I’m beginning to smell the scent of despair coming from the Tigers.
The team has fallen apart in the last few weeks with little or no sign of a recovery.
The formerly top-ranked defense has given up an average of 391 yards per game in the previous three contests, as well as just more than 30 points each game.
The low point for this banged-up unit came on a 9-play, 96-yard drive by Alabama just before halftime.
The defense looked confused and helpless as all 96 yards came on the ground. The Tide washed over the Tiger defense with 300 rushing yards and a pair of 100-yard rushers.
The run-stoppers also struggled against Auburn and Kentucky. Auburn’s Ronnie Brown and Tre Smith combined for 175 yards on 29 carries, and Kentucky’s Artose Pinner carried 27 times for 143 yards.
The special teams cannot seem to make a play without committing a block-in-the- back penalty. In the same three-game span, Domanick Davis only has averaged 5.9 yards on punt returns.
And speaking of penalties, LSU has been plagued by them in recent games — 10 for 82 yards against South Carolina, six for 52 yards against Auburn, 13 for 104 yards against Kentucky and 10 for 77 yards against Alabama.
In Saturday’s game, the Tigers killed drives with numerous false start, illegal procedure and holding penalties. In the first half, three third-and-short situations turned into third-and-long because of penalties against the offensive line. In all three cases, the Tigers were forced to punt a play later.
The offense found the endzone three times against a paltry Kentucky defense but was shut out by Alabama and nearly by Auburn.
The passing game only can be described as non-existent, averaging 147.8 yards per game in the Marcus Randall era.
Against Kentucky, the Tigers threw for a season-high 264 yards. However, a closer look shows 70 yards came from a trick shovel pass to Devery Henderson and another 75 yards came from the lucky “heave and hope” pass. That leaves 119 yards of legitimate passing in that game.
LSU managed only 65 yards in the air against ‘Bama, as Randall completed only 6-of-17 passes and turned the ball over the very next play following the fake punt.
But the blame can’t be placed solely on Randall as his receivers dropped countless passes throughout the course of the game.
The running game has been the only source of hope as it consistently has gained yardage, and the return of LaBrandon Toefield from injury should boost the backfield.
The problem is the Tigers have fallen behind so quickly in each game (20 first-half points in the last four contests) that they are forced to abandon the run, relying on the anemic passing attack.
With conference play coming to a close, LSU is lucky to be where it is following the blowout loss. It seems no team wants to face Georgia in the Southeastern Conference Championship. The only team playing well enough to compete with the Bulldogs is the one team that is banned from the game — Alabama.
The Tigers have a lot of work to do if they hope to travel to Atlanta Dec. 7, and they need help all across the board.