Grading LSU vs Mississippi State: Offense and Coaching

When the dust had settled and the cowbells silenced in Starkville LSU was walking out of the stadium with a road win against a tough SEC opponent. Normally this is a green light to party Saturday night and feel good all week after.

The afterglow was short lived for some fans though. Concerns about the passing game, the play calling and a scoring drought down the stretch left some fans with as many question marks going out as they had coming in.

The Offensive Line: B-Minus

Sep 12, 2015; Starkville, MS, USA; LSU Tigers tight end Foster Moreau (43 runs for a gain during the first quarter of the game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

The coaches had a lot of trouble settling on a starting five. As late as the Tuesday before the game they were still playing the either/or game with the projected starting guards on the depth chart.

The team took the field with Hawkins and Alexander at tackle, Pocic at center and Boutte and Clapp as the two guards. Boutte looked rough early, missing multiple assignments and drawing the wrong kind of attention from the refs.

Ross Dellenger of The Advocate posted a great Vine showing the source of Boutte’s struggles on Twitter:

Dellenger points out that Boutte isn’t quick enough, but he isn’t lacking in the athleticism it takes to get out of his stance quickly. He is hesitating instead of exploding out of his stance and attacking the opposing lineman.

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This can be corrected, but there is no more time to correct it. Coach Les Miles seems to be leaning to keeping Maea Teuhama and Will Clapp in at guard like he did for the second half against MSU. The other starters are safe, of course.

The line played well against the Bulldogs. They were not dominant. Leonard Fournette had an outstanding night but he did too much work on his own. Brandon Harris stayed clean on most of his dropbacks and the special teams plays were all blocked well at the line.

There was still a lot of room to improve here. Juggling lineups, multiple flags and Leonard Fournette having to make his own holes too often were all issues.

LSU has great line talent and one of the top line coaches in the country. They need to buckle down and show it against Auburn’s talented defensive front 7 on Saturday if they want to stay undefeated and in control of their own destiny in the SEC.

Running Backs: A-Plus

Sep 12, 2015; Starkville, MS, USA; LSU Tigers tight end Foster Moreau (43 runs for a gain during the first quarter of the game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

The running backs saved the day for LSU against Mississippi State. Leonard Fournette was able to generate 159 yards and 3 TD’s. Backup Darrell Williams added 45 yards of his own. John David Moore played well in his first start at Fullback.

With most of the team we have to remember that this was the first game and they aren’t in a groove yet. Not the running backs though.

In spite of losing their starting fullback and two of their top three tailbacks from last year they were locked in and very productive against Mississippi State.

Receivers and Tight Ends: B

Sep 12, 2015; Starkville, MS, USA; LSU Tigers running back Darrel Williams (34) gets past Mississippi State Bulldogs defensive back Kivon Coman (11) during the second half at Davis Wade Stadium. LSU won 21-19. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

It was a bit of a mixed bag for the pass catchers. They didn’t get many balls thrown their way for one thing.

The blocking was a mixed bag as well. They were generally good, but they had a couple of mistakes come back to haunt them.

John Diarse got called on a really bad holding penalty that nixed a 90 yard end around for a Touchdown. This a week after seeing Jazz Ferguson blow a block in the short game against McNeese St. raises a red flag.

When a team runs as much as the Tigers the receivers can not allow themselves to become a liability in the run game. The sloppy mistakes have to stop.

There were some bright spots. Travin Dural flashed his speed, and Malachi Dupre flashed his athleticism. Desean Smith caught a big time catch over the middle early in the game, and Colin Jeter picked up a reception for a short gain later on.

The ball was spread around, and the receiving corps showed their ability to physically overmatch their opponent and make plays. Unfortunately there wasn’t enough of it. This game could have been a blowout with a more effective air attack.

Quarterback: B

Sep 12, 2015; Starkville, MS, USA; LSU Tigers quarterback Brandon Harris (6) drops back to pass under pressure from Mississippi State Bulldogs defensive back Will Redmond (2) during the 2nd quarter at Davis Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

In terms of production Brandon Harris didn’t earn a B. 71 passing yards just isn’t good enough. He didn’t throw any interceptions and he l;ed the team to a win, which helps.

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Harris also threw some big time passes in the first half, including one for a touchdown that was called back on a penalty. He was showing strikes and showing everyone in the stands what a legit NFL arm looks like in action.

The second half failure to produce anything in the passing game was inexcusable though. Harris audibled out of called passing plays at the line multiple times and when he did throw he was ineffective.

Later in the season a performance like this would generate a much worse grade. Considering it was the first game, and considering it ended in a win the grade is higher. But improvement has to happen, 71 yards total passing can not continue.

Coaching Staff: C

Sep 12, 2015; Starkville, MS, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Les Miles celebrates with his players after defeating the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium. LSU won 21-19. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

This is a hard performance to grade. The coaching staff has one job: win football games. A win is a win is a win, and LSU won tier SEC opener. They won it on the road, without a tune up game, against a tough talented team.

They also went into this game still juggling their offensive line starters instead of settling on five and working them as a unit. They also laid an egg in the passing game, generating an inexcusable 71 yards with no touchdowns in the air.

This can’t continue. If Mississippi State had been able to execute a field goal after a badly timed time out gave them a free practice shot LSU would have lost and we’d be calling this game a complete debacle.

I think had LSU lost after failing to generate even a high school level passing offense Les Miles probably would have been out of time with the LSU fanbase, and the calls for his dismissal would have been loud and clear this week.

Offensive lines take time to gel, and that time was piddled away by the coaching staff as they experimented with lineups all the way down the stretch of the offseason. Bad penalties and inconsistency on the line were the result Saturday.

Recruiting has been outstanding in most respects, but there aren’t enough scholarship players on the defensive front to keep a rotation. This impacted the team down the stretch Saturday, with the starters gassed and the pass rush negligible Dak Prescott was able to play his team right back into contention.

Most of all, you can’t play college football running every play. There has to be something in the air. LSU quarterbacks don’t need to throw for 400 yards and 4 touchdowns every time out but this team can not win consistently with 71 yards and no touchdown performances.

LSU won the game. It was the first game and you can’t expect perfection. They have a lot of work to do to make this team produce to the level of it’s talent.

LSU vs Mississippi State was a good first step. If they can clean up the sloppy mistakes and commit to throwing the football they will have a chance at making the College Football Playoff……

Next: Grading LSU vs Mississippi State: Defense and Special Teams