In the days following the No. 10 LSU footballteam’s first loss of a promising 2013 season, players were upfront about what went wrong against Georgia.
From blown coverage assignments in the secondary to the four sacks given up by the offensive line, the Tigers (4-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) struggled to handle the Bulldogs on both sides of the ball. The team concurred it wasn’t for a lack of effort — there’s no slacking against an opponent like Georgia.
What they had was failure to communicate.
“I believe we have the best 11 [players] on the field every time,” junior defensive tackle Anthony Johnson said. “It’s about the little things and mentally preparing yourself to make every call. As far as ability and talent and hard work, we have that. We just have to get the little technical issues down and we’ll be okay.”
Despite the communication breakdowns last Saturday, the Tigers were clear that on-field
conversation must be improved if they hope to get the season back on track at Mississippi State (2-2, 0-1 SEC) on Saturday night.
The LSU secondary appeared to be lost at times, giving up two touchdown passes to wide-open receivers. Sophomore cornerback Jalen Collins said the defense had trouble signaling across every level because of Georgia’s fast-paced offensive attack, and his teammates were quick to agree.
“If you turned on the film right now, you could see four or five plays where we weren’t even ready for the snap because of the tempo,” senior linebacker Lamin Barrow said. “It’s something that we have to take in amongst ourselves.”
The need to relay signals may be even more imperative this weekend, as Mississippi State plans to unleash two quarterbacks on the young LSU defense.
Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen confirmed senior quarterback Tyler Russell will start the game after missing several weeks because of a concussion he suffered in the Bulldogs’ season-opening loss to Oklahoma State. Sophomore quarterback Dak Prescott threw for 709 yards and three touchdowns during Russell’s absence, and he should also play significant minutes against the Tigers.
“I think both of those guys have gotten enough reps to be very productive for their team,” LSU coach Les Miles said. “They use one guy in a set of circumstances and situations, and they use another guy that is, frankly, a pretty good egg in a number of spots. I think it’s an advantage for them.”
Prescott is also Mississippi State’s leading rusher with 229 yards and five touchdowns. At 6-foot-2, 230 pounds, he brings a physical presence to the spread offense, and Johnson said he expects him to run more power plays than draws or read options.
“We’ve just got to punch him in the mouth on the inside,”
Johnson said. “We can’t give him the ability to make those plays on the inside because that’s where they want to go. We need to stay in our technique and stay in our lanes.”
But the Tigers are no strangers to defending a dual-quarterback offense. TCU used sophomore Trevone Boykin and senior Casey Pachall in the season-opener, but LSU held the Horned Frogs to a meager 259 total yards and allowed Boykin only 13 yards rushing.
Though LSU senior quarterback Zach Mettenberger had enough protection to pass for a
career-high 372 yards against Georgia, the offensive line also had its fair share of problems last Saturday. Discounting the yards lost on four sacks, the Tiger running backs still rushed for a season-low 110 yards.
Sophomore right guard Trai Turner said the line didn’t have many hand signals in place for the Georgia game, but they have instituted some means of silent communication this week. The offense simulated the anticipated crowd noise by practicing with music blaring this week, according to Turner.
Game plans and adjustments aside, recent history favors the Tigers. LSU owns a 13-game win streak against Mississippi State, and the Bulldogs have only one win in the last 21 matchups. To make matters worse for the Bulldogs, Miles is an astounding 20-1 following a loss at LSU.
“After a loss, you see things differently,” junior receiver Odell Beckham Jr. said. “You have to take your level of preparation to a whole new level. [Miles] has done a great job with that. It’s the way he coaches. It’s in a loving way, and it’s in a way where he wants us to get better from it.”
“After a loss, you see things differently … you have to take your level of preparation to a whole new level.”