The LSU Tigers ran away with a win in their game against Mississippi State after a second half turnaround nearly shut out the Bulldogs. At the forefront of that action, once again, was Jayden Daniels.
LSU’s offense was slow to capitalize in the first half. When he remained in the pocket, Daniels was hesitant, struggling early on to get the ball out quickly. He also seemed to have trouble finding his open receivers.
There were 46 seconds left until both teams would retreat into their respective locker rooms for half time. This was when an energy among the LSU offense seemed to ignite. Daniels led LSU on a seven-play, 75-yard drive, capped off by a short throw to Jaray Jenkins for a touchdown.
There was a complete shift in momentum and mindset during halftime. After a Latin-inspired halftime show provided by the Golden Band from Tigerland, the Tigers and the Bulldogs took the field once more. This half was different from the first, though. Mississippi State’s defense allowed more cracks for the LSU offense to fall into, and LSU took those opportunities by the reins.
“It’s about moving with urgency and tempo,” Daniels said after the game. “We played better after the half as a unit that way, not just me personally, but everybody else cause you know, like I said, you give the defense time to get set, you go out there and you make adjustments.”
In LSU’s first drive of the third quarter, complete passes came one after another. Though the only points scored here were from Damian Ramos field goals, Daniels’ intentions to fight until the last second ticked down became evident.
LSU strayed just a few points behind Mississippi State for the majority of the game. The fourth quarter began with LSU trailing Mississippi State 16-10. Just under a minute in, Daniels found a gap up the middle of the Bulldogs’ defense. On a 3-yard rush, he stumbled into the endzone. This run accompanied by a successful extra point was what finally gave LSU the edge.
The confidence that Daniels has in Malik Nabers really began to shine in the final quarter of the game. LSU continued to grasp onto its one-point lead. With just seven minutes left in the game, Daniels’ pass connected with Nabers, who reached a first down on a 27-yard run.
“Jayden did a great job of recognizing the man coverage and putting the ball out there,” Head Coach Brian Kelly said. “The first couple of throws down the left side he opened up. I reminded him that he was getting a little bit open and pointing his shoulders. He came back, tightened it up, and threw a beautiful ball and Malik makes a nice catch.”
Though Nabers wasn’t the only big receiver for this game, it has become apparent that the synergy between Daniels and Nabers will cause trouble for any opponents’ defense throughout the rest of the season.
Energy poured onto every inch of the field from the Tigers. With plays like that one, it was evident that LSU had a lot more fight left to give, even with just minutes left of the game. LSU went on to score two more touchdowns, both from rushing yards contributed by Josh Williams and Armoni Goodwin.
LSU finished the game with 31 points to Mississippi State’s 16. This win was huge in terms of further cementing Daniels’ place as the starting quarterback. For Daniels to quickly make adjustments to help lead the team in the second half speaks volumes to his mindset surrounding his new role as LSU’s quarterback.
Daniels’ resilience represented the type of game LSU needed to win against Mississippi State. This didn’t go unnoticed by Kelly and the team either, as Daniels was awarded with the game ball, capping off his impressive performance.
“Tough as nails,” Kelly stated in an Instagram post. “Well-earned game ball for Jayden tonight.”
