You lose the turnover battle; most of the time, you’ll lose the football game. The Tigers turned it over three times in Saturday night’s 20-10 victory over South Carolina, but LSU’s defense played another great game as they improved their record to 5-1.
“Bottom line is against an SEC opponent we held them to ten points and really except for our own mistakes we controlled the flow of the game,” said LSU head coach Brian Kelly, who earned his 200th victory as an FBS coach.
The Tigers could have won this game by three touchdowns if it were not for two turnovers at the one-yard line. LSU also had to settle for a field goal after driving down to the one-yard line in the fourth quarter.
Sometimes those things cost you in an SEC game, but fortunately for the Tigers, it did not.
“We have to be cleaner in the scoring zone, three times inside the five-yard line, to come up with three points; those things are catastrophic, so we got to clean those up. If we clean those up, we are moving in the right direction,” Kelly said.
Garrett Nussmeier looked better, as he threw for 254 yards, the most passing yards he’s had against an FBS opponent. The Nuss bus also had a 21-yard run that delighted the 101,921 in attendance.
But he threw two interceptions, including one at the one-yard line, preventing the Tigers from taking a two-touchdown lead late in the third quarter.
But overall, Kelly was encouraged by Nussmeier’s performance.
“He’s healthy now and feeling good; he has a little bit of an ankle injury, we’ll see how that goes, but I think the better days are ahead for him,” Kelly said.
The Nussmeier to Trey’Dez Green connection is really starting to blossom. The six-foot-seven tight end had 8 catches for 119 yards and a touchdown.
Also, a big night for sophomore Kyle Parker, who had five catches for 75 yards and a touchdown. Parker caught a pass over the middle and went 43 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter.
LSU was also able to establish a rushing attack, especially in the second half.
Caden Durham had 70 yards rushing on 15 carries. Ju’Juan Johnson had a 56-yard run, but his fumble at the one-yard line prevented the Tigers from taking a 10-0 lead in the first quarter.
LSU’s defense was stellar in this game, which is why, despite three critical errors, you never felt the Tigers were in jeopardy of losing this game.
LSU made it a long night for South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers as he was held to 124 yards passing, 19 yards rushing, as he was sacked five times and intercepted once.
It was also a sloppy game for South Carolina, which committed 13 penalties.
This was not a memorable win for the Tigers. But it is a victory and a loss against the Gamecocks would have been devastating for their College Football Playoff chances.
If LSU commits these catastrophic mistakes again, turning the ball over in the red zone or allowing a 72 rushing touchdown to Vanderbilt this Saturday, or when they play Texas A&M, Alabama, or Oklahoma, then it will result in a loss.