LSU escapes Auburn with a win despite itself
LSU and Auburn don’t play football games.
They perform four-act dramas with so many twists and turns in the storyline, so many heroes and goats or a combination of both, that the audience is too exhausted to give a standing ovation when the final curtain drops.
There’s no “bravo.” It’s more like “Thank God, is it really over?”
LSU walked out of Jordan-Hare Stadium Saturday night a 21-17 winner over an extremely average Auburn team with a beleaguered head coach who could be fired sooner rather than later.
There were no last-second TD passes or game-winning field goals. There were no plays that drew crowd noise so loud it registered on a Richter scale.
But what is now an admirable but shaky mode of operation for Brian Kelly’s first Tigers’ squad, LSU scored 21 straight points after trailing 17-0 in the second quarter.
“What we can’t do is keep falling behind like this,” said Kelly, whose 4-1 Tigers are also the early-season unbeaten SEC Western Division co-leaders at 2-0 along with No. 2 Alabama and 1-0 No.14 Ole Miss. “We’ve got to play better. We’ve got to execute better. It’s really just doing our job. We’re trying to do somebody else’s job and and that’s going to require our guys focus better.
“It’s a skill we’re trying to develop while we’re 2-0 in the SEC West.”
Last Monday, Kelly said his team had “a modest win streak” but faced the reality that LSU’s SEC schedule was about to be full of road mines disguised as ranked teams.
With the possible exception of LSU’s game at Florida on Oct. 15 and maybe the regular-season finale at Texas A&M, LSU should be the underdog according to NCAA oddsmakers in SEC games vs. No. 8 Tennessee, Ole Miss and Alabama (teams with a current combined record of 14-0 overall and 4-0 in the SEC) in Tiger Stadium and at No. 20 Arkansas.
Almost at the halfway point this season, LSU’s offense doesn’t seem to have the consistency to handle the elite SEC defenses it's about to face from now until the end of the regular season.
No doubt the Tigers might be 1-4 instead of 4-1 at this point without the athletic brilliance of Arizona State transfer quarterback Jayden Daniels. But while he was clutch on LSU’s two scoring drives vs. Auburn of 77 yards and 63 yards in which he ran for a combined 47 yards on seven carries (scoring once and picking up four first-downs), he’s still doesn’t have the confidence to fire passes to open receivers.
The fact that Kayshon Boutte, LSU first-team All-American wide receiver, was targeted just twice Saturday and had one catch on what was essentially a handoff is mind-blowing. Daniels was seen on the sideline apparently trying to give Boutte a pep talk. Boutte just stared straight ahead with a blank face.
Seems like Boutte is tired of running routes and being invisible to Daniels, who has a habit of tapping into one receiver (Malik Nabers) repeatedly in crucial situations. Opposing defenses are starting to figure that out since Nabers had two catches in seven targets at Auburn.
LSU’s offense limped to the finish line with Daniels sitting out the last 31 plays (including the entire fourth quarter in which the Tigers had just 28 yards) with a leg injury that didn’t appear serious..
They did their best to preserve the four-point victory margin provided by a 20-yard whirling dervish TD run by running back John Emery Jr. with 3:32 left in the third quarter. It wasn’t until starting running back Josh Williams ended his career-high 68-yard rushing performance (on 17 attempts) with a third-down conversion with a 3-yard run that LSU was able to run out the clock.
“Any running back in our (running back) room can be the bellcow,” Williams said. “There’s not one guy in our room better than anybody. “We’re all going to compete. We’re all going to run the ball hard.”
Until Daniels becomes comfortable with the offense against the better SEC defenses – which may or may not happen – LSU’s path to victory is its developing running game and its defense.
.LSU’s defense was a mixed bag against Auburn, giving up 438 yards with 299 of AU’s yards coming from just nine of its 70 plays. LSU’s overeager safeties made mistake after mistake in the first half of focusing on stopping Auburn’s run while letting receivers get behind them.
Auburn scored two TDs and a field goal on its first four possessions for a 17-0 lead with 9:38 left in the second quarter. But LSU blanked AU the rest of the way.
Auburn’s final seven series started with LSU defensive back Jay Ward scoring on 23-yard fumble return followed by a missed Auburn field goal, two punts, a failed fourth-down conversion and fourth-quarter interceptions by freshman linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. and Greg Brooks.
LSU’s fourth quarters have been impressive this season. The Tigers have outscored its four FBS (Division 1) opponents (Florida State, Mississippi State, New Mexico) 41-7 in the final period and have outgained them 434 (81 plays) to 183 (42 plays) in total offense yardage.
On the flip side in first quarters, LSU and its D-1 foes have scored 13 points each and the Tigers have been outgained 332 (55 plays) to 260 (54 plays) in total offense yardage.
Then, there’s the fact that LSU has scored TDs in the last minute of the first half in its last three games.
All of this means the Tigers’ physical conditioning is off the charts as LSU gets stronger as the game progresses. But if Kelly doesn’t get his team to start games with better focus and energy against who LSU has left on its SEC menu, it’s going to be tough to steal wins.