LSU was back home on Saturday night after back to back SEC road games. The LSU defense was picked apart against their past two opponents, but they made a statement on Saturday night against the Auburn Tigers.
The LSU defense played like the Tiger standard of old, getting Auburn to go “3 and out” four times and forcing six of their first eight possessions. The Tigers offense looked the same as it finished with 563 total yards including 325 passing yards from QB Jayden Daniels.
LSU finished their five game stretch of SEC opponents with a 4-1 record and move on to face a non-conference opponent next with the Army Black Knights.
The Good
LSU’s defense
I don’t think many Tigers fans expected the play out of the LSU secondary after what they saw the past three SEC games. LSU held Auburn QB Payton Throne to 102 yards passing. Mind you, he has only passed for over 100 yards against an FBS opponent once this season.
LSU coach Brian Kelly said he challenged his cornerbacks this week during the game, and you saw a lot of one on one throws towards Zy Alexander’s way.
Pressure on the QB was also a big factor to the Tigers’ success. Harold Perkins got a sack in the third quarter on Thorne that was a highlight clip for the defense. Mehki Mingo also added one sack on the quarterback.
Kyren Lacy
Each week I praise Jayden Daniels, Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr, but it was Lacy who stood out offensively for the Tigers.
Lacy finished the game with four catches for 111 yards and a touchdown. His first three catches of the night put him over 100 yards including a 57 yards catch that put him inside the 10 yard line. Daniels just has another option to go to when teams take away Brian Thomas or Malik Nabers.
The Bad
Emery Jones injury
The Tigers got some bad news in the 1st quarter when their offensive line left the game with an ankle injury. He had to be helped off the field and eventually needed a crutch to walk to the locker room.
Jones was seen after the game in a walking book and coach Kelly said he suffered an ankle sprain. We’ll likely won’t know the significance of the injury, but it’s likely he won’t see the field again until possibly Alabama in November.
Jones won the SEC offensive lineman of the week in his performance against the Missouri Tigers last week, so his loss would be a significant hit to the Tigers offensive line. LSU will play Army next week which he’ll likely won’t be need and then have a bye week before they travel to Tuscaloosa.
The Ugly
Auburn’s offense
Coach Kelly praised the Auburn offense all week saying that they choose to not throw the football. Well we found out why because they struggled against what is statistically the worst defense in the SEC.
LSU had just given up 125 combined points to their past three opponents and Auburn was only able to muster up 18 points. We saw a similar offense earlier this season when the Tigers dominated the Mississippi State Bulldogs, yet the Bulldogs were eventually able to turn their offensive woes around.
I don’t think we’re going to see that from Auburn. Mississippi State had a quarterback who set passing records the year before. Auburn has an offense in which their passing attack can barely reach 100 yards through the air.
LSU improves to 5-2 on the season and, with a win next week against Army, will become bowl eligible. I expect the Tigers to treat the Black Knights as a serious opponent who will come in running the football like we saw from Auburn on Saturday night.