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LSU rocked South Carolina 52-24 on Saturday, with freshman quarterback TJ Finley under center. The offensive was prolific, the defense was solid in spots and the special teams play continues to be special.
The Tigers are now 2-2 on the year and here's a gumbo of thoughts on the big win.
Finley was better than good:
When asked my thoughts on what to expect from TJ Finley during the WWL870 pre-game show with Kristian Garic and Herb Tyler, I told them to be prepared for a quarterback controversy in Baton Rouge. The comment seemed to catch the guys off guard, and it wasn't a knock on Myles Brennan, who has been pretty good in three games this year, more of confidence that we would see the best of TJ Finley; something I had seen plenty of in various settings in his high school career. The thought was centered around my belief that Finley would have multiple opportunities leading this team before Brennan is set to return, and he would take full advantage of those opportunities.
While I expected to see a good TJ Finley, his performance may have been even better than anticipated. Numbers do not always tell the story, although Finley's numbers were strong, rather, it was the way he orchestrated the offense, the timing of the passing game and his decisiveness that plays out on tape. LSU's offensive line will get a lot of the credit in keeping Finley upright much of the night, but much of it should be attributed to Finley's ability to get rid of the ball on time. The play-calling was also very good, with Steve Ensminger doing a great job of keeping the Gamecocks' defense off balance with a steady dose of runs and timely passes.
Moving to the beat:
Ed Orgeron has a difficult situation on his hands when determining who his future starting quarterback will be. It is still unclear when Myles Brennan is expected to return, so there really is not much to discuss, yet, or is there? The timing in the passing game was better this week against South Carolina than it has been all year. Finley was decisive, accurate and poised throughout the game.
The decision does not have to be made until Brennan is ready to return. If Brennan does not return for the Auburn contest, and Finley turns in another stellar performance, that is when the quarterback controversy shall commence. For now, the conversation being had is premature.
Other options other than Marshall:
This LSU team does not feature the 3-headed monster of Justin Jefferson, Ja'Marr Chase and Terrace Marshall at the receiver position, but there are a plethora of options emerging to make this a fairly dynamic group of options. Arik Gilbert continues to get a nice workload as a receiving option, while veterans Rayce McMath, Jontre Kirkland and Jeray Jenkins have made plays when their numbers were called. Freshmen Kayshon Boutte and Koy Moore have proven to be reliable options as well, giving the Tiger quarterbacks an array of options to work with.
Nuke and Juke:
LSU gave the Gamecocks a heavy dose of the running game led by sophomores Ty Davis-Price and John Emery. The power of TDP and the burst of Emery give the Tigers a formidable duo at the running back position heading into the meat of their SEC schedule. Emery's touches have varied quite a bit from week-to-week, but we expect that trend to stop moving forward, with Emery becoming a focal point of the LSU running game, along with TDP.
Run fits still an issue:
LSU continues to struggle fitting the run with its front seven. The linebackers have been particularly bad at doing so, with many of the issues surfacing again this week. The first drive especially, with the Gamecocks gashing the group to start the game. As the game went on, the unit appeared to flash at moments, but the issues arose at various moments throughout the game. South Carolina averaged 5.8 yards per carry in the loss.
Ojulari gets to wear a crown this week:
The Prince was stellar in this contest, as the staff gave him a significant role in the defensive gameplan. Ojulari saw his snaps increase this week and the result was three sacks for the freshman sensation. Ojulari's active hands, athleticism, quickness and motor are extremely impressive, giving the Tigers a formidable rotation at defensive end moving forward. Ojulari has the making of a future star.
From five-star to college star:
Freshman cornerback Elias Ricks soared to five-star status as a recruit largely due to his ability to make plays on the football from his cornerback position. That trait is showing up early in his career at LSU, with Ricks recording three interceptions in his first four games, including a pick-six against South Carolina. Ricks appears to have cemented himself as the starter opposite of All-American Derek Stingley, giving the Tigers one of the nation's premier cornerback duos.
Anything but safe:
There continues to be a lot of issues on defense that need to be addressed, but perhaps nothing is more concerning than receivers finding uncovered field behind the defense. South Carolina missed a trio of opportunities downfield for big plays due to poor coverage by the LSU safeties. As a whole, the safety play continues to be a concern for this team.
It's a special team:
The LSU special teams are an elite unit when you take the return ability of Trey Palmer and Derek Stingley into account. The kicking game is really strong, giving LSU one of the nation's premier special teams units.
A lot of new faces, one constant presence:
There have been a lot of new methods of attacks introduced to the LSU offense, a bevy of new coaches and a ton of turnover in personnel, with one constant remaining through it all; Steve Ensminger. I shot a text to a friend around halftime yesterday asking "Is LSU one of those programs now that is successful passing the ball regardless who (QB) is back there?" His response was a simple "maybe so." We have now seen 3 different quarterbacks find success running this offense in the last five games, with different "passing coordinators" matched alongside Steve Ensminger.
There's a lot of credit to pass around for LSU's about-face on offense, but no single individual deserves more than offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger.
