Many LSU fans were anticipating another blowout victory on Saturday night as 12th ranked LSU took on its rival to the north, Arkansas. The Tigers were 17.5 point favorites after easily beating Mississippi State the week before, while the Razorbacks committed 14 penalties on their way to losing to BYU.
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But as I said in articles going into the game, anything can happen on Saturday afternoon/night in college football and nearly the unthinkable happened.
A highly motivated Arkansas team had a 10-point lead late in the 2nd quarter and it didn’t look good for the Tigers.
But Jayden Daniels finally got into a rhythm and led LSU on a quick scoring touchdown drive right before halftime to help swing momentum back in LSU’s favor.
After starting the night with drives that ended with a punt, interception and punt, LSU scored on its final six drives.
Daniels ended up throwing for 320 yards on 20 of 29 completions, four touchdowns and one interception. Malik Nabers was once again the leading receiver with eight catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns.
It was also a big night for Brian Thomas Jr., who hauled in five passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns. Thomas’ first TD touchdown grab came right before halftime to flip the momentum and then started the second half with another 49-yard touchdown catch to give LSU the lead.
LSU also got the running game going in the 2nd half, after only a handful of carries in the first half. Logan Diggs led all rushers with 97 yards and 14 carries.
LSU’s defense never allowed the Tigers to pull away. But you also have to give credit to Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson, who showed why he was a preseason second team All SEC selection. [
“KJ Jefferson was outstanding tonight, kept plays alive, couldn’t get him on the ground, we tried to get him on the ground, but we weren’t allowed to get him on the ground, so it was just one of those games where we were one of the last ones to have the football,” said Kelly.
Jefferson threw for 289 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 48 yards.
He took advantage of a coverage breakdown by LSU CB Zy Alexander on a 59-yard touchdown pass to Luke Hasz. The freshman tight end from Oklahoma had a huge game against LSU as he caught six passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns.
Jefferson’s first touchdown pass went to Tyrone Broden, who beat LSU CB Denver Harris in the end zone.
Arkansas could have scored more than 31 points, but for the second straight week the Hogs couldn’t stop committing penalties. They were flagged even times, nine of them came in the second half, seven of them by offense, and five were false starts. (Hat Tip to the fans for the five false starts)
Jefferson picked on an inexperienced LSU secondary that is missing one of its leaders Greg Brooks Junior. There were plenty of Razorback receivers running wide open.
But give credit to LSU’s defense for forcing a couple of field goals in the 1st half instead of touchdowns. Plus, there were some positive individual performances.
Inside linebackers Gren Penn III and Whit Weeks played well, Andre Sam had a big interception, Major Burns a critical tackle at the goal line that forced one of those early field goals.
Freshman Da’Shawn Womack had a sack. Defensive tackles Mekhi Wingo and Jordan Jefferson were very active as LSU still waits for Maason Smith to become more of a force.
The other thing going in LSU’s favor is that the SEC lacks explosive offenses. They’ll face a good Ole Miss offense this Saturday at Ole Miss, but as Alabama showed this past weekend the Rebels can be contained.
“There’s a lot that has to continue to get better and most of them are self-inflicted wounds that are going to have to get better as we go on the road these next two weeks, but all-in-all happy with the victory,” said Kelly.