Despite offensive setbacks, LSU football emerged victorious in its first game at Tiger Stadium against in-state opponent Louisiana Tech.
Head coach Brian Kelly and the Tigers earned a statement 17-10 win over Clemson in Week 1, breaking the season opener curse that’s haunted the program for five straight seasons.
On Saturday night, LSU went 2-0 in the 23-7 win over the Bulldogs, but the Tigers’ performance wasn’t up to par with what they delivered last week.
“We didn’t coach well enough and we didn’t play well enough tonight, and that’s not our standard,” Kelly said in the post-game press conference.
LSU had an early scare on the first play, when starting center Braelin Moore went down and was escorted off the field. DJ Chester took over in place of Moore.
An early first down showed promise, but 5th-year-senior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier’s pass to Aaron Anderson was intercepted by New Orleans-native Michael Richard for the turnover.
The next time LSU’s offense took the field, they made it to the 13-yard line but couldn’t convert on the third down. Damian Ramos took the 51-yard field goal attempt, which was just short.
Game 2 captain Zavion Thomas, a senior wide receiver out of Woodmere, Louisiana, was one key player for LSU in tonight’s matchup.
In the first quarter, he made a 15-yard catch at the 35 for a first down, and later rushed 48 yards on a carry all the way to the 12-yard line.
On the third down with five yards to go, LSU got the go-ahead drive when Nussmeier found receiver Nic Anderson in the center of the end zone. Anderson caught the pass, and Ramos made the kick for the Tigers to go 7-0 on the final play of the first quarter.
On their first possession of the second, LSU got all the way to the 6-yard line, but two incomplete passes led to a 23-yard field goal attempt made by Ramos.
Nussmeier’s performance declined as the quarter progressed, marked by a lack of runs, poor pass placement and balls thrown away left and right.
As the offense still struggled to find its footing, LSU’s defense stepped up once again.
Last week, the unit surrendered only 261 yards to Clemson. Against LA Tech, it was only 154 total.
Together, the defense made 61 tackles and had two sacks on the night. Unable to make progress, the Bulldogs’ offense punted nine times compared to LSU’s three.
At halftime, LSU led 10-0 after an almost perfect half for the defense, but missed opportunities by the offense and coordinator Joe Sloan meant missed points for the Tigers.
LA Tech’s senior linebacker, Kolbe Fields, is an LSU transfer from New Orleans made four tackles on the night before he was taken off in the second quarter after an attempted sack.
The offense made some improvements when it returned for the second half.
Aaron Anderson made big catches, two over 20 yards in the third quarter, and Brown led the team with 94 receiving yards and a completion rate of 80%.
More defensive heroics saved LSU from a tight game, highlighted by a third down sack from linebacker West Weeks, who led the defense in tackles with 10.
On the next drive, LSU put itself within three yards of the endzone, and running back Caden Durham converted the third down on a carry.
The offense wrapped up the third quarter with a first down, but lost tight end Trey’Dez Green after he went down on the first drive of the fourth quarter. Nussmeier and the offense only struggled from there.
The quarterback was sacked on a third down, which forced Ramos to kick a 46-yard field goal.
“You’ve got to run the football,” Kelly said. “We didn’t run the football effectively tonight.”
LSU’s defense eventually slipped, allowing LA Tech’s quarterback Blake Baker to throw a 33-yard pass into the endzone with four minutes left in the game.
The Tigers got back within striking distance of the Bulldogs, but failed to convert the third down with just two yards remaining. Ramos kicked for three and advanced the team to a 23-7 lead — the final score.
Nussmeier went 26-41 on pass attempts, including one touchdown, and was sacked three times with 27 yards lost.
This result, although a win, is a visual representation of what needs to improve if LSU wants to go all the way this season.
“You always have to measure this by the outcome,” Kelly said. “In this instance, it’s what we wanted. It’s certainly not the way we wanted to get there, so we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
