The LSU Tigers opened the 2023 season with a disappointing 45-24 loss to the No. 8 Florida State Seminoles. Much of the dialogue surrounding the matchup leading up to gameday mentioned the similarities between the two teams. The first half confirmed that the teams were similar. The second half established that Florida State is a better version of everything that LSU is.
The Seminoles’ mobile quarterback, Jordan Travis, led long drives and finished them with touchdowns. Their celebrated offensive line kept Travis upright throughout the second half. The Florida State defensive line harassed Jayden Daniels and sacked him twice. Their receivers continuously made plays, turning 50-50 balls into 80-20 balls. Where LSU thought they were strong, Florida State was stronger.
This game was more complex than Florida State simply having better players. There were three key aspects of the game that separated the two teams and led to an old school, principal’s office spanking. It’s time to dig deeper into those keys to the game.
Florida State Humbles LSU 45-24
Defensive Woes
It seemed that Matt House felt restricted to employing soft zones due to personnel shortcomings in the secondary. That’s understandable to an extent, but LSU did not generate enough pressure.
LSU decided to use Harold Perkins, one of the best pass rushers in the country, as a spy for most of the game. The problem with that strategy is Jordan Travis would rather pass than run, so assigning a spy does not negatively affect Travis. It only takes away from the defensive pass rush or the coverage unit.
While Travis is much too patient to run into the arms of a quarterback spy. He routinely sat in the pocket and hit wide-open receivers settled into holes in the zone coverage. Even worse, there were several times in which defenders would allow catches to be made and then miss tackles, which led to even bigger plays. If the defense is designed to concede short completions, it is imperative that defenders consistently make open-field tackles.
The most puzzling part of the defensive approach and use of Perkins is that the Tigers forced Travis to make some bad decisions when they pressured him. One would think that LSU would make more of an effort to continue that trend.
Oddball Offense
LSU’s offensive issues were even more alarming than the defensive struggles because the defense was expected to struggle in the secondary.
The play of the offensive line was underwhelming. They could not create enough of a push to run for conversions with one yard to gain. The Tiger offensive line also allowed pressure that only got worse once the Tigers had to play catch-up.
The lack of a push up front made it even more important for running backs to have the ability to beat the first defender. The Tiger backs could neither elude nor run through the first tackler, while Florida State’s Trey Benson sidestepped defenders to turn potentially negative plays into short gains.
Florida State compensated for their inability to block LSU by moving the pocket and rolling Travis out to his right. LSU continued to ask Daniels to drop back in the pocket and make decisions with defensive linemen in his face.
The drops from the receivers were devastating drive killers that the Tigers simply did not have the margin for error to withstand. Miscommunication between Daniels and Malik Nabers was puzzling, as they’d seemed to build a strong chemistry in the offseason.
Coaching Decisions
The fourth-down decisions early in the game put even more pressure on an offense that would be asked to win the game. One could take the approach that field goals would not be enough to win the game. The reality is that the failed fourth-down conversions change the momentum and situational play calling of the game. Besides that, one or two field goals can be the difference between having one or two-possession lead.
Down 31-17 with 10:16 left in the game, the Tigers decided to run the ball on first down. For perspective, LSU had 49 yards of rushing from their running backs the whole game. With the new clock rules in effect, the clock does not stop after the first downs, so there was no time to waste at this point in the game.
Of course, the play lost six yards then Florida State sacked Daniels. This led to a 3rd and 22, essentially killing any chance of a comeback.
The Aftermath
It was evident that neither the Tiger players nor coaches were ready for the challenge of Florida State. The Seminole coaching staff put players in a position to maximize their strengths and exploit LSU’s weaknesses. When Plan A didn’t work for LSU, they somehow still went with Plan A.
There were positives. Mekhi Wingo and Jacobian Guillory were unblockable. Bradyn Swinson was fast coming off the edge. Tre Bradford was a surprise contributor at running back.
This loss should be a good indicator for LSU of where they are compared to where they want to be. LSU thought they’d improved most position units. It’s apparent that they will need to address some of them further. Zalance Heard might have to play sooner rather than later at right tackle. The defensive back depth chart could change. Every option is on the table if LSU wants to prove that they were better than the showed against Florida State.
