On paper, it suggested LSU was a national championship contender.
A returning starter at quarterback, who is entering his fifth season of college football. A loaded running back room, talented receivers, most of the starters on the offensive line returning.
On defense, one of the game’s best playmakers, linebacker Harold Perkins, was set to have a sensational sophomore season. Defensive tackle Maason Smith was returning to anchor what appeared to be a very good defensive line.
Sure, there was inexperience at the cornerback position, but you had veteran leaders at the safety position.
On special teams, Aaron Anderson was expected to flip the field, not drop the ball, on punt returns.
But the paper Tigers crumbled in Orlando on Sunday night as they were overwhelmed by a true national title contender in the Florida State Seminoles.
Even Coach Brian Kelly didn’t have any answers.
“This is a total failure on a coaching standpoint and a player standpoint that we have to obviously address, and we have to own,” said Kelly.
During preseason camp, Kelly raved about his team’s improvement and the talent that was added to a program that surprised nearly everyone in college football last season and won 10 games.
It seemed like LSU had all the answers heading into the season and now there’s a dozen or more questions.
The Tigers’ next seven games leading up to their trip to Alabama on November 4th are winnable, but during that time the coaching staff needs to figure out a bunch of stuff out.
We were told LSU Quarterback Jayden Daniels would push the ball down the field more. But we didn’t see that on Sunday night. It looked a lot like last year, short passes and Daniels running for first downs.
But’s LSU’s receivers looked very average to Florida State’s terrific duo of wideouts, Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson. Malik Nabers was a non-factor, Kyren Lacy and Brian Thomas dropped critical passes. Maybe as the season rolls on, Chris Hilton and five-star freshman Shelton Sampson will emerge as down the field playmakers.
Heading into the game Kelly talked about the importance of running the football. The Tigers rushed for 113 yards. But Daniels ran for 64 of those yards.
LSU has eight scholarship running backs. Can the Tigers find three guys they can really count on? Getting Logan Diggs healthy might be an answer or could we see freshman Kaleb Jackson emerged as a guy that needs carries. John Emery’s return for the SEC opener at Mississippi State could also help.
The offensive line was bullied by Florida State’s defensive front. Is freshman Lance Heard a possible answer at right tackle? He should get some playing time on Saturday against Grambling.
LSU’s defensive line made a few splash plays on Sunday night, and they will benefit from the return of Maason Smith who served his one-game suspension. I’m not too worried about it.
Harold Perkins is expected to make game changing plays, but you barely noticed he was on the field Sunday night. Perkins played on the outside last season and it allowed him to go after whoever had the ball.
Kelly admits Perkins is facing a learning curve as an inside linebacker as he has more responsibilities. Can defensive coordinator Matt House figure out a way where Perkins can be that guy in the middle and continue to make plays.
We knew cornerback would be an issue and it certainly was on Sunday as Florida State threw for 347 yards. The Seminoles have future NFL receivers and LSU’s cornerbacks are good but not great. The coaching staff needs to figure out how they can get former five-star recruit Denver Harris on the field. He’s a third stringer now learning to adapt to LSU’s culture.
It’s also concerning that since the win over Alabama, LSU has been outplayed badly against three Power 5 opponents, Texas A&M, Georgia and Florida State. They beat Arkansas by three points and the Razorbacks did not have their starting quarterback K.J. Jefferson for the game. And the win over Purdue in the bowl game was a sham, because the Boilermakers had so many defections, they were a shell of their former self.
So, who are the 2023 LSU Tigers? Safe to say not a national title contender. One performance on the field tells us they need better players to compete with a Top 5 team.
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