Last week the LSU football team attempted to put all the pieces of the puzzle together.
Now it needs to mend these pieces, deformed in frustration last week when the Tigers tried to force them in spots where they didn’t fit, and lost in a shocking 27-24 upset to Ole Miss.
“This football team is talented, and they go to the field with the idea that they can make every play,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “Our weakness [at Ole Miss] was that they thought they had to make every play and that they needed to win the game with that play.”
No. 13 LSU (6-2, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) gets a break from SEC play as it takes on Football Championship Series opponent Furman (3-4, 2-2 Southern Conference) Saturday in the Tigers’ annual homecoming game.
On the surface, this contest seems pretty meaningless. When a top-25 traditional powerhouse program takes on an FCS cupcake with a losing record, it doesn’t take expert analysis to predict the probable outcome.
The Tigers could easily mail this one in and head into the bye week without a second thought.
But they have other plans.
“Our goal is just to go out and dominate,” said senior linebacker Lamin Barrow. “We have to come out and try to dominate this team. It doesn’t matter if it’s Furman or if it’s a bigger opponent, just to feel better about ourselves. After losing to Ole Miss, we have to get that taste out of our mouths.”
Senior quarterback Zach Mettenberger had a rough start in Oxford, Miss., throwing three interceptions in the Tigers’ five first- half drives.
He was not alone as the LSU offense as a whole struggled against the Rebels, gaining less than 400 total yards for only the second time this season.
“We just need to be more patient,” Mettenberger said. “Defenses are really game planning us well for taking away the run at times and taking away the pass. … Receivers need to run their routes the right way and understand that, yeah, they’re getting double-teamed one play, but maybe the next play they won’t.”
Mettenberger said he looks forward to bouncing back against the Paladins, who have allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete almost 72 percent of their combined passes for an average of more than 200 yards per game against FCS competition.
LSU’s defense also struggled last Saturday, allowing Ole Miss to tally 525 yards of total offense and convert 11 of 18 third downs, including two on the Rebels’ game-winning drive.
Junior defensive tackle Anthony Johnson said the Tigers simply got too excited and missed assignments, something that LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis worked specifically to fix in practice this week.
“Coach Chavis repeated a couple of plays to make sure everybody knew that ‘Hey, you don’t have to do his job. You do your job. He’s going to be right there behind you. He’s going to take care of what he has to do. So don’t try to make a play and be Superman,’” Johnson said. “We took that to heart this week.”
This is more than an exhibition match against an inferior opponent for the Tigers. This is an opportunity to redeem themselves and regroup before preparing their marquee opponent of the season: No. 1 Alabama.
“We can get the confidence back for the whole team,” Johnson said. “We can’t let any opponent off lightly.