Lethargic Tigers still unbeaten after escaping Cowbell Hell with a win
STARKVILLE, Miss.— LSU’s practices all this past week had been spot on.
Which is why LSU quarterback Joe Burrow was surprised what he saw here from his teammates Saturday morning just hours before the unbeaten No. 2 Tigers played Mississippi State.
“You could tell people weren’t as quite as locked in as they had been,” Burrow said. “I could feel a little less energy before the game.”
It showed.
The Tigers’ money-in-the-bank offense uncharacteristically opened the day settling for three straight field goals, giving the 17½-point underdog Bulldogs a glimmer of hope.
But for the first time this season, LSU’s defense played the rescuer. It forced three turnovers, giving Burrow and the offense time to find some answers that came in the form of his four TD passes in a 36-13 victory.
Though Mississippi State was certainly no offensive juggernaut against the Tigers (7-0 overall, 4-0 in the SEC West), stopping the Bulldogs (3-4, 1-3 SEC West) was a huge confident boost for a defense that has had struggled against Power 5 Conference schools on its schedule so far this season.
“We just got tired about the way we were playing,” said LSU safety JaCoby Stevens, who had a leaping interception in the second quarter. “We gave up 38 points to Texas and Vanderbilt. We didn’t forget that. It motivates us, and we know that we have a lot of room to improve.
"We have a lot of talent, and we feel like we’ve been playing well under the amount of talent that we have on the team. We are going to come out and keep trying to dominate like we did today. Today, we had trust, execution and communication.”
A comfortable win, even when not playing well, is nothing to toss aside. But as LSU center Lloyd Cushenberry said, “We try to play to the LSU standard of performance, and we didn’t play to it today.”
The Tigers warmed just enough offensively to produce 413 yards. Burrow, in setting LSU’s single season record for touchdown passes, completed 25-of-32 for 327 yards with those four scoring strikes to four different receivers.
But as LSU coach Ed Orgeron said at his press conference last Monday and again after Saturday’s win, he knew a game would come when the Tigers’ offense wouldn’t destroy an opposing defense.
“The offense is not going to be on fire every week,” Orgeron said. “That’s when you’ve got to play good defense. I thought the defense was phenomenal today up until the last series.”
Indeed, the Tigers gave up 340 yards, a combined 165 on a 75-yard second quarter TD drive and a 90-yard scoring possession against LSU’s reserves in the closing minutes.
The last touchdown may have been inconsequential. But it didn’t make LSU’s defensive starters happy who had already been pulled from the game and Orgeron was steamed.
“We’re 7-0, our team is a little upset how we played, our coaching staff is also,” Orgeron said. “I’m happy with the win, but I don’t think I’m going to be as happy when I watch the film. It was good for our team to get us hungry for next week.”
There should be no lack of energy from LSU when once-beaten Auburn enters Tiger Stadium for a second straight CBS-TV national Saturday afternoon telecast.
“We’re going to have to execute better in the red zone next week,” Burrow assessed. “We’re not going to have as many chances in the red zone."
LSU’s offensive line certainly needs to keep Burrow untouched in the pocket. He was sacked three times by the Bulldogs, twice when offensive right tackle Austin Deculus twice whiffled on his blocks.
Orgeron wasn’t smiling when growled afterward about his linemen “getting beat one on one.”
But even Burrow could manage a grin when he talked about showing his bare rear end to the world when he had his pants yanked down on the last sack.
“There was supposed to be a full moon here tonight in Starkville,” Burrow said with a wry smile.
At least he could laugh about it.
After all, he escaped Starkville with his dignity and the Tigers exited with their unbeaten season intact.