The LSU defense had arguably its most complete performance so far this season Saturday in its 17-6 victory against Florida, and that has defensive coordinator John Chavis excited.
“Coach Chavis was really fired up,” said sophomore linebacker Kwon Alexander. “That was my first time really seeing him like that, and I was feeling it, too. When he’s fired up, that means the defense is doing great, so we’re going to try to keep him like that, and we are going to keep him like that from now on.”
The Tigers held the Gator offense to 327 yards of total offense and kept an opponent out of the end zone for the first time since its 41-3 drumming of Washington last September.
Junior offensive tackle La’el Collins said he noticed a definite shift of attitude in the week leading up to the Florida game.
“From Monday to Friday, those guys were really making sure they paid attention to every little detail,” Collins said. “You could tell the emotions were flaring in that game. They really went out there to get better. I think they came out there and proved themselves.”
After giving up 44 points in the Tigers’ loss to Georgia and 23 points in the first half against Mississippi State, the LSU defense almost looked like a lost cause.
But LSU’s defense seemingly found its stride during halftime against the Bulldogs, allowing just three field goals in the six quarters since.
Alexander said it was just a matter of focusing and correcting themselves.
“In the games before, it was just mistakes,” Alexander said. “We had to fix those mistakes to be one of the great teams. Ongoing, we’re fixing all of those mistakes and we’re doing great.”
Sophomore cornerback Jalen Mills said the defense never wants to put the Tigers in a position to lose again.
“With that loss, we never want to feel that again,” Mills said. “You just push yourself harder than you ever have before to never have that loss under your belt or that feeling of having that loss when you come in on Monday.”
The hard work paid off, and Chavis responded by urging his unit to be itself on the field, said junior defensive tackle Anthony Johnson.
“He believed in us and he said, ‘You know what we’re going to go out there and play football,’” Johnson said. “He started throwing a lot more blitzes out, started letting people rush more, started letting the cornerbacks off the edge; more traditional LSU football over the past five years that you’ve seen. That’s why we got after that team on Saturday.”
“Coach Chavis was really fired up. That was my first time really seeing him like that, and I was feeling it, too. When he’s fired up that means the defense is doing great, so we’re going to try to keep him like that, and we are going to keep him like that from now on.”