The LSU football team ended the regular season on a realistic note on Saturday evening.

In their first-ever football game in the state of Oklahoma, the Tigers lost one of their strangest games played this year. Led by three interceptions, the defense once again assisted the offense as much as it could. It still wasn’t enough as LSU lost 17-13.

Here are three takeaways from the regular season finale.

LSU cannot keep denying gifts

Tipped balls are eye candy to waiting defenders. When Harold Perkins Jr. got an interception off a tip-in the first quarter and returned it inside the five, a touchdown seemed evident. Michael Van Buren Jr. proceeded to throw an interception on first down.

You couldn’t ask for a worse ‘possession.’ When given a chance like that, LSU can’t give it away that easily.

A third-quarter DJ Pickett interception also led to a three-and-out for LSU, which felt like it happened every offensive possession.

Only one turnover truly affected the scoreboard. AJ Haulcy’s interception to open the second half led to the best offensive display from LSU and a touchdown.

Penalties aren’t inherently lucky or gifted, but some instances in this contest certainly seemed favorable to the Tigers. LSU has to take advantage of the opportunities the refs give.

On Oklahoma’s first scoring drive, it was penalized twice. Still, LSU couldn’t keep its opponent out of field goal range to prevent the opening points.

When LSU was able to finally end a drive with points, it looked much the opposite of Oklahoma’s scoring drive. Facemask and roughing-the-passer penalties should have given LSU the momentum to reach the end zone, but it only finished with a field goal.

The penalty yards given to the Tigers were almost more than the yards they gained on offense in the first half. The 66 yards they gained on downs were just more than the 45 yards that the Sooners gave LSU on five penalties.

An uncalled pass interference at the start of the second half continued to bail out the Tigers. They only got out of that drive from the aforementioned Haulcy interception.

Dropped passes from the Sooners also gifted LSU a few possessions earlier than it deserved. Most notably, a wide-open pass was dropped on third-and-2, where there was plenty of green grass to keep running in the first quarter.

LSU had one of its four first-half three-and-outs after that second-quarter drop and punt. To upset a high-level team, taking advantage of its mistakes is one of the most important ways LSU can separate itself.

Offseason emphasis: Retain Baker

LSU’s tackling was the best it has been all year. It continued to complement the elite secondary that defensive coordinator Blake Baker and company brought in this winter and spring.

The Sooners finished with 75 rushing yards on a bountiful 28 carries, showcasing the dominance that LSU had with its front seven. Out of 56 first-half rush yards, 21 of Oklahoma’s all came on one play. It took 14 others to gain the remaining 35 yards.

The muted run game allowed LSU’s revitalized defensive back group to get to work.

Haulcy, the Houston transfer, was expected to be a difference maker from day one, and he has not disappointed this year.

In the senior’s final regular season game for LSU, he made his name heard early. He finished the first half with six tackles and multiple pass breakups that kept John Mateer and Oklahoma at bay. He also had the interception that led to LSU’s only touchdown.

The Sooners only averaged 2.4 yards after catch on 14 receptions in the first half. The LSU defense stood strong and kept the elusive Oklahoma receivers in check. While a big play displaced second-half statistics, it was obviously not as tight as at the beginning of the game.

The broken play that led to the winning touchdown for Oklahoma can’t be ignored, but it doesn’t discredit the defense’s work throughout the game, which allowed only 17 points against a top-10 team.

LSU forced seven plays for negative yardage throughout the entire game.

Its continual containment of Mateer took scrambling off the table. He didn’t even stand a chance trying to move in and around the pocket.

The offense is simply scared, won’t get better

It’s like beating a dead horse. The LSU offense hasn’t looked this apprehensive since the early 2000s. Even when it wasn’t great, it took risks that made it competitive.

The offense had an opportunity to break out of a hole once Van Buren took over for an injured Garrett Nussmeier, but that wasn’t the case.

While Mateer and the Sooners threw all over the Tigers in the middle of the field, LSU couldn’t sniff any success in the same area.

The first half saw 66 total yards of offense and four three-and-outs. It seems like LSU has only regressed throughout the season. More screen passes just continue to make the team look weak and fearful.

It maintained the same for the third quarter. Besides a few exceptions that led to a touchdown, the Tigers were allergic to big plays. It looked like they were only able to get big downfield passes in the fourth quarter once Trey’Dez Green had his first catch of the game.

Even most successful plays saw the ball travel less than 10 yards in the air. The talented receivers balanced out the conservative playcalling by evading defenders and moving the ball upfield.

The LSU offense punted nine times in another unfortunate showing.

You cannot build a championship team from uncertain hesitance, no matter who your coach is.