Second half takeaways: LSU vs. McNeese

Second half

Every time you think you can’t be more impressed with what Deuce Geralds is doing as a freshman, he adds to his resume. He took a direct snap on the goal line for a 1-yard touchdown run.

Harlem Berry should definitively be LSU’s RB2. He has been incredible. The sophomore finally got his first touchdown of the season on the second drive of the 2nd half and was sitting with 125 yards at only the 8:22 mark of the 2rd quarter.

LSU punted for the first time and it came with just over 5 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. After two impressive defensive drives for the reserves, they finally cracked. After a nice return on Chadwick’s punt, it only took one play for backup Cowboy QB Brady Barrier to find Jamaal “Speedy” Levi. Speedy is exactly what he was, because it was a short throw that he turned up the sideline and put the afterburners on.

Clark and the reserve offense started having trouble getting anything going in the second half of the 3rd quarter. They had two consecutive 3-and-outs, which led to Chadwick’s first two punts of the game.

Speedy continued to be a problem, taking a reverse-type play around the left side for a 64-yard score with no one near him. His athleticism was causing issues for the reserve defense, as their communication was off. It’s understandable when they aren’t on the field much, but they were no where near him on either play.

Husan Longstreet finally entered the game on the final drive of the 3rd quarter. His first throw was off, but looked pretty good after that. He started to find rhythm with Jayce Brown, who was FINALLY sited early in the 4th quarter.

It became the Stacy Gage show in the 4th quarter, taking a direct snap on a 3rd and short and breaking away from the pile to go 46 yards for his first touchdown as a Tiger.

After Baker’s reserves finally slowed McNeese down with a 3-and-out, Gage and Brown took over, again.

Longstreet and Brown connected for consecutive completions of 18 and 15 yards, followed by Gage’s second touchdown of the night on a run of 39 yards.

While Harlem Berry looked awesome, Stacy Gage did his best to keep the competition close. That’s great for the Tigers, because as good as Dilin Jones is, more quality backs is great for the long-term success of a football team.

Final observations

It was about as good of a night as LSU could hope for in a game like this. We saw in week 2 how these in-state “purple jersey” games can expose a bit of a hangover from the week before, but that was not the case against McNeese.

LSU scored a touchdown on 7 of their first 8 offensive drives. The only one they didn’t score on was the Leavitt interception that came just a few plays after Winnie Watkins dropped a second would-be touchdown. They were incredibly efficient and imposed their will the entire night.

The defense was exactly what we’ve come to expect from a Blake Baker defense. High-energy, swarming, and absolutely suffocating. The 31 yards of total offense from the Cowboy offense at halftime told the entire story. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is, whether it’s Texas A&M or McNeese, they’re going to show up and do their thing.

It was great to see so much of the young talent get on the field. I wrote in Eye of the Tiger yesterday that I wanted to see lots of time from reserve running backs, wide receivers, defensive line, and linebackers, in particular. We saw exactly that and then some.

The most important part of tonight was that LSU stayed healthy. After consecutive games of losing Trey’Dez Green and Whit Weeks, getting out of tonight without any major injuries was the key. That’s why there was so much talk of seeing reserves. Lane Kiffin was able to get a full half of his starters and still avoid the injury bug.

Brysten Martinez went down in pregame warmups and it didn’t look great, but he was able to play in the second half, which is great news, as well. It was a complete game all-around and the perfect set up to go back on the road in the SEC to Kentucky next Saturday.

Final stats

Leavitt: 18-23 / 176 yds / 3 TDs / 1 INT

Clark: 7-16 / 126 yds / 2 carries / 11 yds / 1 TD

Longstreet: 6-9 / 62 yds / 4 carries / 32 yds

Jones: 16 carries / 79 yds / 1 TD

Berry: 15 carries / 125 yds / 1 TD

Gage: 6 carries / 110 yds / 2 TDs

Barber Jr: 7 receptions / 83 yds / 2 TDs

Wilson III: 4 receptions / 58 yds

J. Brown: 4 receptions / 52 yds

Mothershed: 2 receptions / 11 yds / 1 TD

Singleton: 5 tackles / 1 TFL

Z. Weeks: 5 tackles

McKinley: 2 tackles / 1.5 TFL / 1 sack

Thomas: 4 tackles / 1 TFL

Umanmielen: 1 tackle / 1 TFL / 1 sack

Geralds: 1 tackle / 1 TFL / 1 sack

Cooley: 1 tackle / 1 INT

LSU team stats

Total yards: 731

Rush yards: 367

Pass yards: 364

1st downs: 39

3rd down: 9-17

McNeese team stats

Total yards: 196

Rush yards: 102

Pass yards: 94

1st downs: 6

3rd down: 1-12

First half

It was a half dominated by LSU on both sides of the ball. The Tigers lead the Cowboys 35-0.

