 Photo By: Michael Bacigalupi Da Boot Sports 9/4/2022 By: Terrill J. Weil NEW ORLEANS, LA - The Brian Kelly era officially began on Sunday evening in front of a capacity crowd of 68,388 in the Caesars Superdome with disappointing results. LSU struggled in all three phases of the game as they fell to Florida State 24-23 in an ugly game between two mediocre teams. Where should I start? The offensive line struggled, forcing Jayden Daniels to scramble and run most of the night as protection broke down quickly. The running game was nonexistent and the passing game sputtered until late in the contest. The play of LSU's defense was very disappointing. Poor tackling, poor coverage and the inability to get off the field on third down stung the Tigers all night. Silly miscues like Ali Gaye's personal foul and targeting penalty that disqualified him from the contest. Maason Smith injuring his knee while jumping around celebrating after making a tackle. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Harold Perkins after the play on a kickoff that had Florida State pinned back deep in their own territory. Special teams were a nightmare. Two muffed punts, a blocked field goal and a blocked extra point. However this LSU team did fight till the end, having an opportunity to force overtime on the game's final play. So the rebuilding process will continue for Brian Kelly and his coaching staff. All we can hope for is that this LSU team can stay healthy and work hard, showing improvement each week. The Tigers started fast, receiving the opening kickoff and electrifying the LSU fans on the first play from scrimmage as Jayden Daniels raced 25 yards around the left side down to the Florida State 40 yard line. A personal foul against the Seminoles on the play moved the ball to the 25. But LSU had to settle for a 46 yard field goal by Damian Ramos as the drive stalled due to a bad snap by center Garrett Dellinger that Daniels fell on for a 14 yard loss. The drive covered 46 yards in eight plays. 3-0 Tigers with 11:41 left in the opening quarter. Florida State would score taking their first lead of the contest early in the second quarter when Jordan Travis hit Ontaria Wilson in the end zone from 39 yards out for the touchdown, ending a 85 yard drive on 14 plays. 7-3 'Noles with 13:00 to go in the first half. LSU tried to answer on their next possession driving 52 yards on 13 plays before the drive stalled at the FSU 13. Jared Verse would block a 30 yard field goal attempt by Ramos killing LSU's momentum with 5:43 left in the second quarter. So far the Tigers had driven inside of the Seminoles' ten yard line twice and only had three points to show for it. LSU then dodged a huge bullet right before the half when Malik Nabors muffed a Florida State punt that the Seminoles recovered at the Tigers' 16 yard line. The LSU defense held FSU scoreless as the 'Noles turned it over on downs. We headed to the halftime break with Florida State clinging to a 7-3 lead. The Seminoles took the second half kickoff and easily drove 68 yards on 14 plays, settling for a 25 yard field goal to extend their lead to 10-3 with 8:29 to go in the third. Florida State quickly struck again after an LSU three and out, going 57 yards in eight plays with Travis hitting Wilson for a 27 yard touchdown. Wilson's incredible one handed catch for the score put the 'Noles up 17-3 with 4:17 left in the third period. LSU's offense finally showed signs of life answering the Seminoles score, driving 82 yards in 11 plays as Noah Cain punched it in from one yard out for the score. With eight seconds left in the third quarter, the Tigers cut Florida State's lead to 17-10. The Seminoles continued to scalp the Tiger defense, answering the LSU touchdown by driving 79 yards in 12 plays, eating 5:56 off the clock, scoring on a one yard touchdown run by DJ Lundy. The score put the 'Noles back up by fourteen, 24-10 with 9:04 to go in the contest. The Tiger offense continued to battle, sputtering up the field on a 15 play, 75 yard drive that ended with Jayden Daniels hitting Jaray Jenkins for a 22 yard touchdown to once again cut the FSU lead to seven, 24-17 with 4:07 left. LSU's defense finally held the Seminoles to a three and out forcing a punt. Malik Nabors called for a fair catch at the LSU ten yard line and muffed his second punt of the contest. FSU would recover the ball at the LSU eight yard line. Two plays later Treshaun Ward fumbled and Jaquelin Roy recovered the ball for the Tigers at the one yard line. LSU now faced having to drive 99 yards with only 1:20 left on the clock. The Tiger offense impressively dink and dunked their way down the field, using the sidelines to help control the clock. Jayden Daniels hit a wide open Mason Taylor for a 17 yard gain down to the Seminoles' two yard line with one second left on the clock. Daniels then found Jaray Jenkins in the back of the end zone on the games final play as it looked like the Tigers would tie the contest and have an opportunity to steal a victory in overtime. But those hopes were dashed as FSU's Shyheim Brown blocked Damian Ramo's extra point attempt. Final game stats can be viewed here: http://emails.statbroadcast.com/2022_09_04/AllStateKickoffGamebook.pdf Next up for the Tigers is their home opener against Southern University. Kickoff is set for 6:30pm and will be televised on the SEC Network. Photos Below By: Michael Bacigalupi Photos Below By: Jonathan Mailhes
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