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LSU has played one-third of its season.
The 25th-ranked Tigers are 3-1 and 0-1 in the SEC as they prepare to host Troy in a non-conference game Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.
None of those numbers are particularly surprising, but the manner in which LSU has gotten to where it is has featured many unexpected developments.
Here are 10 things that have surprised me about LSU’s 3-1 start.
1. The offensive line doesn’t look like an LSU offensive line. The Tigers received “a bolt,” according to coach Ed Orgeron, when right guard Maea Teuhema was dismissed at the start of preseason camp, presumably for academic deficiencies, and subsequently enrolled at Southeastern Louisiana.
“Anytime you have that, it’s a blow to your offense,” Orgeron said.
Freshman Ed Ingram emerged from a wide-open competition to earn Teuhema’s spot at the start of the season. But when the line struggled for a second consecutive game last week, Ingram was replaced by Adrian Magee and the line played better.
“These guys would be second team right now,” Orgeron said. “(Teuhema) would be starting and they’d be getting very few reps, but they’re in the fire. You know, they’re good players, and I believe in them and they’re going to get better.”
It’s not just right guard. The line has to be better across the board if the Tigers are going to be competitive in the SEC.
2. The offense hasn’t been dramatically different. The scheme is different, the speed sweep has become a staple and LSU is taking more shots down the field. So, yes, the offense is different, but the bottom line is the same as it was under Les Miles — when the Tigers run the ball effectively, their offense is good enough to win with, when they don’t run it effectively, they will have a hard time beating the better teams in the SEC.
The struggles of the line have made things difficult for first-year coordinator Matt Canada and quarterbacks Danny Etling and Myles Brennan to operate from a comfort zone with any regularity.
3. Etling throws a nice deep ball. We didn’t see it much last season. Maybe it was because the offense was evolving on the fly after Miles’ firing four games into the season or maybe it was because Etling was plagued by a back injury. Probably it was a little bit of both.
But Canada has taken shots down the field with regularity and Etling has connected with several big plays. The Tigers’ success at passing downfield and stretching defenses has led to Etling having completions of 52, 32, 36, 46, 27, 46, 48, 43 and 87 yards.
Danny Etling goes DEEP!
WHAT. A. THROW.
That's an 87-YD @LSUfootball TD. pic.twitter.com/ZD7W7OEsaR
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) September 24, 2017
4. Despite the new-found big-play ability, the quarterback situation is still evolving. In preseason camp, Etling retained the job he won last season. Despite the offense’s inconsistency, Etling hasn’t done anything to lose the job and Brennan, the freshman, hasn’t done enough to win it.
Nonetheless, Brennan remains in the picture. He has played in three of four games and he got his first experience in a competitive game last Saturday.
Orgeron said Etling remains his starting quarterback, but he also said he’ll continue to identify spots to give Brennan game experience. Look for the freshman to get significant snaps again this week against Troy in preparation for a potential SEC debut down the road.
5. Neither the kicking job nor the punting job is settled. The Tigers entered preseason camp without a proven kicker and with an incumbent punter (Josh Growden) who was merely adequate last season. So it’s not surprising that there might be some fluidity, but a third of the way into the season another bad kick or punt could lead to another change.
Jack Gonsoulin won the kicking job, but he missed a 34-yard field goal in the season opener and missed a 40-yarder a week later. Connor Culp, who had won the kickoff job in camp, replaced Gonsoulin and missed a 47-yarder before making a 45-yarder Gonsoulin regained the job in practice two weeks ago and has been perfect on six PATs, but LSU hasn’t tried a field goal in either of the past two games. Stay tuned.
As for punting, Growden was benched last week after punts of 28 and 31 yards and replaced by Zach Von Rosenberg, who averaged 44.5 yards on two punts.
Orgeron said, “I think Zach’s going to be our punter until he gets beat out.”
So stay tuned here too.
6. Greedy Williams is becoming a star. You don’t become a starting cornerback at a school that likes to call itself DBU without being really talented. Nonetheless, Williams’ big-play ability — three interceptions, five pass break-ups and eight passes defensed — have been eye-opening while he has been the third-leading tackler on the team.
7. And still teams won’t throw Donte Jackson’s way. Jackson entered the season as the Tigers’ top cornerback, so teams understandably have avoided him. But after the way Williams has burned them, you’d think somebody would see if maybe challenging Jackson is worth a try. But Jackson has seen only a handful of throws come his way.
8. Corey Thompson is on pace to tie Arden Key’s sack record. Thompson has always been a talented player, so it’s not surprising that he’s having a big impact in his final season. But as a safety who has switched to linebacker in his injury-plagued six-year career, his pass-rushing impact — a team-high four sacks after having none in his previous three seasons — wasn’t predictable.
With Key, who had 12 sacks last season, still rounding into form after offseason shoulder surgery, Thompson’s emergence has been a big boost to the defense.
9. Still, the defense hasn’t looked quite right. Yes, it was outstanding against BYU and put away Chattanooga the way it should have. But it got pushed around by Mississippi State and had a sub-par second-half against Syracuse after a solid first half.
There is a lack of experience and injuries haven’t helped, but a lack of depth on the line has created concerns.
10. That Mississippi State game. No disrespect to the Bulldogs, but the way they pushed around LSU was surprising. The 30-point margin was State’s largest in the series, and State has been LSU’s most frequent opponent since the 19th Century.
For a program that gauges itself in relation to Alabama and other national-championship contenders, the lack of competitiveness against Mississippi State was downright shocking.
Les East is a New Orleans-based football writer who covers LSU for SaturdayDownSouth.com. Follow him on Twitter @Les_East.
