It wasn’t the cleanest performance by LSU’s offense, but coach Lane Kiffin believes Saturday night’s 45-14 victory over Louisiana Tech could be exactly what the Tigers needed heading into their highly anticipated SEC opener against Ole Miss.
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LSU dominated Louisiana Tech statistically, outgaining the Bulldogs 528-140. But the Tigers led just 10-7 at halftime despite holding Louisiana Tech without a first down and limiting the Bulldogs to zero total yards in the first half.
The problem was LSU’s offense.
The Tigers turned the ball over four times on their final four drives of the first half, including three interceptions by quarterback Sam Leavitt. Two of Leavitt’s interceptions came in the red zone, and one was returned 100 yards for a touchdown.
After LSU’s nearly flawless performance in its season-opening 51-10 win over Clemson, Saturday night provided a much different challenge.
Kiffin believes that may ultimately benefit the Tigers.
“We made a lot of yards, it was smooth through that at times, but obviously the red zone is where you got to finish drives,” Kiffin said. “So maybe it was perfect for us. We needed something like that, because if we play good on offense and the game is 70-7 or something, you don’t have their attention. So maybe it’s what we needed.”
Leavitt was sensational against Clemson, but the Arizona State transfer struggled at times against Louisiana Tech, with his decision making.
“You try to really hone in on some things to get better at, but because (last week) it was so explosive and entertaining, it’s hard to find those little details,” Leavitt said. “So now after finding those details, we are going to come back and really hone in on those things and go to work.”
LSU also needs to find more consistency in the running game.
Other than a 46-yard run, Wisconsin transfer Dillin Jones struggled to find much room against the Bulldogs. Jones finished with 66 yards on 18 carries, an average of just 3.7 yards per carry.
LSU ran 44 times for 147 yards and Leavitt was sacked five times. Louisiana Tech had 11 tackles for a loss. LSU’s offensive line has been a problem the last two years and it’s a concern again this season.
The Tigers also committed 10 penalties, adding to a night in which they had plenty of opportunities to make the game much more comfortable much earlier.
That’s the biggest takeaway from LSU’s second game of the season: The Tigers weren’t nearly as sharp as they were against Clemson, yet they still won by 31 points.
That won’t be enough this week.
LSU now faces its first SEC test against ninth-ranked Ole Miss in Oxford. The Rebels present a significantly tougher challenge, and the Tigers will need to clean up the turnovers, penalties and inconsistent rushing attack if they hope to leave a hostile Vaught-Hemingway Stadium with a victory.
Saturday night’s performance may have been a step backward from the Clemson opener.
But for LSU, it also may have been a valuable reminder that there is plenty of work to do before the games get much tougher.
