When the University of Arkansas delivered the dagger into the LSU football team’s heart in the fourth quarter Saturday, fan support, College Football Playoff hopes and Heisman Trophy chances disappeared all at once, while the Razorbacks paraded around Tiger Stadium with the Golden Boot.
Sophomore running back Leonard Fournette had no words for the Tigers’ 31-14 loss against the Razorbacks.
Arkansas’ defense held the tailback to 91 yards on 19 carries, forcing the Tiger offense to rely almost exclusively on the passing game for the second consecutive week.
The quick start LSU hoped for was nowhere to be seen. Not only did Fournette’s first five carries account for eight yards, but the entire offense struggled to get going as well.
The Tigers didn’t earn a first down until 11 minutes into the first quarter on their third offensive possession as a result of facing multiple third-and-long situations. By that time, the Tigers already saw themselves down by a touchdown and were far away from a consistent rhythm.
“I think we just weren’t very efficient as an offense,” said senior offensive tackle Vadal Alexander. “If it was a penalty, a dropped pass or a quarterback sack, we always put ourselves in bad situations and got down early. When you’re down early against a good team it’s hard to come back.”
Saturday’s performance marked the second consecutive game Fournette was held below his season average of 163.8 yards per game. All he had to say was, “it happens,” still finding no words to describe what went wrong.
Meanwhile, LSU coach Les Miles put the burden on himself.
“I look at it, and I think to myself, ‘I like my quarterback, I like my tailback [and] the offensive line is pretty good,’” Miles said. “It’s got to be something I’m not getting done. Offensively, I think that’s a key piece.”
Miles said he didn’t expect pocket protection to be such an issue, but the offensive line allowed five sacks to an Arkansas defense that accomplished eight in its previous nine games.
Sophomore quarterback Brandon Harris was therefore forced in third-and-long situations similar to last week’s game in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The Tigers struggled on third down conversion attempts, picking up just six first downs on 14 attempts.
“It’s just technique things,” Alexander said. “Hand placement. Not identifying different looks. It’s not normal for our group to give up sacks like that. We’ve played great teams up to this point and haven’t given those up.”
Fournette’s self-proclaimed “toughest loss” of his LSU career also took away his Heisman chances. If University of Alabama junior running back Derrick Henry didn’t already surpass Fournette last week, Fournette’s numbers paled in comparison to Henry’s once again, as the Heisman frontrunner gashed then-No. 17 Mississippi State University for more than 200 yards and two touchdowns in Alabama’s domination.
The next goal for the Tigers starts Saturday in Oxford, Mississippi. Fournette said it’s on the leaders of the team to control the losing streak and keep the team motivated.
“We got two games left,” Alexander said. “It’s about going undefeated in those. We’re going to watch film tonight and tomorrow and come back Monday with a work mentality.”