LSU had a 1,000-yard rusher in 2023. But it wasn’t a running back.
That 1,000 was from Heisman trophy-winning quarterback Jayden Daniels, whose dual-threat ability was the engine behind the Tigers’ high-octane offense last season.
With Daniels being selected No. 2 overall by the Washington Commanders in April’s NFL Draft, junior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier will now take the keys as the purple and gold’s starting quarterback in 2024. 
And while Nussmeier’s got legs, he can’t hold a candle to Daniels’ rushing prowess. LSU was forced to heavily adjust its approach to the running game heading into the season, and we got our first taste of it on Sunday. 
In their 27-20 loss to USC at Allegiant Stadium, the Tigers ran the ball 25 times for 113 yards on the ground, an average of 4.5 yards per carry. While this sounds great, the results were inconsistent at best.
Let’s start with the positives.
Senior running back John Emery Jr. showed flashes of greatness against the Trojans, as he amassed 61 yards on 10 carries for an average of 6.1 yards per carry. LSU head coach Brian Kelly and Tigers’ offensive coordinator Joe Sloan began leaning on Emery Jr. later in the second half once he started to pick up steam. He, by far, showed the best ability to hit the hole out of the running backs, as well as the speed to bounce runs outside that would otherwise be stuffed for no gain.
But that’s about where the positives end, though.
The problem is that Emery Jr., the back who showed the most in Las Vegas, had his season cut short when he tore his ACL in practice on Tuesday. 
Running backs Josh Williams and Kaleb Jackson finished Sunday night’s contest with 9 carries for 33 yards and 5 carries for 14 yards, respectively, for an average of 3.7 and 2.8 yards per carry. LSU’s offensive line was getting manhandled by USC’s defensive front all night, leading to Williams and Jackson running straight into multiple linemen nearly the second they were handed the ball.
The Tigers’ rushing attack was neither explosive nor efficient, and it’s one of the many vital reasons they failed to win on opening weekend again.
So, with their most impressive runner from Week 1 already gone for the season, what can LSU do to get the ground game going now?
Kelly quieted the worries about the Tigers’ running game in his postgame press conference.
“We could sit here, and we could go and look at a million different things, but we had over 400 yards in total offense,” Kelly said. “We weren’t able to put the ball in the end zone when we really needed to. This is much more about being a better and efficient offense in the red zone than it is the failings of the inability to run.”

READ MORE: Ashton Stamps made his mark against USC. How the sophomore is bringing back DBU

Even with that, Kelly still emphasized the importance of the run game and his desire to improve his football team in that department.
“Do I want to run the ball better? Absolutely, there’s no doubt,” Kelly said. “I think our execution needs to get better. Having said that, I think we ran the ball well enough to win this game.”
Luckily for LSU, the Tigers host the in-state Nicholls State Colonels for their home opener in week two, a team they should be able to dominate up front on both sides of the ball. 
Kelly and his coaching staff have consistently chosen to kick off LSU’s season with strong tests right out of the gate, and that approach has consistently been unsuccessful. Kelly’s teams have looked unprepared, flustered and lacking cohesiveness, which is why he has yet to win in week one as the purple and gold’s head coach.
AP Top-25 teams like to host a lesser opponent at home in week one to help establish their physicality, get fans excited about the program and iron out any kinks found on offense, defense or special teams. While the ship for LSU to take that approach has sailed, Saturday night in Death Valley could be the point the Tigers need to jump from to get their ground game rolling.
With Emery Jr. out for the year, LSU will need a third player to step up at the running back position. Look no further than four-star freshman Caden Durham, whose speed and burst are close shades to that of Emery Jr.’s abilities. 
Expect the Tigers offense to hand the ball off to Williams and Jackson a ton in this one, with some Durham carries sprinkled in late, to help restore confidence in the backs and front five and get LSU’s rushing attack on track.