It wasn’t pretty, but LSU stayed undefeated in Southeasters Conference play on Saturday, beating Arkansas 34-31 with a last-second field goal.

The game had everything from turnovers to bad offense early on before turning into a shootout in the second half. LSU’s offense woke up when it needed to and grinded out the much-needed win.

Here are three takeaways from the game:

This won’t be the last shootout LSU gets into

Saturday night proved that the defense’s performance against Mississippi State may have been a fluke. Just a week after giving up only 14 points and 201 total yards, Arkansas gashed the LSU defense for 31 points and 426 yards.

Many of LSU’s problems from the Florida State loss resurfaced. A mobile quarterback unlocked the LSU defense again as KJ Jefferson threw for 289 yards, ran for 48 yards and consistently made plays outside the pocket when LSU couldn’t get him on the ground.

LSU’s secondary continues to be its biggest weakness. Against teams with good quarterbacks and receivers, LSU will struggle and will need its offense to bail out the defense like it did against Arkansas.

Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. might be the best receiver duo in the country

While the LSU defense got carved up in the second half, LSU’s offense was equal to it. That was in no small part due to the play of Nabers and Thomas, who combined for 13 catches for 263 yards and four touchdowns.

Nabers showed his ability to be elite against Mississippi State, but when Thomas is equally as dangerous on the opposite side, LSU’s passing attack is hard to stop. Both receivers can consistently burn man coverage, creating bad matchups when teams try to bracket or double team one of them.

Nabers is now third in the country in receiving yards and Thomas is 15th. Both have five touchdowns already on the year, which ties them for second in the country. They are the best receiver tandem LSU has had since 2019, and their continued dominance will be needed as LSU’s defense continues to struggle.

LSU’s running game is its most underrated attribute

What got lost in the shootout and Jayden Daniels’ second half performance was how well LSU moved the ball on the ground. Logan Diggs led the effort, running for 97 yards on 14 carries. He made big run after big run and picked up a few crucial first downs on the ground.

Whenever LSU needed just a few yards, it could rely on the running game to get it. Diggs has been one of LSU’s most consistent players since entering the rotation, and his contributions are huge in a game like the one against Arkansas.

There could be many more games this season where LSU needs to run the ball and burn clock, and the last three games have proven it could do that.

Diggs isn’t the only back either. Josh Williams and Kaleb Jackson have proven to be reliable, and both got carries against Arkansas. Combining that with the threat Daniels poses with his legs, LSU has a rushing attack that brings a level of balance to the offense it hasn’t seen much of over the last few years.