The Reaction Podcast: What to make of LSU's "complete" win

LSU moved to 4-1 on the season headed into the bye week with a convincing win over South Alabama, taking down the Jaguars 42-10 in Tiger Stadium in Week 5.

While it’s not an SEC game, South Alabama entered the weekend with a Top 10 scoring offense, averaging nearly 50 points per game after posting a combined 130-plus points in the prior two games.

LSU’s defense, which has had plenty of question marks and was moving forward without starting linebacker Harold Perkins, held the Jaguars to zero points in the first quarter, three points at halftime and 10 points in the game. In short: a stellar showing.

On offense, the Tigers did what LSU fans have become accustomed to by putting up 667 total yards – with 237 yards coming on the ground as the Tigers found a run game behind true freshman Caden Durham.

The Bengal Tiger’s Shea Dixon and Matthew Brune broke down the “10 Things LSU Fans Should Love About The Win” in this week’s reaction podcast.

Here are The Bengal Tiger’s Rapid Reactions from immediately after the game.

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Offense

You couldn’t have scripted a better start for LSU’s offense, beginning the game with back to back explosive plays by freshman running back Caden Durham. In games like these, getting your playmakers in space is the key with the talent advantage and LSU did a great job of that throughout the game. The run blocking was also the best it has been the entire season in this game, allowing for Durham and Josh Williams to feast on this Jaguar defense. I expected the Tigers to be able to run the ball this week, but actually seeing them execute was refreshing.

The passing game was equally crisp in the first half, finding Mason Taylor, Kyren Lacy, and company early and often to further light up the scoreboard. Lacy ended the game with 107 yards on five catches, while Anderson had 73 yards and a touchdown on seven receptions. Once the second half hit, though, the offense’s execution dipped significantly. Wide receivers dropped passes, Nussmeier had two bad interceptions, and there wasn’t the same level of urgency. Still, for Nussmeier to end the game with 409 yards on 26-of-39 passing speaks to his talent level and the passing game’s dominance as the Tigers continue to refine the offensive consistency before heading into SEC play. 

Defense

The first half was awesome, shutting down a potent South Alabama offense. It continued the great half from the UCLA game last week and played a big role in the Tigers’ creating the separation with the 35-3 lead at the break. 

The second half was not nearly as crisp as USA quarterback Gio Lopez connected on two fades for big plays. One was on Major Burns and the other was on Jordan Allen. Even outside of those plays, the Jaguars offense had far too much room to run and gain yards after the catch. LSU got a huge stop at the one yard line on fourth and goal, but the same concerns continued despite the improvements.

South Alabama ended the game with 5.6 yards per play with Lopez in the game, but was just 4-of-14 on third downs and was overall held in check. I went into this game concerned because of the struggles against Nicholls and UCLA, but the defense stepped up to the challenge and deserves credit for showing out. The secondary is still a concern, but the defensive line is good and Whit Weeks played well with more on his shoulders. 

Big picture outlook for LSU

LSU took care of business in a game that could have been a lot closer if they weren’t ready to play from the jump. Instead, the Tigers leave zero doubt and now get to turn their attention to SEC play which starts in two weeks with Ole Miss.

We know what this team is, right? An awesome offense led by an excellent quarterback that is not perfect or overly explosive, but efficient. On defense, they’re making improvements but the talent deficit is still going to be a struggle to overcome in a lot of SEC games. Now, we need to look at where this team goes from here.

In a week where Ole Miss loses to Kentucky, that game becomes much more manageable and becomes potentially a make or break game for the Tigers’ playoff chances with Alabama looking like the best team in the country.

Coming off of a bye week will LSU put together a complete game against the Rebels in two weeks? After a string of struggles in the first four games of the year, a refreshing blowout win is the step this team needed to take, but now it gets real.