LSU football’s high expectations took a hit in Week 1 when the Tigers fell to Florida State 45-24.
It’s the fourth year in a row LSU lost its opening game, but Saturday’s loss was the largest defeat in that span.
Here are three takeaways from LSU’s loss.
LSU’s lack of pass rush kept the defense on the field
Much like last year’s matchup with Florida State, LSU struggled to get stops on third down. Florida State finished the game 9-14 on third down, while LSU finished 3-10.
Much of Florida State’s third down success came down to LSU’s inability to get pressure on Jordan Travis. LSU didn’t have a single sack in the game, but Florida State had four.
Coming into the game, Harold Perkins was circled as a potential difference maker in the pass rush, but he hardly got a chance to pressure the quarterback. Perkins played most of the game off the ball at middle linebacker and didn’t register a quarterback hurry.
He finished the game with five tackles but struggled to impact the game. Perkins didn’t show the game-wrecking ability that won LSU multiple games in 2022. Kelly chalked it up to Perkins learning a new position at inside linebacker, but critics question if that’s the best position for him.
When LSU did get pressure, it couldn’t finish plays. LSU’s defensive lineman couldn’t get Travis on the ground, resulting in big plays on the run.
The good news is Travis could be the best quarterback LSU faces all year. However, an opening loss changes the outlook of the season for a team with College Football Playoff hopes.
The offensive line struggled at times
The struggles at the line of scrimmage existed on both sides of the ball. LSU struggled to run the ball throughout the game. Early on, the Tigers were stopped on four straight plays inside the two-yard line, setting the tone for the rest of the game.
Outside of Jayden Daniels scrambling, LSU had no consistent run game. Josh Williams led LSU’s running backs with 44 yards on four carries, but 35 of those yards came from one play near the end of the first half.
A lot of the struggles in run blocking came on the right side of the offensive line. Miles Frazier and Emery Jones started at right guard and right tackle respectively and had trouble in run blocking and pass blocking at times.
Freshman Zalance Heard got snaps at right tackle during fall camp; he could be a player LSU utilizes in that role if it continues to struggle on that side.
While Florida State’s defensive line is one of the best in the country, elite defensive line play will be common during LSU’s Southeastern Conference schedule.
LSU played poor situational football
LSU’s biggest failures early in the game came on fourth down plays. In the first half, the Tigers turned the ball over on downs twice in the redzone, limiting what could’ve been a commanding halftime lead. On both plays, LSU lost yards and made poor reads.
LSU also had numerous drops in important situations. The best example of that was Brian Thomas Jr. dropping a deep pass from Daniels near the endzone at the end of the third quarter. On the next play, Daniels threw an interception, starting Florida State’s onslaught.
LSU failed to execute on third and fourth downs on both sides of the ball, something Kelly blamed on poor coaching. Many of the flaws in execution drew similarities to LSU’s season opener in 2022.
Though the game ended 45-24, a few plays going different for LSU in the first half could’ve created a completely different game.