Call it an ugly win, or a let down, a hangover, sloppy victory or whatever you may. But you also have to call it a win, as LSU advances past Louisiana Tech 23-7 in Tiger Stadium Saturday night.
The Tigers improve to 2-0 before their SEC opener against Florida next week.
Louisiana Tech (1-1) certainly fought hard, keeping a tight game until late in the third quarter. But ultimately, LSU’s defense just suffocated the outmatched Bulldogs, limiting them to 154 yards and seven points without forcing a single turnover.
On the offensive side of the ball LSU showed no such dominance to say the least, scoring just 23 points against an outmanned defense.
The defensive effort was led by LSU linebacker West Weeks ten tackles, including one for a loss.
LSU outgained the Bulldogs 365-154.
It seemed there was always something off with LSU’s offense.
On one play LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier would miss a wide-open receiver. On the next the wide open receiver would drop the pass. And then on the next the offensive line would collapse.
“We have to go back and figure out what was in our preparation, what was in our mindset that caused us not to perform the way we need to,” LSU coach Brian Kelly said. “We have to coach better.”
Nussmeier threw a whopping 41 passes and completed 26 of them for just 237 yards for a touchdown and one interception.
His favorite target was receiver Barion Brown with eight grabs for 94 yards.
It arguably should have been a much bigger game for him as he was open three times on targets from Nussmeier 15+ yards downfield that were either poorly thrown or dropped.
Frustrating might be the mildest way you’ll hear an LSU fan describe it.
Late in the first quarter, Nussmeier connected with receiver Nic Anderson on a 7-yard pass, giving LSU a 7-0 lead.
Then you have to fast forward to the final two minutes of the third quarter to see LSU’s next and final touchdown as running back Caden Durham punched it in from three yards out.
Durham had the most carries, with 13 for 29 yards. But, it was LSU freshman running back Harlem Berry who had the most yards with 56 yards on six carries. Of those 56 yards, 43 came on one carry.
With the Tigers comfortably in control late in the fourth quarter, La Tech quarterback Blake Baker exploited broken coverage for 33 yards to receiver Devin Gandy.
This would be the Bulldogs' only score as LSU pulled away to win 23-7.
LSU Nike Zoom Pegasus 41 Shoes
from: Alumni Hall
USE CODE “TIGERBAIT” FOR 10-PERCENT OFF OF YOUR ORDER!