LSU rocked South Carolina 52-24 on Saturday, with freshman quarterback TJ Finley under center. The offensive was prolific, the defense was solid in spots and the special teams play continues to be special.
The Tigers are now 2-2 on the year and here's a gumbo of thoughts on the big win.
Finley was better than good:
When asked my thoughts on what to expect from TJ Finley during the WWL870 pre-game show with Kristian Garic and Herb Tyler, I told them to be prepared for a quarterback controversy in Baton Rouge. The comment seemed to catch the guys off guard, and it wasn't a knock on Myles Brennan, who has been pretty good in three games this year, more of confidence that we would see the best of TJ Finley; something I had seen plenty of in various settings in his high school career. The thought was centered around my belief that Finley would have multiple opportunities leading this team before Brennan is set to return, and he would take full advantage of those opportunities.
While I expected to see a good TJ Finley, his performance may have been even better than anticipated. Numbers do not always tell the story, although Finley's numbers were strong, rather, it was the way he orchestrated the offense, the timing of the passing game and his decisiveness that plays out on tape. LSU's offensive line will get a lot of the credit in keeping Finley upright much of the night, but much of it should be attributed to Finley's ability to get rid of the ball on time. The play-calling was also very good, with Steve Ensminger doing a great job of keeping the Gamecocks' defense off balance with a steady dose of runs and timely passes.
Moving to the beat:
Ed Orgeron has a difficult situation on his hands when determining who his future starting quarterback will be. It is still unclear when Myles Brennan is expected to return, so there really is not much to discuss, yet, or is there? The timing in the passing game was better this week against South Carolina than it has been all year. Finley was decisive, accurate and poised throughout the game.
The decision does not have to be made until Brennan is ready to return. If Brennan does not return for the Auburn contest, and Finley turns in another stellar performance, that is when the quarterback controversy shall commence. For now, the conversation being had is premature.
Other options other than Marshall:
This LSU team does not feature the 3-headed monster of Justin Jefferson, Ja'Marr Chase and Terrace Marshall at the receiver position, but there are a plethora of options emerging to make this a fairly dynamic group of options. Arik Gilbert continues to get a nice workload as a receiving option, while veterans Rayce McMath, Jontre Kirkland and Jeray Jenkins have made plays when their numbers were called. Freshmen Kayshon Boutte and Koy Moore have proven to be reliable options as well, giving the Tiger quarterbacks an array of options to work with.
Nuke and Juke:
LSU gave the Gamecocks a heavy dose of the running game led by sophomores Ty Davis-Price and John Emery. The power of TDP and the burst of Emery give the Tigers a formidable duo at the running back position heading into the meat of their SEC schedule. Emery's touches have varied quite a bit from week-to-week, but we expect that trend to stop moving forward, with Emery becoming a focal point of the LSU running game, along with TDP.
Run fits still an issue:
LSU continues to struggle fitting the run with its front seven. The linebackers have been particularly bad at doing so, with many of the issues surfacing again this week. The first drive especially, with the Gamecocks gashing the group to start the game. As the game went on, the unit appeared to flash at moments, but the issues arose at various moments throughout the game. South Carolina averaged 5.8 yards per carry in the loss.
Ojulari gets to wear a crown this week:
The Prince was stellar in this contest, as the staff gave him a significant role in the defensive gameplan. Ojulari saw his snaps increase this week and the result was three sacks for the freshman sensation. Ojulari's active hands, athleticism, quickness and motor are extremely impressive, giving the Tigers a formidable rotation at defensive end moving forward. Ojulari has the making of a future star.
From five-star to college star:
Freshman cornerback Elias Ricks soared to five-star status as a recruit largely due to his ability to make plays on the football from his cornerback position. That trait is showing up early in his career at LSU, with Ricks recording three interceptions in his first four games, including a pick-six against South Carolina. Ricks appears to have cemented himself as the starter opposite of All-American Derek Stingley, giving the Tigers one of the nation's premier cornerback duos.
Anything but safe:
There continues to be a lot of issues on defense that need to be addressed, but perhaps nothing is more concerning than receivers finding uncovered field behind the defense. South Carolina missed a trio of opportunities downfield for big plays due to poor coverage by the LSU safeties. As a whole, the safety play continues to be a concern for this team.
It's a special team:
The LSU special teams are an elite unit when you take the return ability of Trey Palmer and Derek Stingley into account. The kicking game is really strong, giving LSU one of the nation's premier special teams units.
A lot of new faces, one constant presence:
There have been a lot of new methods of attacks introduced to the LSU offense, a bevy of new coaches and a ton of turnover in personnel, with one constant remaining through it all; Steve Ensminger. I shot a text to a friend around halftime yesterday asking "Is LSU one of those programs now that is successful passing the ball regardless who (QB) is back there?" His response was a simple "maybe so." We have now seen 3 different quarterbacks find success running this offense in the last five games, with different "passing coordinators" matched alongside Steve Ensminger.
There's a lot of credit to pass around for LSU's about-face on offense, but no single individual deserves more than offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger.
