LSU WINS UGLY AGAINST NICHOLLS STATE: MY REVIEW

9/9/2024

Photo By: Michael Bacigalupi

Da Boot Sports
9/10/2024
By: Terrill J. Weil

BATON ROUGE, LA - LSU played their first game in Tiger Stadium of 2024 this past Saturday night. After losing a close game to USC the weekend before, many thought the 46.5 point favorite Bayou Bengals would take their frustrations out on the Nicholls State Colonels in an easy, blowout victory. That wasn't the case. Nicholls State came to play, frustrating the LSU crowd of 100,242 all night long.

It looked like the game would go as expected early on as the Tigers got a safety off of a Nicholls' special teams miscue, then a quick touchdown to go up 9-0.

That's when the Colonels buckled their chin straps and went to work, going on a 13 play, 83 yard drive while eating 7:17 off the clock. The drive culminated with a two yard rushing touchdown by Collin Guggenheim, cutting the score to 9-7.

LSU responded with a scoring drive to extend the lead to 16-7, but the Nicholls State offense came right back with another 13 play drive. This time going 75 yards in 7:59. Nicholls head coach Tim Rebowe went to his bag of tricks, putting his Colonels back in the end zone on a lateral, then pass trick play that covered 18 yards. The Tigers now only led 16-14 with 4:18 left in the first half.

The Tigers answered on a four yard touchdown pass from Garrett Nussmeier to running back Ju'Juan Johnson. The five play, 75 yard scoring drive put LSU up 23-14. The Tigers would then miss a short field goal on the final play of the half.

Nicholls wasted little time scoring to start the second half. After receiving the kickoff, on the second play of the 3rd quarter, running back Colin Guggenheim went right up the middle and out-raced the LSU defense for a 67 yard touchdown. The Tiger Stadium crowd sat in shock as the Tigers now held a slim 23-21 advantage.

LSU finally began to step up their play and slowly pulled away from Nicholls the rest of the way, to earn the sloppy 44-21 victory for their first win of the season.

THE NEGATIVES

* LSU's inability to run the football, especially against a much inferior opponent. The Tigers only gained 64 yards on 21 carries on the night. This offensive line just can't run block. It's a complete mystery.

* The play of the defense. After showing some improvement against USC in week 1, they resorted
back to 2023 type of play. Little to no pressure on the quarterback. They struggled to stop the run for the first two and a half quarters, giving up 150 yards on the ground and two rushing touchdowns on the night. They looked terrible, allowing the Nicholls State players to believe that they belong on the same field with them. An embarrassing performance. In week one, the defense took a couple of nice steps forward. On this night they took steps backwards. Then to add insult to the situation, the Tigers lost their best defensive lineman, Jacobian Guillory for the season with a torn achilles.

* Nothing look right on the night. Just a complete sloppy, poor performance by the Bayou Bengals. They played like they didn't have a heart beat. There simply was no fire or motivation. No consistency.

THE POSITIVES

* Garrett Nussmeier. Nuss finished the night going 27-37 for 302 yards with six touchdown passes. He did a great job of spreading the ball around to eight different receivers while making smart choices and throwing some very nice and accurate passes.

* The play of the receivers. They looked solid in the win, running nice routes and making some fantastic grabs. Kyren Lacy led the team with 5 catches for 65 yards and three touchdowns. Aaron Anderson had a very good game with five catches for 63 yards. Zavion Thomas finished with five catches for 50 yards and a score. C.J. Daniels added 71 yards on 4 grabs and Mason Taylor had 4 catches for 40 yards.

* The offensive line once again was outstanding in pass protection. Nussmeier had time to throw all night long and was never sacked.

* The LSU return game. Needless to say, it's refreshing to see the Tigers finally have a threat at the kick return position. Zavion Thomas has added the spark that LSU has lacked for a very long time. Thomas finished with 114 yards on four kickoff returns. 51 coming on the return after the safety early in the contest.

* LSU Punters are doing a solid job. After a good game against USC in Las Vegas, both LSU punters continued to perform nicely. Todd Peyton punted four times for 130 yards. A 43.3 average with a long of 48 yards. Blake Ochsendorf had one attempt for 37 yards. Great job guys.

* The Golden Band from TigerLand! The band continues their incredible, perfect performances. From their normal game routine, to the fantastic halftime show, to playing the Alma Mater at the conclusion of the game. The Golden Band from TigerLand is simply the best in the country.

This week's game in Columbia, South Carolina is a huge one for LSU. This very well could be a major swing game for the Tigers. If they can show up, play a solid game and come away with a win it could do marvels for LSU's confidence. But a defeat could send this team into a dangerous tail spin. A tail spin that could even jeopardize a successful season. I'm calling this a must win for the purple and gold.

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