Ed Orgeron never stopped thinking about what his defense might do with another crack at Mississippi State.
Just 24 hours after a demoralizing loss to start the 2020 season, LSU's coach had already started devising the Tigers' picket-fence approach he'd use when that opportunity came again.
The team pored over film from Mississippi State's opponents, particularly the performance of the Arkansas Razorbacks who limited Mike Leach's air raid scheme to just 14 points later in the year. All that boiled down to a four-word approach, which linebacker Damone Clark echoed after the 28-25 LSU victory in Starkvile: "Don't take the cheese."
“We’ve been working on this air raid ever since last year," Orgeron said, smiling after a much-needed victory to open Southeastern Conference play. "We’ve made some improvement, obviously.”
The Tigers faced a curveball late in the week with an injury to Derek Stingley Jr. that left him in a walking boot on the sideline, much like last year's matchup. They'd already lost defensive end and team leader Andre Anthony to a season-ending injury against Central Michigan.
But with a 3-2-6 scheme unveiled for the first time this week, LSU's plan was simple. The Tigers would make the difficult choice to sacrifice their vaunted pressure that produced an FBS-leading 17 sacks through three weeks. The more conservative approach would funnel Mississippi State's passing attack into short throws in front of the defense, with the onus on the Tigers to come up and tackle well in the open field. LSU wouldn't be allowing the chunk plays over the top that inevitably doomed the Tigers in a 44-34 loss a year ago.
"I was clapping every time they threw the ball short," Orgeron said. "I knew that there wasn’t going to be enough points, enough yardage to beat us if they kept on throwing the ball short."
The plan worked, but that meant a heavy toll and attrition on an undermanned defensive group -- particularly in the fitness department -- as the game wore on. Mississippi State extended drives, but played into LSU's hands by failing to finish off all but one of those drives for points in the first half.
The strategy was shown clearly in the stats, with the Bulldogs outgaining LSU 486 to 343, running 88 plays to LSU's 54 and holding the ball for 10 more minutes. Mississippi State converted 12 of its 18 third-down attempts. Seemingly the only stat they didn't come out ahead in was points scored, with a missed field goal from 33 yards looming large as Mississippi State's attempt at an onside kick failed with just under 2 minutes to play. Leach challenged the call of an illegal touching penalty after the ball failed to travel the required 10 yards before his team touched it. The challenge failed, costing his team its final timeout and ensuring it wouldn't get the ball back.
Orgeron wasn't sure what type of defense the Bulldogs had prepared for, but they were almost certainly caught off guard. LSU had never shown a 3-2-6 before. He had even jokingly answered a question earlier in the week about his plans for the game, saying he couldn't answer and give away his scheme. And that wasn't just coach speak, as it turns out.
Leach's offense made adjustments in the second half, and scored the final 15 points of the game as they began to slice through the soft coverage. But it was too little, too late.
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"You've got to be conditioned for these type of games. You know, it's SEC play. Mississippi State has a specific offense they do. ... For the most part we did a good job," Clark said. "But we've got room for improvement."
Neither team could seem to get its offense untracked in the first half beyond a turnover that led to Max Johnson's first touchdown pass of the night. The sophomore climbed the pocket to avoid the rush and found his favorite target in Kayshon Boutte for his first of two touchdowns. LSU defensive back Cordale Flott had a particularly inspired performance, forcing that fumble on the Bulldogs' opening drive much like Derek Stingley Jr. did against Central Michigan a week earlier, and sinking in zone coverage perfectly to undercut an out route and snag an interception later in the quarter.
Clark rolled up a game-high 15 tackles, leading the team for the fourth straight game. He also recovered the fumble on the Bulldogs' opening possession. Ali Gaye logged LSU's lone sack of the game.
But like waves on the beach, LSU's offensive playmakers kept pushing downfield and eventually hit big with Boutte's 64-yard catch-and-run score on an RPO just 30 seconds into the second half. Then it happened again, this time with Trey Palmer getting about 20 yards behind an undisciplined defense for a 58-yard score. Finally it was Kole Taylor, who took advantage of a penalty to extend a drive and two Mississippi State defenders crashing into each other, scampering for an easy 41-yard score.
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Those three second-half drives accounted for all of 4:42 of game time, a positive result but one that placed even more pressure on a defense that was on the field nearly the entire second half. Some of that fatigue likely manifested in some coverage breakdowns on two Mississippi State scoring drives in the fourth quarter, the most notable when they lost track of Bulldogs running back Jo'Quavious Marks as he leaked out of the backfield on a wheel route for an easy pitch-and-catch touchdown. But the story was already written. LSU's plan had worked and they earned a much-needed win to start on the right foot in conference play. Something they were unable to do a year ago in an uneven, 5-5 season that had a lot more low points than high points.
"Our defense played their hearts out. ... They've got my back and I've got theirs," Johnson said. "So I really appreciate Coach O and our team. I love our defense."
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