The LSU Football team wrapped up their season on a high note, knocking off the Baylor Bears in the Texas Bowl to finish the year 9-4. The game had a ton of highs for LSU specifically the play in the first half while it had a ton of lows mostly when LSU was on defense. Overall, it was a solid game for LSU as the Tigers played a ton of new pieces and the Tigers now head into the offseason on a high note. Following the game, here is the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from LSU's Texas Bowl win.
The Good:
Chris Hilton Jr
For the vast majority of the season, LSU was without Chris Hilton Jr as he dealt with a foot injury and when he first returned there was clearly some rust. The Tigers then saw the best of what Hilton can be as he beat Oklahoma deep twice for touchdowns. In the first half against Baylor you saw everything from Hilton: a short completion, a great run after the catch play, and two 40-yard catches one of which was a touchdown and the other was ruled down at the one. The Tigers didn't go back to Hilton in the second half but, 4 catches for 113 yards and a touchdown is quite the performance.
Trey'Dez Green
As Trey'Dez Green was the lone scholarship tight end left on the roster, this game was a showcase for the True Freshman. Green answered the bell scoring twice for LSU in the redzone proving he can be the answer to LSU's redzone problems while also picking up a few first downs in-between. Green finished the game with 6 catches for 53 yards and a pair of touchdowns, the Tigers have a true difference maker in Green at tight end and its going to be impossible to keep him off the field next season.
Garrett Nussmeier
The first half was all LSU and all Garrett Nussmeier as he threw for 3 touchdowns and 200 yards completing 16 of 21 attempts. The second half wasn't as pretty especially as Garrett Nussmeier threw an ugly interception but, you saw everything you'd like to see from Nussmeier. In this game you saw Nussmeier's deep ball working to perfection, and you saw Nussmeier in total control leading the team down the field and at times using his legs picking up first downs while also throwing great passes on the run.
Late in the game when Baylor was threatening, Garrett Nussmeier stood tall with pressure in his face and fired a strike to Zavion Thomas to move the chains. Heading into next season, if Nussmeier can cut out the occasional terrible throw, the Tigers offense is going to be leaps and bounds ahead of what they've been this season.
Nussmeier finished the game with 304 yards, 3 touchdowns, and an interception completing 24 of 34 attempts.
The New Look Offensive Line
The Tigers played without Will Campbell, Emery Jones Jr, and Garrett Dellinger while Miles Frazier kicked out to tackle in this game. Despite the group up front being inexperienced and playing together for the first time, the Tigers played excellent up front keeping Garrett Nussmeier clean keeping Baylor from recording a sack. The group allowed just 3 tackles for a loss and opened up massive holes at times in the rushing game allowing LSU to pick up 4.2 yards per carry.
Dahvon Keys
As the season drew to a close, Dahvon Keys kept seeing his role increase and in this game he was a starter. Keys rewarded Blake Baker almost instantly recording a pick six taking a Sawyer Robertson pass 41 yards for a touchdown. Later in the game, Keys made a crucial stop on 3rd and 1 which gave the Tigers the football back. Heading into next season, Keys is a massive piece for this defense and his development down the stretch has been incredible.
The Bad:
Sloppy Errors in the second half
In the second half, LSU could've put this game away early by continuing the solid play on offense but, that wasn't the case. Aaron Anderson caught a pass for 33 yards but, put the ball on the ground and Baylor was able to recover it. The ensuing drive Garrett Nussmeier threw an ugly interception right to the Baylor defender. In a tougher game, mistakes like that can cost you the game but, LSU was able to overcome them in this game.
The Ugly:
The Kicking Game
All season long we've seen LSU miss out on scoring points due to struggles in the kicking game whether its due to bad snaps, bad holds, bad blocking, or just missing kicks. The Texas Bowl wasn't any different starting with the Tigers getting a field goal blocked right up the middle as the Tigers let Baylor through the line. Next, Damien Ramos missed an extra point wide left bringing the total to four points the Tigers didn't pick up.
Defensive Back Play
As LSU returned both starting cornerbacks in Ashton Stamps and Zy Alexander, the last thing everyone was expecting to come away from the game feeling bad about was the cornerback play. Instead, both Stamps and Alexander got beat badly several times and when Alexander suffered an injury PJ Woodland struggled as well. The Tigers played Javien Toviano, Jardin Gilbert, and DaShawn Spears at safety but, none stood out as pieces you'll feel great about next season.
The Tigers will be bringing in a ton at cornerback thanks to this years recruiting class and the transfer portal which should provide a much higher level of play. The biggest concern now is safety as the Tigers haven't been able to land a safety this cycle and will need to find an answer in the transfer portal.