It was finally go-time in Death Valley. The Tigers were back home to face the No. 8 ranked team in college football, following their huge win on the road against the Tigers from the Plains.
Tiger Stadium was packed an hour before the morning kickoff and the roar of both Tennessee and LSU fans could probably be heard throughout campus.
Special teams lined up for the awaited kickoff. It was Jack Bech for LSU that was chosen to receive the ball. Fans roared and the ball was finally put into play. What felt like a second later, and those screams and cheers turned into gasps. Bech fumbled the ball on the receiving end, allowing the Volunteers to recover the ball and gain control of the game less than 10 seconds into the first quarter.
This was the second game in a row that the Tigers had an ugly kickoff, creating an atmosphere of disappointment before the game had really even started. Kickoffs are a routine component of this game, and the fumble was a shocking start to one that, on paper, LSU had a good chance of taking. Against an aggressive opponent like Tennessee, though, there’s just simply no room for these kinds of mistakes.
“Well, that was not what we had planned, nor expected,” Head Coach Brian Kelly explained. “We expected to play much better than that. Certainly when you fumble the opening kickoff and give a extra possession to a team that you know obviously plays fast and loves extra possessions and then give another three points and spot and 10 points and special teams, you put yourself in a huge hole. That’s what we did.”
In the game against Auburn, cornerback Sevyn Banks took a hard hit during kickoff. The clock stopped ticking and both teams took a knee as Banks laid on the field waiting for a stretcher. Although it was announced soon after that Banks would be in a decent enough shape to take the flight back to Baton Rouge with his teammates, those few painful minutes of kickoff seemed to ricochet throughout the remainder of the half. Auburn defended its home turf and LSU didn’t have any type of control over the outcome of that game until it neared halftime.
Though it’s evident that kickoffs are a point of weakness for the Tigers, Kelly has made it clear that it’s something that they’ve continued to work on.
“I mean, Jack Bech is the best guy we have,” Kelly said. “He’s got to haul up there and catch that football. Now, I’m back there with him and we’re working on those kicks. We didn’t execute there. We out kicked our coverage. We found one into the wind. We give that returner about 20 yards separation. And we don’t get off. One of our runners doesn’t get off the block.”
The rocky start carried into the first half. LSU wasn’t able to get anything up on the board until there was nearly three minutes left until halftime. At that point, Tennessee was already leading with 20 points to LSU’s seven. The Volunteers entered the half with 23, after a successful 32 yard field goal occurred with just seconds left in the second quarter.
LSU had a slow first half in its matchup against Auburn as well. After the half, however, the Tigers became more successful on both sides of the ball, as Auburn slowly but surely succumbed to their tactics.
This time around, that wasn’t the case. Tennessee showed no signs of slowing down. LSU, on the other hand, showed no signs of ever really starting. Any energy that exuded from the Tigers after the touchdown that finally got them on the board in the second quarter was soon diminished after the Volunteers were able to collect that field goal. In the fourth quarter, LSU was finally able to take another six points after Kayshon Boutte’s five yard reception. Though there was still 11 minutes left of the fourth, the Volunteers had never given up their lead. They held 37 points to LSU’s 13.
With two games in a row that contained poor kickoffs followed by shaky first halves, the Tigers have performed in ways that show that the unsuccessful plays may have an effect on future ones. While this doesn’t seem to be a cause of concern for LSU, this performance and past ones tell a different story.
Running back Josh Williams explained that moments like the beginning of this game against Tennessee don’t have an impact on the rest of their performance.
“We just got to keep chopping wood,” Williams said. “My coach, Coach Frank always just says, ‘Whenever you hit adversity, you got to keep fighting.’ Unfortunately, we started the game slow, but that doesn’t define us.”
While this may have not been the case against Auburn, the fumbled kickoff took a major hit to LSU’s confidence. It was a hit that the team couldn’t climb their way back to. Against Tennessee, that slow start did define them.
Kelly has said that going forward, he and the coaching staff will continue to work on the details. These details will have to transpire into strong first half performances as the Tigers continue to work towards and wish for success.
