There’s a lot to be frustrated with when it comes to the Tigers loss to Texas A&M on Saturday. A backup quarterback leading a second-half comeback for the Aggies, Garrett Nussmeier’s three interceptions, pre-snap penalties, miscues on field goal tries and the lack of a ground game.
The Tigers rushed for only 24 yards in College Station and LSU now ranks 111th in the country in offense. That’s 111 out of 133 teams. A ranking that was unthinkable for an LSU team when the head coach at the time wore a white hat.
This coaching staff is trying to find the root of the problem and Coach Brian Kelly offered up this assessment when meeting with reporters on Tuesday night.
“When our run game has not gone well, we’ve lost some individual matchups up front, the quarterback is instrumental in reading whether he has a loaded box or not, and clearly when there’s an extra hat making somebody miss, we clearly didn’t execute at the high level in the running game,” Kelly.
LSU is eight games into the season and it’s unlikely there will be a dramatic improvement.
But there is some hope, as LSU is done facing some of the best rush defenses in the country.
Ole Miss ranks number one in rush defense. The Tigers rushed for 84 yards against the Rebels.
UCLA is 13th in rush defense. LSU ran for 102 yards against the Bruins.
South Carolina ranks 16th. LSU rushed for 132 against the Gamecocks.
Texas A&M ranks 18th.
Four of LSU’s eight opponents rank in the Top 20 in rush defense.
LSU’s next two opponents are not that strong against the run. Alabama ranks 69th in rush defense and Florida 94th.
But LSU also needs to get healthy.
Starting left guard Garrett Dellinger left the Aggies game with a high ankle sprain. Kelly is hopeful the extra week off will allow Dellinger to be ready to face the Crimson Tide on November 9th.