With Blake Baker’s defense on the field first, the Cowboys offense actually made them work. LSU showed early pressure, but Jake Strong was doing a nice job of avoiding it and delivery throws. McNeese was able to pick up multiple first downs, but the defense bowed up to force a 3rd and 8. Pressure forced a desperate throw by Strong and Tamarcus Cooley was waiting to pick it off for his second interception of they year.

The offense came out with their typical tempo and seemed to be giving Sam Leavitt more short throws to get him in to rhythm.

Dilin Jones was heavily involved early and was flat out punishing would-be tacklers. It’s clear that you better come geared up, because he runs like he wants to deliver pain.

LSU was getting some younger receivers involved early. Freshman Corey Barber Jr. made a nice catch on the sideline to convert a 4th down, Malik Elzy was in the game during the second drive, and then Roman Mothershed made his first catch as a Tiger for a touchdown to make it 14-0. They had a 1st and goal from the 1 and could have likely given the ball to Jones for another easy score, but ran a play-action to give Mothershed a chance.

The starters on defense were not treating this like a small school game. They were flying around as if this was a primetime SEC matchup, which is a credit to the culture that Blake Baker has built.

Winnie Watkins dropped two touchdown passes on separate drives, which was shocking.

Jones doesn’t just run hard and punish defenders. On multiple runs, he juked and changed direction, causing multiple missed tackles. He’s legitimately an every-down back.

Sam Leavitt’s interception in front of the endzone looked like the first pass that we’ve seen his hamstring possibly affect his throw. He has been throwing off of his back leg (the healthy one) since he sustained the injury against Texas A&M and he did the same, but the ball didn’t have as much zip on it and it floated just long enough for McNeese’s safety to step in front.

The pressure on McNeese QB Jake Strong continued throughout the 2nd quarter with Princewill Umanmielen nabbing sack #8 in just 4.5 games.

Zach Grace is still struggling to find his footing as a pass-catcher in Trey’Dez Green’s absence. They’ve tried in every game since Green went down, but he and Leavitt just can’t seem to figure it out.

Landen Clark notched his 4th touchdown rush of the season on his first snap. He’s very fast and shifty for a quarterback.

Deuce Gerlads continues to be a problem in the middle of LSU’s defensive line. He grabbed his 5th sack of the season in the 2nd quarter. Watching him do what he’s doing as a true freshman is mesmerizing.

Tight end Malachi Thomas started seeing more snaps after Grace’s drop.

Corey Barber Jr. made his first touchdown catch and was greeted by tons of LSU starters to celebrate.

Something I’ve noticed tonight is that this team LOVES each other. On Mothershed and Barber’s first big moments, there were players like TJ Dottery, Ty Benefield, and Princewill Umanmielen as the first to congratulate them when they got back to the sideline, showing pure excitement for them.

Lane Kiffin is quickly building a great culture, one that we haven’t seen in the previous 4 years of LSU football.

Landen Clark came in for the final drive of the 1st half, making it appear as if Leavitt was done. But after a timeout prior to a 3rd and 6 with 1:02 left, #10 came back out and hit Barber for another touchdown.

The reserves came in for the final defensive drive of the half, including guys like Lamar Brown, Richard Anderson, and Zach Weeks.

Halftime stats

Leavitt: 18-23 / 176 yds / 3 TDs / 1 INT

Jones: 16 carries / 79 yds / 1 TD

Berry: 10 carries / 89 yds

Barber Jr: 4 receptions / 45 yds / 2 TDs

Wilson III: 4 receptions / 58 yds

Thomas: 4 tackles / 1 TFL

Umanmielen: 1 tackle / 1 TFL / 1 sack

Geralds: 1 tackle / 1 TFL / 1 sack

Cooley: 1 tackle / 1 INT

LSU team stats

Total yards: 347

Rush yards: 171

Pass yards: 176

1st downs: 18

3rd down: 5-8

McNeese team stats

Total yards: 31

Rush yards: 11

Pass yards: 20

1st downs: 2

3rd down: 0-6