LSU fans finally got a glimpse of what Ed Orgeron’s team is capable of on Saturday night.
The Tigers clicked on all cylinders to score 49 points while rolling up 484 yards of offense. The defense forced two turnovers, taking one back to the hose while throttling the Central Michigan Chippewas in the process.
It was a night for the young Tigers on offense to shine as freshman Deion Smith and Jack Bech both caught touchdown passes from Max Johnson. Freshman Corey Kiner even put down easily the best performance for an LSU running back this season.
The Tigers were still trying to find their identity coming into Saturday’s night game against Central Michigan and they may have found a few key assets as they head into SEC play next week.
As we break down the Tigers 49-21 win, we’ll give you the good, bad and ugly performances in the Tigers second win of the season.
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THE GOOD: Young tiger offense
As mentioned above the youth of the LSU football team showed up in this one. The Tigers receiving corps is as talented as any in the SEC, but we were still waiting on who might emerge as the No. 2 option behind Kayson Boutte.
Smith didn’t wait long for his audition, doing his best Justin Jefferson impression with a jump-ball score and another from 40 yards out in the first half.
We saw against UCLA that Bech could be a useful receiving option for Johnson and he had himself a career night with 81 yards on five catches. He also will be on some highlight reels for his one-handed touchdown grab in the corner of the end zone.
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But t wasn’t just the offense that played well. LSU’s defense continued hassling offense, living in the Chippewas backfield and racking up 5 sacks. The Tigers’ 13 sacks is the most in college football this season. The defense relied on some upperclassmen to make plays as Derek Stingley Jr. forced a fumbled that resulted in a scoop and score for Andre Anthony. Sophomore BJ Ojulari picked up a pair of sacks on one drive.
The Tigers defense looks to be ready for SEC play come next week, but they’ll have a challenge ahead when they face Mike Leach’s “air raid” offense at Mississippi State.
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THE BAD: Running attack’s lack of teeth
While it was a nice offensive showing for the LSU offense, the questions at RB are still being answered. Ty Davis-Price and Josh Williams have yet to get anything going offensively, but we did see Corey Kiner show a little flash in the backfield.
Davis-Price was expected to be part of a two-headed rushing attack alongside John Emery Jr.
While Emery has been ineligible for the first three games, and Davis-Price hasn’t added much to make note of, either. The Tigers will need to get their rushing attack going early in ballgames, especially in SEC play. That’s something we have yet to see through three games so far. The offensive line looked much better than in previous games so it’s up to the coaching staff to find the best back for this offense.
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THE UGLY: Not all that much
There isn’t much “ugly” from this game other than a few breakdowns on defense and a poor throw that resulted in trio of Central Michigan touchdowns. A breakdown on the outside allowed the Chippewas to hit JaCorey Sullivan for a 78-yard touchdown.
The Tigers also lost track of Central Michigan tight end Joel Wilson for an easy score late in the game.
The other big mistake on the night came from Max Johnson, who got mixed up with Koy Moore on an option route. The ball was delivered ahead of where Moore broke off his route. Chippewas defender Devonni Reed picked it off and brought it back for points. The mistakes will have to be cleaned up, and hopefully they don’t creep back in as SEC play heats up.
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The final thing you could nit-pick is the attendance in Tiger Stadium. While the sold attendance was 92,000+, the actually attendance was far less. This could be because of the new COVID vaccine protocols to enter the stadium, the quality of the matchup, or fan expectations after a pair of uninspiring performances.
Either way, while stadiums in the Big 10 and SEC have been packed to the edges, that hasn’t been the case for LSU.
Coming off a national championship just 2 years ago, should it be a struggle to fill the seats at Tiger Stadium? Maybe an offensive display like this one changes things when LSU hosts Auburn in two weeks.