No. 16 LSU falls to UCLA, 38-27, in frustratingly familiar season opener

Ed Orgeron had billed Saturday as LSU's most important season opener in his tenure and an opportunity to show a disappointing 2020 was well behind the team.

Instead, the No. 16 Tigers (0-1) provided four quarters of post-traumatic flashbacks in a 38-27 loss to unranked UCLA (2-0) in the program's first trip to the historic Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.

"I felt good about this football team going in," the coach said. "I felt bad for the guys in there, our new coaching staff. They wanted to do very good. They've been working very hard.

"But you look and we have 50 yards rushing, and they have 200-something yards rushing. They were all over the quarterback. And they made some big plays, and we gave up big plays on defense again. So those are the things that are re-occurring . We've gotta get 'em fixed."

Orgeron made whole-sale changes to his staff, including the hirings of new coordinators Jake Peetz (offensive), DJ Mangas (passing game) and Daronte Jones (defensive).

But many of the same problems that haunted last year's inexperienced roster in the unusual COVID-19 year seemed to carry right into the much-anticipated first look as a rebound campaign — and potential return to prominence.

LSU struggled up front on offense from start to finish to pave running lanes through or protect quarterback Max Johnson from an active and aggressive Bruins front.

The Tigers managed just 48 rushing yards on 25 attempts, for an average of 1.9 yards per attempt.

And Johnson found himself quickly under pressure on most of his dropbacks, with mixed results.

"I thought at times he handled pressure well and could scramble and make plays with his feet," Orgeron said. "But I thought at times he was off. We missed some big plays where we threw some balls in the dirt.. Hot-cold. He made some good plays, but he wasn't as consistent as we need in an LSU quarterback."

The second-year passer finished 26-for-46 for 330 yards and three touchdowns — all to fellow sophomore star Kayshon Boutte — and one interception.

LSU finished 5-for-15 (33.3 percent) on third downs, including 2-for-9 (22.2 percent) in the first half.

Boutte caught nine passes for 148 yards, but was quick to admit that the receiving corps missed several opportunities to help their quarterback when he was able to get passes over, through or around UCLA's rush.

"I feel like the 50-50 balls, we've gotta come down with 'em," Boutte said. "We really didn't make contested catches, as we know we should, and we really didn't play to the LSU standard of performance."

Meanwhile, the Bruins unloaded an increasing number of explosive plays as the game wore on, mounting more pressure on the at-times reeling Tigers with each long run or pass.

The unfamiliar foes spent more than a quarter feeling one another out before LSU finally struck first on the scoreboard.

Johnson capped an eight-play, 63-yard drive with a 3-yard dart to Boutte for a 7-0 lead two minutes into the second quarter.

And counterparts Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Greg Dulcich took just 14 seconds and a largely free-wheeling romp toward and up the sideline to answer.

The Tigers moved backward on a subsequent three-and-out, and UCLA running back Zach Charbonnet did most of the heavy lifting on the go-ahead drive.

The transfer from Michigan bookended the possession with a 20-yard run to set the wheels in motion and 12-yard run to the end zone and scampered 35 yards on reception from Thompson-Robinson in between.

LSU would never capture even another share of the lead the rest of the way.

"I felt like coming into the game we were kind of energized and started off slow," Boutte said. "And as an offense, we kind of started picking up our roll throughout the game. I felt like if we worked harder faster and got going earlier in the game, it would've been a different ball game."

A leaping interception by Eli Ricks in the final minutes of the half provided the Tigers one of their best opportunities.

But a pair of passes to the end zone fell innocently to the turf to force the visitors to settle for a 26-yard Cade York field goal.

When Johnson sailed a similar gift over tight end Kole Taylor to start the third quarter for an interception by Bruins linebacker Caleb Johnson, Thompson-Robinson found Chase Cota cutting across the middle of the field for a 14-yard score to stretch the margin to 21-10.

"This was similar stuff," Orgeron said to the defensive issues, particularly communication, that plagued his team in 2020. "Crossing routes. Missed assignments. Those things continue to haunt us and hurt us. We have to get 'em fixed.

"I thought we did a pretty good job in camp of getting 'em fixed, but obviously we've gotta look at what we're doing and still eliminate those crossing routes and those busts in coverage and why we busted them and then also eliminate having open gaps in the run defense. Now, whether we got knocked off the ball or it's an open gap, I have to look at it on film."

Boutte used an official to pick his defender on the next drive and free himself up for a 44-yard touchdown to pull back with 21-17.

And Nicholas Barr-Mira and York traded field goals of 43 and 33 yards, respectively, to end the third quarter with LSU still hanging around, 24-20.

But Thompson-Robinson led a pair of eight-play touchdown drives on UCLA's first two possessions of the fourth to eat a combined 154 yards and more than half the quarter and put the game out of reached at 38-20 with 4:34 remaining.

Brittain Brown punctuated the first with a 1-yard run, and Thompson-Robinson found Kyle Phillips for a 45-yard strike on the next.

The Bruins' senior passer completed nine of his 16 attempts for 260 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

Dulcich led the team with three receptions for 117 yards, and Charbonnet rushed 11 times for 117 yards.

Max Johnson and Boutte connected again late for a 45-yard score.

But as time expired, the Tigers found themselves with more questions than answers — both in the hours that had passed and the days ahead.

"It was a tough night," Orgeron said. "We didn't perform like we were supposed to at LSU. It's my responsibility, and I told that to the team. Obviously we're gonna look at it schematically where we've got to get better, which is a lot of areas.

"Our physicality at the point of attack, running the football better, stopping the run, eliminating the explosive plays. Those things that we have to address and get better real quick."

The coach refused to say the Bruins "were tougher" than his Tigers.

This week presented many more serious challenges for LSU, in the wake of Hurricane Ida, prior to Saturday's contest.

Boutte called the team's week-long evacuation to Houston before traveling to Los Angeles "different, but it was just something we had to adjust to," but repeatedly declined opportunities to say that experience impacted the outcome.

"Nah, I'm gonna just be real: We just got beat tonight," he said. "Beat up front and beat all-around. They just out-played us for 60 minutes."

LSU returns home to host McNeese State and Central Michigan the next two weeks before opening SEC play at Mississippi State on Sept. 25.

"One game does not define a season," Orgeron said. "But we do understand that that was a let-down for our fans, and I take responsibility for it. We've got to get better."