It was a tale of two halves for LSU on Saturday.
The Tigers defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks 34-31 with a game-winning field goal from Damian Ramos to keep the Golden Boot back in Louisiana. However, many people believed LSU would dominate this game. In fact, it was favored by 17.
In the first half, LSU trailed early in the game 13-3, and couldn’t get anything going on offense. Jayden Daniels was only 8 for 15 with 96 yards with an interception before a 49-yard touchdown pass to Brian Thomas Jr. but, overall it was a less-than-impressive performance from the offense, especially in the first half.
The defense, however, did a great job preventing Arkansas from getting a big lead including an interception by Andre’ Sam and a couple of sacks. Only allowing 13 points to the Razorbacks in the first half was a tremendous effort, especially for a unit that is trying to find its footing.
However, things flipped for both the offense and the defense in the second half. The offense that struggled in the first half ended up scoring on every possession. The Tiger team started the second half with three straight touchdowns. Daniels finished 20 for 29 with 320 yards and four touchdowns. Malik Nabers had eight receptions, 130 yards and two touchdowns while Thomas Jr. racked up five receptions, 133 yards and two touchdowns as well. Logan Diggs ran for 97 yards on 14 carries.
READ MORE: Will the Tigers continue to be a second half team
The offense that was considered the best in the SEC showed up in the second half and looked unstoppable. LSU was more aggressive with the passing game, taking more shots downfield and going to its most reliable targets in Thomas Jr. and Nabers. The change of pace in running the ball with Diggs allowed LSU to maintain balance.
On the defensive side, things started to look concerning in the second half. After holding the Razorbacks to 13 points in the first half, LSU gave up 18 points in the second. Arkansas was able to move the ball and score on breakdowns from the defense. There were too many plays where the defense lacked discipline, even thinking that a play was over. Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson was able to extend that play and find a wide-open receiver.
These mental mistakes from LSU can’t continue to happen if the Tigers want to compete for a national championship. They have shown improvements in areas with new additions such as Whit Weeks, Dashawn Womack and Sam but are far from where they need to be on defense.
This has been an emphasis for the past couple of weeks with Florida State, Grambling and now Arkansas. LSU has the potential to be good, especially with a strong front seven and the amount of talent and depth it carries. The Tigers can contain one of the best defensive fronts in the country.
I would be interested to see them test out different corners to find more consistent play in the secondary such as Laterrance Welch, Ashton Stamps and Javien Toviano. Giving those players more repetitions and experimenting with the secondary could be extremely beneficial for LSU in the long run.
