LSU football: Which players earned their stripes against New Mexico?

LSU football’s latest clash against New Mexico was a big moment for the program. While the result was never truly in question, this was the last tune-up the Tigers would receive before diving into the toughest part of their schedule. Furthermore, there were many questions about how the team would perform given all of the missing players.

The Bayou Bengals took care of business and then some on Saturday night. They managed to not only cover the spread (-31.5) but also blow out the Lobos, 38-0. It was a complete performance from LSU from start to finish. Of course, there are a couple of things that could improve going forward. There weren’t any major issues from Brian Kelly’s team overall though.

LSU football: Which players earned their stripes against New Mexico?

It was an all-around team victory by the Tigers as they played well in all three phases of the game. That being said, some individuals did stand out above the rest. There were a handful of players who put on eye-opening performances for one reason or another. These individuals helped guide LSU to a convincing shut-out win over the visitors from the Mountain West.

Here are four players who earned their stripes against New Mexico:

1. Jarrick Bernard-Converse

Jarrick Bernard-Converse is a player who generated a lot of buzz during the offseason. The senior defensive back came over from Oklahoma State after being a starter for the Cowboys at cornerback. He was touted to be one of the Tigers’ regular starters at the same position leading up to this season.

The Shreveport native has been a solid addition to LSU’s secondary thus far. He’s played a majority of the snaps for his home state’s flagship university up to this point, all of which came as a cornerback. However, with Major Burns and Jay Ward out against New Mexico, Kelly needed to turn to someone who could play safety.

This is where Bernard-Converse earned his stripes.

The veteran defensive back stepped up to the challenge and crushed it against the Lobos. He was one of the many Tigers defenders who was flying to the ball all night long. Bernard-Converse came up huge with three tackles (all solo) and some huge hits.

If not for the senior, New Mexico would’ve probably been able to tally a couple more first downs on the evening. But because Bernard-Converse played his heart out, LSU was able to contain the Lobos’ dual-threat offense all night long. Matt House’s unit held New Mexico to just two first downs, 88 total yards and zero points on the evening.

It’s obvious that Bernard-Converse’s contributions were appreciated by many following the contest. He was awarded the game ball by Coach Kelly in the locker room.

2. Jack Bech

It was revealed pregame that the plan going into Saturday night was to continue to develop the passing game. Kelly didn’t shy away from the fact that quarterback Jayden Daniels needed to get the explosive receivers more involved in the game—and that includes Jack Bech.

Bech was specifically a subject of Kelly’s answer to a media question as the LSU Head Coach noted that the sophomore receiver needed to touch the ball more often to succeed. As it turns out, the Tigers are better off when Bech is getting touches, as well.

Through the Bayou Bengals’ first three games of the season, these were Bech’s stats:

• vs. Florida State: one reception, five yards
• vs. Southern: one reception, 17 yards and a touchdown
• vs. Mississippi State: None

Luckily for the LSU offense, Kelly put his money where his mouth is against New Mexico. Bech tripled his catches for the season as he got on the other end of six completions for 43 yards. He provided a reliable outlet for Daniels from the slot in Kayshon Boutte’s absence.

Bech wasn’t all about receiving work though.

In a surprise twist, Brian Polian named Bech as the starting punt returner for the Tigers before the game against the Lobos. They’ve struggled to fill the position through three contests thus far; something tells me that won’t be the case for long.

Bech was superb as a return man. In a press conference on Monday, Kelly described No. 80 as a fearless special teams player, which is exactly what LSU needs right now. Bech took a punt to the house on Saturday night in what would’ve been the Tigers’ first special teams touchdown of the season if not for a soft blindside block call.

Regardless, he cemented his place as LSU’s punt returner going forward. Bech showed the explosiveness that’s been absent from the special teams all season long up until this point. As for his impact on the offense, he should continue to get touches as the year progresses, even with Boutte back in the starting line-up.

You just cannot keep Bech off the field, it’s as simple as that. He epitomizes what this LSU team stands for and he knows what it means to put on the purple and gold every week.

3. Garrett Nussmeier

It was easy to see why Jayden Daniels won the starting quarterback competition after LSU’s rout of Southern in Week 2. Redshirt freshman Garrett Nussmeier took over early in the second quarter for the Tigers’ starter, who left the game with a comfortable 40+ point lead. The youngster looked uncomfortable in the offense for much of the night, but the low point came when he threw an inexplicable interception that the Jaguars promptly returned for a touchdown.

Daniels has been very good this season. Aside from early in the Florida State game, there have been few that have called on him to be replaced by Nussmeier. This has led to a lot of talk around the latter quieting down as the Tigers’ faithful set their sights on the starter.

Nevertheless, Nussmeier has kept his head down and worked toward getting better.

This showed when he replaced an injured Daniels (who has since been ruled OK to play again) against the Lobos. Nussmeier played significantly better and it shows up on the stat sheet:

• vs. Southern: 13-for-23, 183 yards, two interceptions (18.0 QBR)
• vs. New Mexico: 9-for-10, 135 yards, one touchdown (98.9 QBR)

He commanded the offense with authority, unlike he did during the game against the Jaguars. Nussmeier was stepping up to make his throws, his pocket awareness was on-point and he had all of the confidence in the world.

There won’t be a quarterback competition again this season barring some unforeseen changes or an injury to Daniels. However, I think I speak for the entirety of the LSU fanbase when I say I am much more confident in the Tigers’ options at quarterback after Saturday’s game. Nussmeier is still incredibly young and he played a lot differently than Daniels.

If he can continue to develop under Kelly and Offensive Coordinator Mike Denbrock, he’s got a very bright future in Baton Rouge. This is especially true if he continues to develop relationships with receivers that caught passes from him on Saturday—such as Chris Hilton Jr. and Kyren Lacy. The Tigers don’t have enough room in the starting rotation for these offensive weapons just yet, but their time is coming up in the next couple of years.

It’s hard to say enough good things about Nussmeier’s outing against the Lobos. His showing was a complete 180-degree turnaround from what he showed fans versus Southern.

4. Noah Cain

The last Tiger who earned his stripes on Saturday, but certainly not the least, is Noah Cain.

Cain’s situation this season has been a bit of an odd one. LSU came into the year with three running backs on its “active roster” after John Emery Jr. was ruled out for the first two games. The Tigers struggled to run the ball against the Seminoles as a result of an inexperienced offensive line getting pushed around by Florida State’s front seven. Therefore, the coaching staff used the Southern game in Week 2 as a jumping-off point for the rushing attack going forward.

Armoni Goodwin emerged from the rubble as the starter. This saw his workload increase against Mississippi State and New Mexico in the following weeks, regardless of Emery Jr. coming back into the fold. Meanwhile, Cain went missing for a week as he was without a touch in the game against the Bulldogs.

There were a lot of questions surrounding the Penn State transfer’s place in the rotation leading up to Saturday’s clash with the Lobos. Fortunately, they were answered pretty quickly.

Cain found himself getting involved a lot more in the offense once Goodwin exited with an injury. He had his best game of the season on all fronts as he tallied 11 carries for 94 yards (8.5 yards per carry) and two touchdowns. Now, as Goodwin remains day-to-day, Cain may see an increase in touches at Jordan-Hare Stadium this upcoming weekend.

It would’ve been easy for Cain to throw in the towel after being frozen out versus Mississippi State. However, the Baton Rouge native laced up his cleats and made the most of the opportunities he was given at the weekend. The stunning performance he put on against New Mexico sets him up for success going forward. Similar to Nussmeier at quarterback, Cain’s solid showing sets LSU up for success regardless of adversity at running back.