LSU BATTLES BACK TO BEAT SOUTH CAROLINA, 36-33: MY REVIEW

9/18/2024

Photo By: ABC News

Da Boot Sports
9/18/2024
By: Terrill J. Weil

BATON ROUGE, LA - The Tigers improved to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in SEC play as they came out of William-Brice Stadium in Columbia with an exciting 36-33 win over the South Carolina Gamecocks this past Saturday.

After trailing, 17-0 in a loud, hostile environment, LSU battled back with ten unanswered points, cutting the lead to 17-10 at the 12:19 mark on the 2nd quarter. The contest would go to the halftime break with the Gamecocks holding a 24-16 advantage. South Carolina lost their starting quarterback, LaNorris Sellers to an ankle injury, which was the turning point in the game. With South Carolina's offense becoming basically one dimensional, now needing to depend mainly on their rushing game, LSU was able to take control of the contest. The Tigers outscored the Cocks, 20-9 over the final 30 minutes to come away with a huge road win.

THE NEGATIVES

* LSU's slow start. The Tigers can't continue to fall behind early in a game. They will need to start strong and play consistent football for a full 60 minutes in each game ahead. The offense needs to score early and often. No more slow starts.

* Still struggling to finish off drives deep in opponent's territory. Another failed attempt on 4th down from the goal line and having to settle for two field goals instead of getting the ball into the end zone is a huge concern. This offense must execute better in the red zone.

* The defense has got to stop committing mental mistakes. Giving up these big plays needs to be addressed. They allowed a 75 yard touchdown run by La Norris Sellers and a 66 yard touchdown run by Raheim Sanders because of players being out of position at the snap. Needs to be corrected. The defensive backs need to start turning their heads and look at the ball while attempting to make a play.

* Garrett Nussmeier's two poor decisions on his throws that were intercepted and returned for apparent touchdowns. Thankfully South Carolina committed penalties on both plays, allowing LSU to avoid a fatal bullet that likely would have cost them the game. Nuss has been doing a great job of taking care of the football and making great decisions, however, the few reckless throws that he's been lucky enough to get away with needs to stop or it will cost the Tigers dearly at some point. Keep taking care of the football.

THE POSITIVES

* The play of Garrett Nussmeier. Nuss continues to show he is the leader of this team and has control of the offense. He continues to make smart decisions (other than the two bad throws he made that was mentioned above in the negative section.) and great throws with the football. He thrives under pressure. Never gets rattled and spreads the ball around nicely. Nuss went 24-40 for 285 yards with two touchdowns and one interception on Saturday. He also lead another late game winning drive

* Cadum Durham. I have been waiting for one of the running backs to step up and single themselves out from the rest of the pack. The true freshman did just that on Saturday. Durham showed great speed, power, vision and desire as he rushed for 98 yards on 11 carries with two impressive touchdown runs. The LSU running game looked much better on Saturday. They finished the game with 132 total rushing yards on 32 carries with three rushing touchdowns against a very good defense.

* The play of the defense. The defense made nice strides after a slow start. They did a good job defending the run, other then the two long runs allowed. They put solid pressure on the quarterback. Forcing three turnovers and collecting five sacks. The secondary played well. All of the defense's mistakes are fixable. Once they fix the few issues they are having, expect to see some fine defensive football. They are getting there. Lets hope it's fixed by the Ole Miss game.

* The play of Bradyn Swinson. Swinson was a beast on Saturday. He had five tackles, three sacks, a forced fumble and three tackles for a loss. He was awarded the SEC defensive player of the week.

* LSU as a team, not giving up. They could have just quit after falling behind 17-0, but this team showed a never give up attitude and played with heart as the fought back. They kept battling and found a way to win the ball game.

* The receivers continue to play at a high level. Mason Taylor, Aaron Anderson, Kyren Lacy and CJ Daniels all played well on Saturday. What a solid, talented group of receivers the Tigers have.

LSU will host UCLA in Tiger Stadium this Saturday afternoon. This is a very winnable contest for the Tigers, as UCLA seems to be having their troubles so far in 2024. It will be a great opportunity for LSU to make improvements, continue to take steps in the right direction and build their confidence before the meat of their schedule arrives. LSU is a 25.5 point favorite in the game.

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