What does LSU have to do to get back on track this season?

There's no way to sugarcoat it, the LSU Tigers were simply outplayed and out-coached in the second half on their season opener against Florida State. Mike Norvell and the Seminoles came out and showed the world that they're the more physical and better team than the Tigers right now.

In college football, there is almost no room for error when it comes to competing for a national championship. One loss and you're already on the bubble for the college football playoffs, and if you lose two game, you may as well kiss any chance of the CFP goodbye.

Unfortunately for LSU, their first loss of the season came in Week one, but luckily for LSU, they lost to a top-10 team who is firmly in the CFP conversation. The Tigers may have just played their hardest game all season and they still have a chance to right the ship.

It would most likely take a perfect season from here on out to make the CFP, but Brian Kelly proved last year that the Tigers can bounce back from a bad loss.

FSU has one of, if not the best receiving rooms in the nation. Michigan State transfer Keon Coleman was rightfully one of the most highly touted players in the portal this offseason, Johnny Wilson, although he drops some easy passes, is still 6'7 and virtually unguardable due to his frame and catch radius, and tight end Jaheim Bell is one of the best TEs in college football. Yes, the Tigers secondary got picked apart on Sunday, but it was done by one of the best WR rooms and QBs in the country.

If you remember, LSU's secondary didn't look particularly good in Week one last season, but they finished the season 32nd in passing yards allowed per game. This is a secondary that was built almost entirely by transfers, and talented transfers at that. They once again had to build this unit from the ground up and they're going to take some time to gel and feel comfortable in Matt House's system.

I feel there's a chance this secondary can find its footing this Saturday against Grambling and go on to be a solid unit, but if they still have problems in Starkville, it may be time to hit the panic button on the secondary.

Heading into this season, one part of LSU's roster that everyone felt comfortable with was the offensive line. With two freshman tackles last season, it took a bit for the line to get where it needed to be, but by the end of the season they looked really good. But, for the second straight year, the offensive line looked outmatched against Florida State.

We saw the same story last year. Jayden Daniels ran for over 100-yards against FSU, but the backs were unable to get anything going on the ground last year. Outside of a 35-yard rush from Josh Williams, the rushing game (with the running backs) was virtually non-existent once again.

Florida State found out early on that the right side of the Tigers offensive line was much weaker than the left side, and they exploited it. Almost every rush to the right side was stuffed and there was a lot of pressure on Daniels from that side of the line. I wouldn't be surprised if Kelly tested out Zalance Heard at right tackle and Emory Jones at right guard this week against Grambling.

I'm sure you've heard this over and over since the end of the FSU game, but LSU has to let Harold Perkins do what he does best, and that's get after the QB.

Kelly and the Tigers believe that their defensive line can get after the QB consistently on their own, and I'm assuming that's part of the reason they want Perkins to transition to more of an off ball role, but if you have one of the premier pass rushers in the nation, why would you take that aspect of his game away from him?

In the game on Sunday, Perkins was dropped into coverage 28 times and was used as a pass rusher on just seven snaps. They're still working on finding a happy medium between using him as a pass rusher and in coverage, but they've got to get him more involved in the pass rush or else they're going to struggle to get to the QB this year.

When it came to the most crucial down in football, 3rd down, LSU was atrocious on both sides of the ball. They converted just three of 10 third downs while allowing FSU to convert nine of their 14 attempts. That is a not a recipe for success in college football.

Every time the Tigers got to third down, they either had the wrong play dialed up or just simply didn't execute. There were too many incompletions or dropped passes or passes thrown way short of the marker for them to be successful on 3rd down.

On the other side of the ball, I couldn't even count how many times Jordan Travis found Johnny Wilson or another receiver wide open on third down. There were too many errors on both sides of the ball on big third downs, and it ultimately cost the Tigers in the end.

This falls on everybody. The coaches, the quarterback, the offensive line, the receivers, the defensive backs, they all need to find ways to make plays when it matters the most.

The worst part about it is that LSU had a lot of success both offensively and defensively on early downs. They had a lot of third and manageable while FSU faced a lot of third and longs, but again, they just weren't able to get it done.

Last year, LSU was one of the best teams in the nation converting third downs, and they're going to have to find that same success from here on out if they want to have a successful season.

Overall, LSU still has the players and coaches to come out of this season with 10 or more wins. Sunday's game was very sloppy in all aspects of the game, but they played a very good Florida State team that may have been underrated despite their No. 8 ranking in the preseason.

Outside of Alabama, they probably don't play a team as talented as FSU was. If they can get themselves right against Grambling and travel to Starkville, Mississippi and get a win over Mississippi State, they have a chance to salvage their season and finish on a high note.