For the last 14 years, LSU has dominated the series with MSU going 14-0 with large victory margins. That all ended Saturday night as the Bulldogs dominated LSU along the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. MSU gained 570 yards total and 302 on the ground alone. The final score was misleading, this was as thorough a beating as LSU has experienced in the Miles era.
A few observations:
* LSU’s offensive and defense lines are a far cry from the units we have seen in the past. LSU got very little pressure with the front four on defense and MSU ran the ball up the middle at will. The offensive line doesn’t open many holes and was spotty in pass protection. LSU has first and goal from the 2 yard line early on and ended up getting stuffed on 4 consecutive running plays setting the tone for the rest of the night.
* The play calling on the offensive side of the ball was poor. Repeated runs out of the I-formation into 8 and 9 man fronts failed all night. In an age of spread offenses and offensive ingenuity, Miles wants to play football in a phone booth. Well let me tell you something coach, you don’t have the talent on the offensive line to play that way. In the post game interview, Miles admitted that MSU “spread us out which opened up some running lanes.” Gee coach, what a novel idea!
* Digging deeper, with so many LSU players in the NFL, only two offensive linemen recruited by Miles are currently on an NFL roster, Joseph Barksdale and Trai Turner. Draw your own conclusions.
* Ronald Martin is having a rough year. He was at fault on multiple big plays and struggles making open field tackles. If I’m an opposing OC, I’m trying to target Martin at every opportunity.
* All the early departures are catching up with LSU on defense. I don’t think MSU runs for 302 yards if Ego Ferguson and Anthony Johnson are plugging the middle of LSU’s defense.
* Anthony Jennings can do some nice things but I really question his ability to go to a second or third receiver. He repeatedly throws deep when a shorter route is open. It’s no mystery why his completion percentage is so low. He must learn to check down and be patient with what the defense is giving him. He has dipped down to 9th in the league in QB rating and his 51% completion rating is by far the worst in the league. Matter of fact it is 108th in the nation. I’m not ready to give up on Jennings as he throws a great deep ball and doesn’t make mistakes. But he must improve for LSU to have any success.
* Having said all that, the QB race may still be on as Brandon Harris came in and played well in garbage time. Harris finished 6 of 9 for 140 yards and 2 TD’s in about 4 minutes of action. But with the game so far out of hand, I’m reluctant to put too much stock in the late game comeback.
I always hate to put too much stock in one game, but it’s hard not to be extremely concerned about LSU’s prospects going forward this season and the state of the program. Let this sink in, Mississippi State has better players than LSU right now. The Tigers were outplayed and outcoached all night. Maybe this is a special Mississippi State team. Maybe at the end of the season we will look back at this game and appreciate just how good State is. But right now, all we have are tons of questions on both sides of the ball and no obvious answers.
It’s hard to say where LSU goes from here. The Tigers may only be favored in 2 or 3 games the rest of the way. Is a 7-5 or heaven forbid 6-6 season in the making? Preseason I figured LSU was in for a 9-3 season. I just don't see that happening at this point. Based on what I have seen through four games, LSU is in for a 6-6 season. Could they get things turned around? Sure, but Miles is going to have to open up the offense, because Chavis is not going to be able to carry him this year.
Before the season I made the prediction that Brady Hoke would get fired from Michigan and the Wolverines would make another run at Les Miles. Well, Hoke just lost in dismal fashion at home to Utah to stand at 2-2 on the season. Michigan has upcoming games against Penn State, Michigan State and Ohio State which they will all be underdogs. I’m sticking by my prediction even more firmly now. If LSU belly flops, will Miles decide that time is right to move on?
Get ready for a long season Tiger fans...and be sure to stock up on your favorite alcoholic beverage.
Final Four: Week 4
Each week I will be posting my Final Four based a combination of games played thus far and predictions about the eventual participants. My four is a combination of what has actually happened on the field and my evaluations projecting out to the end of the season. Each week may see significant changes, but that’s the nature of the game we love.
Semi-Finals
(1) Oklahoma v. (4) Alabama
(2) Oregon v. (3) FSU
National Championship
Alabama v. Oregon
Alabama v. Oregon
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