LSU Gold

The Truth: Tigers Not Looking Back After Historic Start

by Cody Worsham
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The Truth: Tigers Not Looking Back After Historic Start

Two top-10 wins in three weeks has everyone in the country buying the hype surrounding LSU.

Everyone, except LSU.

  • “We played two top 10 teams so far,” said head coach Ed Orgeron. “Being a top 10 team did not help them.”

Instead, the Tigers have already turned their attention to Saturday’s matchup against Louisiana Tech. That means not just preparing for the Bulldogs; it also means fixing the mistakes that are still there to be cleaned up and building on the things that have worked.

Mistakes

Joe’s Throws: Joe Burrow is 3-0 as LSU’s quarterback and was the SEC’s Offensive Player of the week, but he’s not happy with his performances as a whole, particularly his sub-50 percent completion percentage.

  • “I just don’t feel like I’ve thrown the ball great so far,” Burrow said.  “It hasn’t been up to my standard.”

Wildcat Cadence: LSU broke out the Wildcat against Auburn to score its first touchdown, but there’s still some fixes to be had there.

  • CoachSpeak: “We need to get our cadence down. The clap was different when the running backs clap than the quarterback. That’s what made our guys jump offside.” – Orgeron

More Shots: In an ideal world, the Tigers’ offense would take eight downfield shots a game: two per quarter. According to ProFootballFocus, LSU was 3-of-10 on throws of 20+ yards Saturday: one was the touchdown to Derrick Dillon that brought the Tigers to within 21-19; another, an early throw down the left sideline to Justin Jefferson that could’ve been 6.

  • “The shot to No. 2 on the sideline, it could’ve been a better ball. It would’ve been a touchdown and opened the game up,” said Orgeron. “We want more shots down the field.” 

Improvements

Protection Problems: The issues keeping Burrow clean that surfaced against Southeastern were nowhere in sight Saturday. Auburn managed a single sack against LSU’s offensive line.

  • Key Number: 2.5 – Orgeron said Steve Ensminger‘s game plan emphasized quick throws that left Burrow’s hands within 2.5 seconds.
  • Burrow threw 18 passes in less than 2.5 seconds vs. Auburn, compared to 6 against Southeastern.
  • CoachSpeak: “We got rid of the ball quick. Under 2.5 seconds is really quick. I coach the defensive line. That’s hard to rush against.” – Orgeron

Defensive Dominance: This is a bit of a misnomer. Dave Aranda‘s defense has been stellar all year, so maintaining that play against Auburn isn’t necessarily an improvement, as much as it is upholding a standard of excellent.

  • LSU’s defense did, however, solidify as the game went on. After Auburn scored on three straight possessions either side of halftime, its next five drives ended thus: punt, interception, missed field goal, punt, punt.
  • The Tigers also forced two more turnovers – an interception each for Greedy Williams and Grant Delpit.
  • CoachSpeak: “Dave did a tremendous job of staying with it the whole game.”

 

Final Word: “Our biggest challenge this week is to prepare each week the same for every team,” said Orgeron. “There’s a lot of things we have to improve, then we have to forget about it and move on.”