Following the win over Florida, LSU football coach Brian Kelly was not in the mood to take questions about the lack of production on offense, its poor performance on third down, and the lack of a running game.
Kelly said that night the Tigers played the game to win the game and told the reporter, “You’re spoiled” for asking negative questions on the night when the defense played great and forced five turnovers.
But LSU scored just one offensive touchdown off those five turnovers, and it was certainly a warning sign; something is wrong!
The same questions asked after the Florida game had to be asked after a frustrating 24-19 loss to Ole Miss in Oxford.
The Tigers' offense had just 254 total yards, 57 yards on the ground, and LSU was an atrocious 2-for-11 on third down.
“We weren’t very good on third down, we’ve been a really good third down team, we have to be better on third down and that’s just not on Garrett, we got to get open, our coaches gotta get guys open where they can make some plays,” Kelly said.
Coaching is certainly a big part of this as LSU continues to struggle in the run game. A common theme during the Kelly era.
And the other issue, Nussmeier doesn’t look right as he threw for 197 yards and a touchdown. That’s the lowest passing total for Nussmeier in his LSU career in a game that he started.
He also threw a costly interception when LSU had a chance to go up 14-3 in the second quarter.
In eight of his 13 games last year, Nussmeier threw for 300 yards or more in a game. He’s yet to do it once this season.
“All I can tell you is he’s healthy,” Kelly said when asked about Nussmeier’s torso injury that became public earlier this month.
“I’m not going to answer any questions about my health right now,” Nussmeier said when asked if he was healthy. “Right now, I’m frustrated about the loss. We’ll get back, watch the tape, find ways to get better.”
Kelly said previously that Nussmeier would need this upcoming bye week to get fully healthy.
And there are a lot of injury concerns with this team right now. Starting right tackle Weston Davis went down with an injury in pregame warm-ups, and freshman Carius Curne had to make his first start.
One of LSU’s top receivers, Aaron Anderson, suffered an elbow injury and sat out most of the second half. Leading rusher Caden Durham sat out with a sprained ankle.
Kelly said the Tigers ran the ball better in the second half. But the rush totals are pathetic. Freshman Harlem Berry was LSU’s leading rusher with just 22 yards on the ground against a defense that ranked last going into the game in rush defense.
That’s a big problem, and Kelly and the Tigers can’t ignore it anymore.
The defense played hard and well at times, but they struggled to get off the field, allowing Ole Miss to convert 8-of-16 on third downs, and once again, a dual-threat quarterback haunts the LSU defense.
Trinidad Chambliss threw for 314 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 71. His 71 rushing yards were more than what LSU had as a team.
That’s a problem.
The bye week comes at a good time. LSU needs to get healthy, and they need to do some soul searching or this will be another season where LSU comes up short of its main goals.
And coming up short is not an option when you have a 5th-year senior quarterback and an 18-million-dollar roster failing to play complementary football.
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