We knew Matt Canada’s offense involved pre-play motion, but when the whole offensive line shifted on the first play from scrimmage, the fans knew this wasn’t the LSU offense they were used to seeing.
Along with pre-snap shifts on the offensive line, Canada moved the wide receivers and the “F” backs, junior David Ducre and senior J.D. Moore, who act as fullback/tight end hybrids. At least one of these two positions are moving on most plays, whether it be to the other side of the field faking a sweep or moving from a receiver position to the end of the line to help block.
They needed the extra blocking, because LSU ran 57 run plays throughout the ball game, while there were only 18 passing plays called. Junior running back Derrius Guice rushed the ball 27 times amounting to 120 yards and two touchdowns. Derrel Williams rushed for 92 yards on 15 carries, showed his worth in Canada’s offensive scheme and will be a major contributor for the remainder of the season for the Tigers.
“Man, that’s LSU football. We run. We run the ball. You’ve got to set the tone. Everybody knows we’re gonna run the ball. It’s gonna happen,” said Guice learning LSU ran the ball 57 times.
The LSU quarterback corps may have had a small number of chances, but they were efficient in their 18 passes, completing 15 of them. LSU’s senior starting quarterback Danny Etling went 14 for 17 with 173 yards passing. The other lone completion went to freshman quarterback Myles Brennan, who completed his only attempt.
This kind of play was sure to turn the eyes of the coaching staff. LSU Head Coach Ed Orgeron commented on Danny Etlings performance following the game.
 “I thought he did a great job. [He did] exactly what we asked him to do, tonight,” said Orgeron. “But it goes to show you the hard work he did all summer, and he learned, he studied. The guy is a relentless worker, our players believe in him, that’s why we named him the starting quarterback and he proved it tonight.
Speaking of efficiency, LSU did not turnover the football or allow a sack for the entirety of the game. The defense gave up under 100 total yards. BYU finished with -5 rushing yards and their offense never crossed midfield. LSU dominated this football game.
The difficulties LSU faced were largely self-inflicted by being penalized ten times, totaling in 86 yards. The Tigers also struggled in the red-zone, only scoring three touchdowns in seven trips.
The wide receivers did not struggle. The receivers answered the call of duty versus BYU, not dropping a single pass thrown to them. The two leading receivers in yardage were senior D.J. Chark and Russell Gage with 77 and 36 yards, respectively. Chark received the bulk of his yardage on a 52 yard reception from Etling in the second quarter to set up an eventual Guice touchdown run.
“One thing I love about playing receiver is you can work your technique and work your routes and [Saturday] that was my main focus, working on my routes and getting open…I feel moving forward and working on it every day, we’re gonna be unstoppable,” Chark said.
“I think they’re just a better coached unit this year. I think they’re more experienced,” Orgeron said talking about the improvement of the wide receivers.
If there was a place which LSU played poorly versus BYU, it was in the red-zone. LSU scored three touchdowns on seven trips to the red-zone. The offense had no problem getting to the red-zone, it was finishing the job the Tigers struggled with. It seemed as if the BYU defense had Matt Canada’s tricks sniffed out in the red-zone.
The players said in post-game press conferences there was still a lot of Matt Canada’s playbook the fans have not seen. With, faster and better defenses to come on LSU’s schedule. The fans will have platy of opportunity to see what Canada’s got up his sleeve.
LSU (1-0) returns to action against Chattanooga (0-1) in their home opener, Saturday, September 9 at 6 p.m.