrown) here and there.”
Tech starting quarterback Trey Kukuk completed 12 of 18 passes for 50 yards. Baker played most of the second half as Kukuk was 8 of 10 for 38 yards in the first half.
The Tigers took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter with a much more impressive drive – 98 yards in 11 plays. But wide receiver Zavion Thomas accounted for most of that as he lined up as one of two running backs as he did last week at Clemson and rushed 48 yards to the Tech 12-yard line. He finished with 54 yards on six rushes.
On 3rd-and-5 from the 7-yard line, Nussmeier found wide receiver Nic Anderson for the touchdown with 12 seconds left before the second quarter.
LSU had a chance to go up 3-0 midway in the first quarter, but Ramos missed a 51-yard field goal wide right.
Ramos made it 10-0 with 6:24 to go before halftime on a 23-yard field goal. LSU drove 85 yards in 15 plays for the points, but two pass interference penalties put the finishing touches on the drive. The first one on 3rd-and-4 from the Tech 37 was a gift as Nussmeier threw long and incomplete to wide receiver Chris Hilton, who was in a crowd, but did not draw much contact.
Then on first down from the Tech 22, Nussmeier threw incomplete to Thomas, who was interfered with by linebacker Kolbe Fields for a 1st-and-Goal at the 7-yard line. After a 1-yard run by Durham and two incompletions by Nussmeier, Ramos came on.
LSU’s first drive of the game looked like it would result in a 64-yard touchdown, but Nussmeier underthrew a wide open Barion Brown. Safety Michael Richard broke up the pass, and cornerback Cedric Woods intercepted it at the Tech 29-yard line.
“Did we prepare them enough?,” Kelly asked. “Did we give them enough looks? My guess is we didn’t. We weren’t good enough on our schemes. Players have to make plays, and coaches have to coach better. But it is a win. That is what we wanted, but certainly not the way we wanted to get there.”
INJURY REPORT – CENTER BRAELIN MOORE, TIGHT END TREY’DEZ GREEN LIMP OFF
The Tigers lost junior transfer center Braelin Moore on the opening play of the game as he limped off the field with a left leg injury. He went to the locker room, returned wearing a boot on his left foot and ankle and did not return to the game. Sophomore DJ Chester, who was LSU’s starting center last season, replaced Moore, but struggled at times.
“There are five guys on the offensive line,” Kelly said. “And putting it all on Braelin being out is really minimizing the work that the other four guys are doing as well as the tight ends. We were not good enough in our schemes. Would we have liked to have Braelin in there? Sure.”
LSU sophomore tight end Trey’Dez Green also had to be helped off the field, favoring his right leg, early in the fourth quarter. Late in the game, he had a brace on his right knee and was on crutches.
“One of them (Moore) has an ankle, and one of them (Green) has a knee,” Kelly said. “We’ll get MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging tests) for both tomorrow and find out more.”
Backup defensive end Jimari Butler was also helped off the field with 4:45 to play, favoring his left leg.
Be the first to comment