LSU finds what its looking for heading into SEC play

It didn’t have the “wow” factor of scoring touchdowns the first five possessions against Georgia Southern.

Or the blitzkrieg of putting up six TDs in seven second half possessions vs. Northwestern State.

Or the finishing kick of 22 fourth-quarter points at Texas.

Or the four TDs in 15 plays for 28 first-quarter points at Vanderbilt.

Yet the one thing that couldn’t be denied on a sunny Tiger Stadium Saturday afternoon was No. 5 LSU’s 42-6 victory over Utah State was the Tigers' most complete game of the year.

“We can be as good as we want to be,” said LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, who threw for 344 yards and five TDs in just more than three quarters. “The only team that can slow us down is us.”

With the gauntlet of seven straight SEC games awaiting LSU (5-0) starting with Florida next Saturday, the best offensive balance of the season producing 601 yards and a defense that created a season-high three turnovers are indicators the Tigers are ready to get down to business in league play.

“If our defense is going to play like that, we can do anything we want (offensively),” LSU coach Ed Orgeron said. "We wanted to run the football more, control the clock and give our defense a rest. It was a chess match out there.”

As dominant as LSU offense has been this season to date, there were concerns that maybe the Tigers’ rushing attack couldn’t provide the ying to the Burrow passing show yang.

But the Tigers enjoyed their first 200-yard rushing performance of the season, gaining 248 yards on 51 attempts. Even more impressive was four rushers, including Burrow, ran for 40 or more yards.

There were moments that the offense looked less than perfect and didn’t resemble the Brady Bunch air show that averaged a nation-leading 57.8 points.

But with three top 10 nationally ranked SEC teams in the LSU’s next four games LSU’s pace of play and pass/run balance is exactly what the Tigers need with their toughest competition awaiting on the horizon.

Orgeron has noted all season that while it was hard to not keep calling passing plays because the Tigers were picking up sizeable chunks of yardage, he understood his team had to improve its run game.

He knows offensive balance is required against SEC defenses full of future NFL draft choices. You have to force defenses to stop the pass and the run, not one or the other.

“Their game plan today was to drop eight (defenders) in coverage,” Burrow said of the Tigers’ leaning on the running game against Utah State. “When teams do that, you’re going to have to be able to run the ball. Come SEC play, we expect to see more drop eight the way we’ve been throwing the ball.”

Also, Orgeron and the Steve Ensminger-Joe Brady offensive brain trust realize they have to pick their spots when to accelerate offensive pace and when to dial it down a notch.

Long, steady drives consume clock, keeps potentially explosive opposing offenses off the field and gives your defense a breather.

This was especially required with Saturday’s 11 a.m. kickoff on a relentlessly hot day. It was 90 degrees at kickoff and got hotter as the game progressed.

With all those factors in mind, one of LSU’s best possessions of the year was its 99-yard, 13-play scoring drive for a 21-6 lead that ate 6:42 of clock.

It consisted of five rushes and Burrow completing 7-of-8 passes for 76 yards including three third-down conversion completions.

On the day, three of the Tigers’ six scoring drives lasted four or minutes or more, compared to just two in LSU’s 35 scoring possessions in its first four games.

The extended ball-control seemed to spark a more well-rested Tigers’ defense.

“The long (LSU offensive) drives helped us a lot,” said Tigers’ safety Grant Delpit, who had the last of LSU’s three interceptions on the day.

The Tigers’ defense held Utah State, which entered the day 19th nationally in scoring offense (38.5 ppg) and ninth in total offense (533 ypg) to a pair of field goals and 159 yards total offense. The Aggies were just 1-of-12 on third-down conversions.

“Story of the game was third down on both sides,” Utah State coach Gary Andersen said. “We have to win third downs and we got stomped on offense.”

Utah State’s 21-game streak of scoring 20 or more points evaporated because of a group of angry LSU defenders having to marinate during an open date after missing 18 tackles two weeks ago in the 66-38 win at Vanderbilt.

“We had a chip on our shoulder, we’ve been giving up too many yards,” said LSU linebacker Patrick Queen, who had a team-high six tackles. “We got everything better on the practice field. Everybody bought into it.”

The defense bailed LSU’s offense from having to dig out of a first quarter deficit.

After LSU went 75 yards on 14 plays for a Burrow to Derrick Dillon 7-yard TD pass for a 7-0 lead, Utah State had a couple of prime chances to score.

The first was after the Aggies intercepted a tipped Burrow pass and set up shop at LSU 7-yard line with 8:12 left in the first quarter.

The second came about six minutes later when LSU failed on a 4-and-1 gamble at the Utah State 35, then gave up a 35-yard Jordan Love pass to the LSU 30.

In both cases, the Aggies only came away with a pair of Dominik Eberle field goals.

And nothing after that.

There were no signs of the missed tackles at Vandy. Or defensive linemen stepping in the wrong gaps. Or a secondary dropping interceptions.

That’s what happens when you have an open date week, resulting in two weeks of hell in practice.

“We realized the amount of talent we have on defense,” LSU linebacker Jacob Phillips said. “We’ve got to be the alpha dogs.”

Especially now that the Tigers are heading into the heart of their SEC schedule.