LSU marched into Starkville needing to make a statement.
After a disappointing opening loss to Florida State that raised questions about aspects of the team that were supposed to be rock solid and the type of win against Grambling State that’s hard to make any real conclusions from, this was LSU’s first chance to show it had grown.
It was in a similar position a year ago.
The Tigers looked sloppy and uncoordinated in a loss to Florida State in New Orleans before hosting Mississippi State, with a blowout win over Southern sandwiched in between.
LSU had questions then about an underperforming defense, a brand new offensive line and an offense captained by a transfer quarterback that had yet to earn the fan base’s trust.
Mississippi State came into the game favored, with a high-powered passing offense and wins over Memphis and Arizona. The Bulldogs jumped ahead to an early 13-0 lead, and though LSU had come up with two fourth down stops to keep itself in the game, there was nothing to suggest the Tigers had a chance of coming back. There was no energy.
That was until Jayden Daniels directed a seven-play drive capped off with an eight-yard passing touchdown to Jaray Jenkins in which Daniels passed or ran for all 75 yards. The score came with less than a minute left in the half, with LSU stealing points that would serve as the springboard for a 24-3 run to close the game with a 31-16 win.
The Tigers answered the questions. They proved they were capable of solving problems and overcoming adversity. This Saturday, they did it again.
LSU had no issues with a slow start this time, rocketing out to a 24-0 lead before Mississippi State finally scored with less than a minute left in the second half.
Heading into halftime leading 24-7, LSU had 310 yards to Mississippi State’s 79, 72 of which came on its two-minute drill touchdown drive. Unlike LSU the year prior, the Bulldogs weren’t able to turn that last-second score into any momentum, as the Tigers shut them down in the second half for a 41-14 win.
LSU was the favorite this time and came in as the more complete team with a dynamite passing offense, but the game was still critical. The Tigers needed to show what they were capable of to flip their season around.
“We needed this game,” head coach Brian Kelly said. “It was the need to go and validate who we were. They knew what they had, but they needed to go out and prove it based on the bad taste that was left in their mouth.”
The Tigers now have a chance to build confidence from this performance as they head into the heart of their Southeastern Conference schedule, beginning with next week’s home game against Arkansas.
A major question coming into the game was how LSU would handle Mississippi State’s rushing attack, with running back Jo’Quavious Marks leading the SEC in rushing yards up to that point in the season. With the Tigers having struggled to contain even Grambling’s run game, it was a real possibility that Mississippi State’s strengths would play into a key LSU weakness.
Instead, just as it did last year, LSU answered the doubts with a fantastic performance from a previously underwhelming front seven. Not only did the Tigers hold Mississippi State to 94 rushing yards, a previously dormant pass-rush that had only one sack on the season went off for four sacks and four quarterback hits.
“I just think we were all having fun out there, flying around,” junior linebacker Greg Penn III said. “Today we really came together as a whole. We went out there and brought a lot of physicality.”
Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers was under duress for most of the game, and his limitations as a pocket passer made for an easy target for the LSU defense. Harold Perkins, Mekhi Wingo, Major Burns and Sai’vion Jones each came up with sacks.
In addition to setting the tone for a successful 10-4 season, last year’s Mississippi State game also served as the first breakouts for a few freshmen. Perkins burst onto the scene with 2.5 sacks and 6 tackles against the Bulldogs, and right tackle Emery Jones Jr. picked up his first start in the matchup. Both, of course, are now stars for LSU.
This game may have introduced some breakout stars for LSU, as well. With starters Omar Speights, Greg Brooks Jr., Ovie Oghoufo and Mason Taylor all limited with injuries, plenty of freshmen were given opportunities, most prominent of which was linebacker Whit Weeks.
The former four-star linebacker manned the middle alongside Penn and played a key role in shutting down Mississippi State’s ground game, being involved in most tackles and showing his solid instincts.
“He can go from sideline to sideline. He sees an open gap, he’s going to take it. He recognizes,” Kelly said.
“He played a great game. He’s gonna be a great player,” Penn said.
It’s unclear how big of a role Weeks will have once Speights returns to health, but it will be hard to keep him off the field going forward. Kelly noted that his breakout at inside linebacker will help free the team up to use Perkins more off the edge.
In addition to Weeks, edge rusher Da’Shawn Womack, safety Ryan Yaites, tight end Mac Markway and running back Kaleb Jackson were each spotted snaps. Jackson in particular dazzled with a few highlight runs that showed off his explosiveness, but all of these freshmen have impressed the coaching staff and will only see their roles grow.
Just like last year, LSU leaves its matchup from Mississippi State with newfound hope. Against a quality conference opponent, the Tigers showed a glimpse of how good they could be.
