LSU vs Auburn: Postgame Musings

That wasn’t fun. In fact, it was downright painful to watch. Everything LSU fans feared about the Tigers came to fruition in spades, as our heroes from Baton Rouge ran into the Auburn machine, losing 41-7.

The game couldn’t have started out any worse. Here’s what the first quarter looked like for the LSU Tigers:

• First possession – three-and-out, followed by an Auburn field goal.
• Second possession – three-and-out, followed by an Auburn touchdown.
• Third possession – three-and-out, followed by an Auburn touchdown.
• Fourth possession – touchdown. But by then it was too late…

So, in essentially the blink of an eye, LSU found itself down 17-0. Not the position you want when playing in the hostile venue that is Jordan-Hare, with a freshman quarterback starting his first game. LSU was able to muster its only score of the night near the end of the first quarter, a one-yard touchdown run from Kenny Hilliard, making the score 17-7 to close the first quarter. Unfortunately, that was as close as LSU would get, as the die had already been cast.

Auburn finished the first quarter with 247 yards of offense. Yes, that is correct – a whopping 247 yards. That’s the most yardage in a quarter for Auburn during Gus Malzahn’s tenure, and it really didn’t get much better from there. Auburn averaged 9.2 yards per play in the first half.

The much-maligned LSU defense looked as bad as it did in the Mississippi State game. Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall had no problem at all gashing the LSU defense with his feet on the read-option, and in the air. Auburn finished the game with 566 yards, on 298 yards rushing, and 268 yards passing.

Oct 4, 2014; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers receiver Sammie Coates (18) gets past LSU Tigers linebacker Kendell Beckwith (52) during the first half at Jordan Hare Stadium. Auburn beat LSU 41-7. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

Marshall did similar damage to LSU as did Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott two weeks ago; Marshall was 14-of-22 passing for 207 yards and two touchdowns, and also ran for 119 yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns. That said, he wasn’t a one-man wrecking crew. Auburn receiver Sammie Coates had himself a game, 4 receptions for 144 yards and a touchdown, and Auburn tailback Cameron Artis-Payne rushed for 126 yards on 24 carries. On the Coates touchdown, a 56-yard pass from Marshall, LSU defender Rashard Robinson appeared to be in great position to bat down the pass, but was unable to – that’s the kind of night it was for LSU.

The LSU offense could never get untracked. Our Tigers finished the game with 280 yards of offense (138 rushing, 142 passing), and went 0-13 on third down conversions. Not going to win too many that way. Brandon Harris had a rough game, finishing 3-of-14 passing for only 58 yards; 52 of those yards came on one play, a well-executed rollout where Harris hit Dupre at the Auburn one-yard line, setting up the only LSU score. The offensive line reverted back to its pre-New Mexico State game form. Clock-management issues reared its ugly head at the end of the first half when LSU appeared to be clicking a bit better on offense. With a freshman quarterback at the helm, Les Miles and the coaches need to do a better job with helping out the young players in those situations.

Oct 4, 2014; Auburn, AL, USA; LSU Tigers quarterback Brandon Harris (6) looks for a receiver during the first half against the Auburn Tigers at Jordan Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

Unfortunately, the LSU offense once again started very slowly, with the aforementioned three straight three-and-outs, and Harris was never able to get into any type of rhythm. Harris misfired a number of times, throwing too high and missing his targets. He was replaced in the third quarter by Anthony Jennings, after spraining his ankle.  An argument can be made that Cam Cameron was much too conservative with his play calling, and that it did LSU no favors in helping to create the early deficit. Of course, the players need to execute better as well.

What can we make of this? LSU is not an elite team this year; the losses to the NFL appear to be worse than most of us thought. There’s just too much youth on this team right now, and they will take their lumps. Hopefully the coaching staff will take a look at what’s not working on both sides of the ball, and make the necessary adjustments. At this stage, what can it hurt to let the offense play a more wide-open game – in other words, forget three yards and a cloud of dust. Harris and Jennings are both better suited for running a spread offense. Let them do that.

On defense, the issues don’t appear to be an easy fix. Last night, the front seven and the secondary had equally bad games. John Chavis has recruited a number of smaller and faster players, perhaps it’s time to go back to recruiting bigger players. Plus, there has to be way to better contain an offense such as Auburn’s.

The schedule for LSU doesn’t get any easier, with Florida on the road next week. Then a much-improved Kentucky team, followed up by the always-tough Ole Miss tilts, both at home. Perhaps this is LSU’s year to take it on the chin. If so, let’s hope the learning experiences from this year lead to a better 2015.