LSU Football: Necessary change is main reason Tigers were able to beat Arkansas

LSU football improved to 3-3 after a win against Arkansas on Saturday.

It wasn’t necessarily pretty, but LSU football was able to leave Fayetteville on Saturday with a win.

The Tigers knocked off the Arkansas Razorbacks 27-24 after LSU blocked what would’ve been the game-tying field goal.

The field goal attempt came after the Tigers took the lead following a controversial targeting call that knocked Arkansas safety Jalen Catalon out of the game.

The targeting call and the blocked field goal were obviously key reasons that LSU won the game, but it wasn’t the main ingredient that led the Tigers to win on Saturday.

LSU football made a necessary change and it paid off

Ed Orgeron made a huge move this past offseason by bringing in Bo Pelini to replace Dave Aranda as LSU’s defensive coordinator.

Pelini, a fiery coach with a wealth of defensive knowledge, was expected to take the Tigers’ defense to the next level this season.

So far, though, that hasn’t been the case.

LSU has struggled defensively this season. The main reason is likely because Pelini tried to make too many changes too quickly. The Tigers moved to a 4-3 defensive front this season under Pelini.

That change, combined with a young roster, meant things probably needed to be installed slowly.

This weekend against Arkansas, LSU simplified things and it paid off.

“We didn’t play many defenses today, we didn’t have many checks,” said Orgeron after the win (via 247Sports).

LSU players did less thinking and more playing on Saturday against the Razorbacks. They were able to focus on being athletes, instead of trying to figure out what defense they needed to check into.

Eventually, Pelini will be able to get more creative with his defense. He’ll be able to add in different looks.

But for now, this is the best approach. It paid off against Arkansas. And I imagine it will continue to pay off the rest of the season.