The LSU football team beat the No. 14 team in the nation by four points Saturday. In comparison, the two highest-ranked teams in the nation beat two unranked opponents by six and 10 points.
It’s the first week of the season, LSU fans. Calm down and take solace that the game was won.
I’m not saying there weren’t miscues and poor execution that fans should be worried about. There were and I’ll get to that. Just don’t forget that LSU beat a ranked team that won its conference three of the last four seasons.
The most glaring weakness for LSU came from the most inexperienced position — defensive tackle. Wisconsin’s offensive line routinely handled junior Quentin Thomas and sophomore Christian LaCouture to open up huge holes for Wisconsin tailbacks Melvin Gordon and Corey Clement.
Luckily for LSU, Wisconsin limited Gordon’s touches in the final 20 minutes of the game despite his rushing for more than 100 yards and a touchdown up to that point. Wisconsin coach Gary Andersen said Gordon was healthy throughout the game, but then couldn’t give a reason why the team’s star stopped getting carries.
The Tigers were without freshman tackle Frank Herron, who missed the game for undisclosed reasons. They’ll need Herron and a better sense of what they’re doing inside the trenches as the season goes on. There are running games in the SEC just as good as Wisconsin’s, only without the perplexing late-game strategy.
Sophomore quarterback Anthony Jennings was shaky for most of the game, and at times he seemed to be throwing the deep ball hoping for a pass interference call. He became more comfortable in the second half, but I doubt LSU coach Les Miles has firmly decided whether Jennings or freshman Brandon Harris should start long-term.
The game also featured the resurrection of senior running back Kenny Hilliard, who displayed the powerful downhill running that made him a fan favorite his freshman season. I have no idea what happened to Hilliard these last two seasons, but he showed up when LSU was behind and no other running back was making plays.
Hilliard’s performance is another example of LSU’s running back carousal at work. If you’re worried about how underwhelming Leonard Fournette and Terrence Magee performed, just wait. Each back is going to have his big game, and LSU fans should feel blessed they have so many athletes to play in this system.
Wisconsin quarterback Tanner McEvoy was dreadful, but that shouldn’t take away from how dominant LSU’s secondary played. McEvoy couldn’t complete a pass more than 15 yards downfield, and the secondary’s two interceptions in the fourth quarter sealed the win.
The key on defense will be stopping the run on first down. Saturday’s game turned when Wisconsin had to throw the ball down the field and LSU feasted on McEvoy’s errant passes.
The Tigers’ comeback wasn’t the statement win many predicted, but placing labels on this team after week one would be obtuse. The season ends in December, so there’s a lot of time for this team to find its identity.
LSU should see the next two weeks as a time to figure out that identity and what works best for the team. Sam Houston State and UL-Monroe are going to get torched, so this is the time to figure out the kinks.
There will always be problems the first week of the season, and that’s why these early season wins are impressive. LSU has almost three weeks until its first SEC game, and that’s plenty of time to get everything in order.
Tommy Romanach is a 22-year-old mass communication senior from Dallas, Texas. You can reach him on Twitter @troman_28.