Believe it or not, a third of the LSU season is in the books and we are in fall, even though it was a blazing hot day on Saturday in Tiger Stadium as the Bayou Bengals defeated the UCLA Bruins 34-17.
It was the first game UCLA ever played in Louisiana and they probably would prefer to never a play a game in the Bayou State again, unless it’s in the Superdome. On field temperatures at game time were a reported 130-degrees.
LSU’s offense started hot as the Tigers won the opening toss and elected to receive, much to the dismay of many LSU fans, as the conventional wisdom is for the team who wins the opening coin toss to defer to the second half. Even the referee had to ask Kyren Lacy twice if he was sure that LSU wanted the ball first to begin the game.
Kelly wants the ball first on most occasions so his offense can score first and that’s what they did on Saturday as LSU perfectly executed a six-play 75-yard drive.
In the second half, LSU’s offense had a pair of 90-plus yard drives as the Tigers wore down the Bruins in the summer heat.
The Tigers also showed signs of a rushing attack,102 yards on the ground, led by Josh Williams who had 62 yards on 13 carries.
Garrett Nussmeier was fantastic again as he threw for a season-high 352 yards and three touchdowns.
After getting harassed by South Carolina’s defense, Nussmeier was not sacked on Saturday.
Remember those days of a dominant LSU defense and wishing for a superb quarterback, well it’s now the complete opposite.
LSU allowed a UCLA offense that had yet to score 17 points in a game this season, to put up 17 points in the first half.
The Tigers didn’t give up huge plays, but they allowed the Bruins to put together two 75-yard touchdown drives.
“Wish we were cleaner in the first half, the mistakes are maddening,” Kelly said. “It’s just maddening some of the silly mistakes we are making on defense that just have to go away.”
The message to the players in the locker room was do your job when executing the play call. It resulted in the Tigers holding UCLA to 98 yards in the second half.
But star linebacker Harold Perkins went down in the fourth quarter with a knee injury while hitting a receiver.
It was another quiet game for Perkins in the stat sheet, just two tackles, but opposing defenses do have to account for him and if he’s lost for a significant period, it hurts an LSU defense that struggling to find its way.
But the Tigers got another big game from defensive end Bradyn Swinson. He followed up his three-sack performance against South Carolina, with two sacks against the Bruins.
As far as the heat, it was unfortunate to have a rare non-conference game against a Power 4 opponent played in the middle of the afternoon. It’s not always this hot on September 21st, but there’s a better chance it will be hot than not.
When Arizona and Arizona State were in the Pac-12 they prohibited ESPN and Fox from forcing those two schools to play games during the day in August and September.
I doubt the SEC does that, because they put the interest of TV partners over fan safety.
But Governor Jeff Landry is an LSU fan, and he doesn’t back down from anyone. How about he pushes the state legislature to pass a law that no college football game in August and September in Louisiana starts before 6 PM?
I bet Tulane and UL fans would support it. They had an 11 AM kick-off at Cajun Field. Again, diminishing what could have been a great crowd, despite ongoing construction at their stadium.
If you’re going to ask fans to pay big ticket prices and other fees and contributions, they shouldn’t have to worry about ending up in the hospital for heat stroke when they attend a game.
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