Brian Kelly is not pleased with his team's performance after a 23-7 win over Louisiana Tech on Saturday night. Tiger fans agree.
The Tigers moved to 2-0, but it wasn't a pretty watch. The offense struggled to move the ball all the game long as a bad game plan, unforced errors, and poor execution left Tiger fans scratching their heads. The running game couldn't get going, as Caden Durham averaged just 2.2 yards per carry on 13 rushes. LSU managed to score just 10 points in the first half, and has some serious work to do before Florida comes to town next Saturday.
Brian Kelly: "I'm not happy with the performance"
Speaking with the media following the game, Kelly stated his displeasure with multiple facets of LSU's performance against Louisiana Tech. He started with coaching, stating that LSU was out-coached by Sonny Cumbie and his staff in a lot of areas.
"We're not happy with the production across the board. We've got to coach better. That's the bottom line, and tonight we didn't coach well enough. We got out-coached in a lot of areas. "Brian Kelly
Looking at the box score, you would think that LSU won this game by more than 16 points. The Tigers out-gained the Bulldogs 365-154, controlled time of possession 36:52-23:08, and managed 27 first downs compared to Louisiana Tech's 12. But in a game where they were expected to dominate, the Tigers didn't put together a dominating effort. In fact, the offensive effort was quite concerning.
LSU started slow on offense again, and struggled to move the ball consistently all game long. Garrett Nussmeier was inaccurate, and the running game wasn't reliable. The Tigers weren't able to capitalize on penalties from Louisiana Tech, and drives stalled in the red zone as LSU settled for field goal attempts on multiple occasions.
"You gotta run the football. We didn't run the football effectively tonight, and it made it difficult for us. We didn't make great decisions. Players gotta make plays and coaches gotta coach better."Brian Kelly
Kelly added that getting the win is the outcome LSU wanted, but that his team wasn't able to get there the way they wanted. "I'm not happy with the performance," said Kelly.
Thankfully, the defense was great once again, but that was expected going up against a lesser opponent. More was expected of the offense than what was delivered, which has Tiger fans concerned ahead to the SEC opener against Florida next week.
LSU suffers injuries to key players against Louisiana Tech
To make matters worse, starting center Braelin Moore and star tight end Trey'Dez Green both went down with injuries against Louisiana Tech. Moore was injured on the first play of the game, and wasn't able to return. Green was seen in a knee brace and crutches after game, which isn't a good sign.
LSU avoided catastrophe and was able to get the win, but at what cost? The Tigers have a lot of work to do in the next week of practice. This type of performance is not going to fly in SEC play.