The 4 biggest reasons LSU Football lost to UCLA in week 1

Week one was a great opportunity for LSU football to make a statement and prove that last year’s 5-5 record isn’t a true representation of where the program currently is under Ed Orgeron.

Unfortunately, we now have more questions about the Tigers’ football program than we did before LSU took the field against the Bruins.

UCLA left the Rose Bowl with a 38-27 win against the Tigers.

After the game, Ed Orgeron said that “one game does not define a season”, but he understood that losing to the Bruins was a “letdown” for fans.

Orgeron also took responsibility for the loss after the game.

So what went wrong for the Tigers? Why was the team unable to leave California with a 1-0 record?

There are four specific reasons that I think heavily contributed to the Tigers’ second straight season-opening loss.

LSU football had poor offensive line play

I think this was the most noticeable issue for the Tigers on Saturday night.

Quarterback Max Johnson looked like he was running for his life at times. Several of his throws to open wide receivers were off-target (though his receivers had several drops that didn’t help matters). But that was because he was trying to evade pressure while throwing on the run. Johnson can’t deal with that on every possession if the offense is going to find any sort of rhythm.

The run blocking was also bad. LSU’s running backs (Tyrion Davis-Price and one carry by Josh Williams for two yards) combined for 33 yards on 14 attempts. There’s no way LSU can win games by rushing for only 33 yards. The run blocking and pass protection has to be better.

It’s worth noting that LSU replaced offensive line coach James Cregg with Brad Davis in early June. Davis is an excellent coach with a great reputation, but making a coaching change during the summer months is never ideal.