LSU football could be in trouble if they don’t blowout the Vanderbilt Commodores Saturday.
Both LSU football and the Vanderbilt Commodores are in danger of going 0-2. The Tigers are in desperate need of this victory and need to win convincingly after losing 44-34 to the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
K.J. Costello lit up the LSU defense for 623 yards and five touchdowns. Yes, you read that right. Six hundred and twenty-three passing yards. He made it look effortless against this defense, which is uncharacteristic of LSU on that side of the ball. Osiris Mitchell, Kylin Hill and JaVonta Payton had over 100 yards receiving, and Hill had the longest reception of 75 yards. The Bulldogs also converted 50 percent of their third downs (8-of-16).
The bright spots for the Tigers were the play of Terrace Marshall Jr. JaCoby Stevens and Jabril Cox. Marshall Jr. was the sole 100-yard receiver for the Tigers, and he found the end zone twice. Stevens recorded six tackles (four solos), two sacks and two tackles for loss. Cox had identical tackle numbers in addition to one sack, one tackle for loss and an interception for a touchdown.
The Commodores made the No. 10 Texas A&M Aggies work for their first win of the season. Freshman Quarterback Ken Seals had a 150-yard and one-touchdown showing with two interceptions. Despite the two turnovers, It was impressive to see the throws he made into tight windows and the poise he had in the pocket.
The story of that game and the reason for the Aggies’ narrow victory was the play of running back Isaiah Spiller, who ran for 117 yards on eight carries.
LSU football needs to take advantage of Vanderbilt’s secondary with their passing attack and quit loafing defensively
LSU doesn’t have Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Ja’Marr Chase or Justin Jefferson on offense anymore, but they do have playmakers in Marshall Jr. and the 6-foot-5, 250-pound Arik Gilbert. LSU can use these two guys to scorch Vanderbilt’s secondary for big gains and touchdowns.
Defensively, the Tigers can’t allow Seals to carve up their secondary. They have to play lockdown defense and the front seven has to get to Seals early and often. The defense also has to do a better job of tackling in space. There were multiple occasions against the Bulldogs where they missed tackles that could have prevented bigger gains.
Head coach Ed Orgeron told ESPN’s Matt Barrie on SportsCenter that the defense needed to do better and keep the loafs to a minimum. By “loafs” he meant not sprinting to the football, jogging until a player realizes he needs to make a play, staying on the ground, giving up on a play, not turning and chasing the play downfield, getting passed by your teammate on a play and turning down a big hit opportunity.
These are things you expect an LSU defense to do all the time. Orgeron said that players who loafed ran extra in practice and he believes that we’ll see a difference on Saturday.
If LSU football loses this game or it ends up being a close one and they win, their College Football Playoff position deserves to be questioned, because Vanderbilt is a team that LSU should beat with no problem.
This could arguably be the most important game for the Tigers this season. It will be shown on the SEC Network at 7:30 p.m. ET.
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