Arkansas held the intangible advantages of playing at home after a bye coming into the Battle for the Golden Boot. As it turned out, none of the external factors mattered as LSU handled business against Arkansas. The Tigers beat Arkansas 34-10, remaining undefeated in the SEC and moving to 6-1 on the season. Arkansas showed life early but couldn’t overcome LSU’s efficient offense and playmaking defense.
LSU Breaks Character
After a few slow starts in SEC play, the Tigers started the game with a 75-yard drive for a touchdown. The way the drive played out was a sign of things to come for the Tigers. Garrett Nussmeier was sharp, going 4-4 on the drive. Possibly more important and definitely more surprising was Caden Durham managing to rush for two first downs and a touchdown. To be clear, Durham has established himself as a capable runner. His success in short-yardage situations was surprising because LSU has struggled so mightily in that regard.
Defensively, LSU had issues with crossing routes early in the game. Be it blown coverage or bad coverage, wide receiver Andrew Armstrong was open consistently. Sometimes, he was so open that nobody else was even in the camera shot. Fortunately for the Tigers, they were able to eventually adjust and force Taylen Green to hold the ball longer. Green still managed to hit Armstrong for a touchdown from 25 yards out in the second quarter to get Arkansas on the board and cut the LSU lead to 13-7.
LSU ranks only 51st in rushing yards allowed per game, but it’s imperative to stop the Razorback rushing attack to have any success against them. The Tigers held Arkansas to 38 yards rushing for the game. That’s about 90 fewer than LSU allows on average. The Tiger defense has shown enough improvement to reasonably expect a decent outing against Arkansas. The defense was better than decent; it was dominant. However, the Arkansas defense made a habit of forcing LSU to settle for three, so the Hogs were down only 16-7 going into the half.
Turning Point of the Game
Down 16-10 in the third quarter, Green dropped back to pass inside the Arkansas 10-yard line. Whit Weeks tipped Green’s pass then caught it in the type of play Tiger fans haven’t seen since the days of Tyrann Mathieu. LSU would quickly go up 24-10 thanks to a two-yard touchdown run from Durham, and they never looked back.
Neither the Arkansas fans nor the team was the same after that play. This isn’t to say that the Razorbacks gave up, but the pass rushes that were close to getting home started to become sacks. The contested catches soon became drops. It seemed as though the spectacular play by Weeks took just enough belief from the home team to make LSU’s path easier for the rest of the game.
Impact Players and Young Standouts
Weeks led the team in tackles for the second consecutive week, but Greg Penn and Major Burns were critical in neutralizing Arkansas’ run game. Burns tackled well but also was an effective pass rusher. Penn was an excellent tackler in the open field. Penn, however, had to leave the game due to injury for a few plays, which opened the door for a true freshman.
Davhon Keys came into the game at linebacker for Penn, and he looked the part. Arkansas immediately attacked Keys in pass coverage, but Penn isn’t exactly Deion Sanders, himself. Keys finished with four tackles, half a sack, and valuable experience that will benefit LSU in the near future.
Durham went over 100 yards rushing for the first time in SEC play, and he’ll be needed sorely next week against Texas A&M. CJ Daniels returned from injury to lead the Tigers with seven catches for 86 yards. It should be noted that Daniels was targeted deep for the first time this season and almost came down with an acrobatic catch. Nussmeier must continue to take shots to keep aggressive defenses honest. He’ll have to use the options he has until Chris Hilton can return to the field.
What’s Next
LSU must clean up the penalties. The schedule won’t be gentle with Texas A&M and Alabama up next. These teams are too good to afford 10 false starts a game and expect to win. Eye discipline was an issue again defensively, and Nussmeier had his usual 2-3 throws that made fans hold their breath. LSU doesn’t have the margin of error to accept these shortcomings.
Of course, there was much more good than bad in this game. The Tigers did what they had to do and eventually made it look easy against a good team. It’s even more impressive that they did it when they had every reason to come in with inflated egos. This road win was the next step in the evolution of the 2024 Tigers. LSU started fast, stepped up the defensive intensity, and won decidedly against a rival. The Boot remains in Baton Rouge.
