Head coach Brian Kelly has said repeatedly that he believes in LSU’s preparation this year, but that it wasn’t materializing on the field. He’s said the team needs to get to complementary football.
On Saturday, the Tigers finally translated their preparation into a complete game in a top-10 overtime win over No. 9 Ole Miss by a score of 29-26. It was a thriller from start to finish that featured perhaps LSU’s best defensive performance in the past two seasons.
Here are three takeaways from the win.
LSU’s cornerbacks have improved rapidly
Yes, in the early going of Saturday’s game, there were some gaping coverage busts, including on the opening drive of the game when a walk-in touchdown was mercifully dropped by star Ole Miss receiver Tre Harris.
But down the stretch of the game, LSU’s two outside cornerbacks, Zy Alexander and Ashton Stamps, made play after play to slow the Rebels’ passing game.
Both made physical, heads-up plays deep down the field to knock passes away or come up with interceptions. That kind of awareness when the ball is in the air was something LSU defensive backs almost never showed last year.
Alexander came up with a crucial fourth quarter interception in the end zone when Ole Miss was driving and threatening to score.
Alexander was LSU’s top corner last year before a torn ACL against Army ended his season. He had a lengthy ramping up process and unfortunately suffered a concussion against UCLA a few weeks ago, which kept him once again from being at peak condition.
This week’s performance was a good indication that Alexander is back at full strength. Kelly said the team gave Alexander the game ball.
“Zy Alexander was outstanding tonight,” Kelly said. “He won the matchups. He tackled in space.”
Stamps had three pass breakups, displaying his standout physicality. He was expected to be LSU’s No. 1 cornerback coming into the season but had been quiet. After Saturday’s game, he’ll only grow in confidence.
Garrett Nussmeier isn’t a polished product – yet
Garrett Nussmeier has been everything LSU had hoped for and more this season after handing over the reins of a record-breaking offense.
The quarterback is top two in the SEC in passing yards and passing touchdowns, and the LSU offense, for the most part, remains similarly lethal.
However, Saturday’s game showed that Nussmeier still has room to grow. Many of his old habits came to the surface against a staunch Ole Miss defense.
Too many of Nussmeier’s throws to count were prayers thrown up to receivers who were in tight coverage. The vast majority of these passes merely fell incomplete – with the exception of one ugly interception in the fourth quarter – but he can’t get away with that forever against elite teams.
Nussmeier’s completion percentage of 43.1% told the story: He was not efficient.
“I probably had one of the worst games of my career tonight,” Nussmeier said. “I think the best part about that is I get to learn from it, and we got a win.”
It’s worth mentioning that Nussmeier had very little help from his running game, and his receivers struggled to create separation. Not having wide receivers CJ Daniels and Chris Hilton Jr. due to injury seemed to be significant for LSU.
Ultimately, though, Nussmeier and the offense had the maturity to overcome their issues and put together touchdowns when it mattered most, in their final drive of regulation and in overtime.
“I thought [Nussmeier] grew more today than at any time that he’s been here,” head coach Brian Kelly said. “That was a growth game for him.”
Even so, calls for Nussmeier to garner Heisman consideration might need to quiet down. He’s come a long way, but in this, his toughest test yet, he committed many inexcusable errors.
LSU’s defensive front is no longer a weakness, it’s a strength
For the last two years, LSU’s defensive front has been the subject of a lot of criticism. Ironically, the height of that criticism was the Tigers’ last matchup with Ole Miss in 2023, when it was clear the defensive line was lacking fundamentals even as simple as lining up close to the ball.
Since then, LSU has hired a new defensive coordinator, two new defensive line coaches and overhauled the defensive tackle position.
Still, the front seven has struggled at times this season. Especially with the loss of All-American linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. and experienced defensive tackle Jacobian Guillory, there was an expectation that more difficulties were to come.
Instead, the front has been dominant recently. LSU frequently won in short yardage situations against Ole Miss, and not counting a breakdown on a 50-yard rushing touchdown, the unit held the Rebels to 3.2 yards per rush.
“They understand the defense so much better,” Kelly said. “They’re doing their job.”
The hallmark of LSU’s defense has become its pass-rush, led by standout edge rusher Bradyn Swinson. He had two sacks on Saturday to add to a season total of seven sacks.
But the depth of the pass-rush also shined on Saturday, with young players like sophomore Da’Shawn Womack and freshman Gabe Reliford getting involved on pressure. The defense as a whole came up with six sacks and plenty more hurries.
Linebackers Whit Weeks and Greg Penn III have also become much more reliable tackling at the second level. Weeks had a career high 18 tackles, including two for loss, while Penn had nine tackles.
