As another Saturday rolled around in Baton Rouge, the Tigers were looking not just to win by a large margin today. The focus became set on correcting the little things, from attack early on and non stop effort from the Tigers.
Celebrities line the sidelines, and the stadium is packed to watch this National Championship caliber team. With LSU winning the toss and electing to receive, off the bat the Tigers were slow to start not being able to complete a third down.
Although only in week two, one pattern that hurts this squad is slow starts from not only Same Leavitt but the entire offense. Another failed attempt at scoring a touchdown resulted in a successful field goal attempt to leave the Tigers only up by three, with just five minutes left in the quarter this was proving a different game than last week.
If this LSU team can show the same type of effort in the second half of a game from the jump, it will be almost impossible to beat this elite squad. This problem, although heavily exhibited by the offense, seems that the defense has an easier time getting to the jump with sacks left and right.
With just four minutes left in the first quarter, the Sam Leavitt everyone knows seemed like he got to the game with a rushing touchdown to give the Tigers the first touchdown of this matchup.
It seems like as the clock continued counting down, the offense for the Tigers just couldn’t find the rhythm. Thirteen minutes left in the second quarter, and Leavitt fumbles the ball that has to be recovered by the Bulldogs and just when it seemed to turn around an interception by the Bulldogs.
This offense needed to get it together closer to 20 minutes ago, but with a defense that Blake Baker was able to achieve over this off season the Tigers were able to continue to hold LA Tech off. It became evident throughout the night, that this defense was going to have to carry this team to the end.
With another Tiger touchdown in the grasps of the Bayou Bengals, with a throw from Leavitt that was snatched away in the form of an interception from Jordan Mcrae with a 100-yard touchdown from the Tiger zero. Something so simple should not be happening with a team that prides itself on mental fortitude.
One stark difference, the mentality of these Tigers surely isn’t beating the opponents on Saturday night.
“One side we are playing great,” head coach Lane Kiffin said right before half time. “The other side we’re not.”
With Leavitt producing 234 passing yards, the score only reflected a mere 13 points for LSU. Thanks to three interceptions, including a pick-six from the Bulldog defense, this could point to only two things: a chemistry problem or a poor mindset going into the game.
But in the mess of a poor offense, a player became an outlier: Dillin Jones. The Wisconsin native, after having a standout game against Clemson on opening weekend, shone brightly under the lights once again.
With 66 rushing yards, the longest rush being 46 yards and three receptions this running back is the definition of speed and agility.
After narrowly escaping what could have been a confusing loss for week two, the Tigers managed to add another 14 points to the score by the end of the third.
It was almost like the spell over the Tigers was finally lifted in the fourth quarter; with a Hail Mary throw by Leavitt, it was like the ball was made to find its way into the arms of Junior Eugene Wilson III for a 53-yard pass completion, followed by another Leavitt rushing touchdown.
73 yards, five plays and one minute and forty seconds is all it took for the Tigers to gain a 24-point lead and keep the momentum going with just 13 minutes left. It just kept getting better, with a Jhase Thomas fumble recovery and the Tigers back in the red zone, cutting that original 13-point lead to a 31-point lead.
With a final score of LSU 45 and 14 LA Tech coming as a surprise to most after a show stopping win against Clemson on opening weekend.
If LSU wants to be in the conversation of having a chance against Ole Miss in week three, the time to fix offensive chemistry and slow starts is now.
