Tigers have a laundry list of first-game mistakes to correct
Labor Day was truly a day of labor Monday for new LSU head football coach Brian Kelly, his staff and a Tigers’ team that went through the painful process of the game film review of Sunday’s season-opening 24-23 loss to Florida State.
The Tigers’ offense was dormant for 2½ quarters, the defense couldn’t stop elusive FSU QB Jordan Travis (who forced 16 missed tackles) from converting 11 of 17 third-down situations, new punt returner Malik Nabers fumbled two punts and LSU had a field goal and the potential game-tying extra point kick blocked that would have sent the game to overtime.
On the flip side on each team’s final three offensive possessions of the game, LSU outscored the Seminoles 20-7 and out-gained them 256 yards to 91 with more than twice as many (37-18) snaps.
“There's so many things that I could stand here in front of you in week one we want to do better,” Kelly said at his weekly press conference Tuesday as the 0-1 Tigers prepare for Kelly’s first game in Tiger Stadium vs. Southern. “I could touch upon every single aspect of the game. But I think we have to be careful not to say that this (loss) defines anything about this football team other than what they displayed.
“They displayed grit and they displayed character. They love playing for LSU and they're going to battle their tails off. Was it pretty football all the time? No, it was not.
“But they're accountable. Our coaches are accountable. I'm accountable for that. And we'll go to work this week in making sure that we coach them better and that they work on execution.”
Kelly defined execution as “playing with great confidence in trusting your teaching.”
“Sometimes in the moment, you lose that trust and you go back to some things that you've done before,” Kelly said. “And that sometimes is not the best way to do it. So, to get better execution we've got to coach our guys better. Then, they have to trust that and play with a great deal of confidence if we do that.”
First-time starting quarterback Jayden Daniels struggled for almost three quarters before putting up 161 yards total offense in the fourth quarter, He finished with 323 yards total offense (209 yards passing and two TDs completing 26 of 35, 114 yards rushing on 16 attempts) and became the first QB in LSU history to pass for 200 yards and rush for 100 yards in a game decided in regulation.
Daniels looked like a different QB once LSU went to an uptempo offense after trailing 17-3 late in the third quarter. Kelly said switching to uptempo wasn’t the only reason Daniels had success on LSU’s final three possessions including a school-record tying 99-yard scoring drive that positioned the Tigers for a possible overtime.
“They (FSU) went to a lot of pressure (defensive) fronts, they covered us up front, so they had singular matchups in each one of our guys up front,” Kelly said. “It put him (Daniels) in a lot of man coverage and we needed to be in some different protections.
“We have to do a better job coaching and making sure he recognizes that he’s able to get us in the right protection and get the ball out quicker, which he did later in the game.”
Also, Kelly confirmed a story first reported Monday by TigerDetails managing editor Julie Boudwin that starting defensive tackle Maason Smith is out for the rest of the season after tearing an ACL while celebrating a teammate’s first-quarter tackle.
“We’re crushed for him because he was celebrating for a teammate on the play and trying to show his support,” Kelly said of Smith. “So anytime you suffer an injury under those circumstances, it’s extremely disappointing.
“He's a great player and you're gonna miss great players, But it’s next man up now for us. I think our defensive line rallied and played as hard as they could.”
Missouri sophomore transfer Mekhi Wingo, who at 6-feet and 295 pounds is five inches shorter and five pounds lighter than Smith, had six tackles vs. FSU after replacing Smith.
Wingo, the state of Missouri’s Class 6A Defensive Player of the Year two years ago as a high school senior at St. Louis De Smet Jesuit, was named to the All-SEC freshman team last season. He played 11 games for Mizzou (starting three) and finished with 27 tackles with two for losses including a sack.
“Mehki has been amazing, he's a terrific leader,” Kelly said. "He played very well in the game. He's active.
“It's hard to compare anybody to Maason Smith, his size and his athleticism. But Mehki Wingo is going to be Mehki Wingo. And what he does is extremely effective as a football player and he now obviously gets a bigger share of that work. It'll be incumbent upon some others to step up as well.”
Here's Kelly on other subjects:
On first-team preseason All-American wide receiver Kayshon Boutte’s negative body language after catching just two passes (he was targeted six times) for 20 yards vs. FSU
“I had a conversation with Kayshon. His standards are so high. Obviously, it was a difficult day for him. It wasn't his best but he's going to have great games. And it's going to be the totality of his work that he's going to be evaluated. He's the least guy that I'm concerned about on our offense
“He hadn’t played a lot, he's been out with an injury. Maybe there was a little rust there. He carries that (high expectations) with him every single day. He's learning how to deal with that. He's a young man who hasn't been in this situation before. He needs some guidance. We spent some time and we've worked some things out that will help him handle the scrutiny. And quite frankly, the scrutiny was strong. His reaction was probably similar to what my reaction would be as a 16-year old. He has handled it in a manner that he'll learn from and continue to grow from.”
On the play of first-time starting quarterback Jayden Daniels
“I think his early recognition needs to be better but I thought he competed. Later in the game, he definitely settled into really good rhythm. When we did go some tempo, that really benefited him. Late (in the game), his pocket presence was excellent. He knew when to run. He knew when to stay in the pocket and find the open receiver. First game, (he) kind of had a mixed bag early on, settled into it nicely as the game went on. That's not good enough against good teams. You've got to be ready to go right out.”
On whether Kelly considered replacing Daniels when he was struggling with backup QB Garrett Nussmeier
“There was never a time during the game where (offensive coordinator) Mike (Denbrock) or (QB coach) Joe Sloan had a conversation about `Hey, let's make a change here, let's see if that's the best option for us.’ That was never a conversation.”
On not replacing new punt returner Malik Nabers after his first of two fumbled punts
“We had the first muffed punt and it was my decision to stick with Malik. We always benefit by hindsight, right? I felt like he's an elite athlete. He's confident. I wanted to show that confidence in him. And that's my call in that situation.
“This week, we’ll have Sage Ryan and Jayden Nichols (as punt return candidates) along with Malik.”
On the significance of LSU’s first-ever game crosstown school Southern
“Playing an HBCU school is a great thing for this university and certainly for Baton Rouge. It’s historic in nature to have two schools from the same city uniting and celebrating this community, the accomplishments, the programs. Certainly, `The Human Jukebox’ (Southern’s band) is on display at halftime, one of the most iconic bands in all of college football.”