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The LSU Tigers were on point in their 56-0 shutout of Sam Houston State.
Here’s five takeaways from the Tigers’ home opener.
The quarterback situation still isn’t settled – As promised, both Anthony Jennings and Brandon Harris got plenty of playing time. Jennings played in eight series and Harris took the helm for five. Jennings came out hot, hitting on three early touchdowns, while Harris didn’t complete a pass until the end of the third quarter. Harris appeared to get more comfortable the longer he played and showed good accuracy on the move, although he only attempted five passes on the night. While Jennings is the steadier passer at this point, Les Miles makes it sound like they still want to get Harris as much playing time as possible. There may not be a resolution on this one for several weeks.
Travin Dural is a beast – Two games is a pretty small sample size, but Dural is showing that he has the chops to be a game-breaking threat for the Tigers. Teams are going to stack the box to stop LSU’s running game, which opens up plenty of space for Dural on the outside. He’s averaging 48.5 yards per catch and has four touchdowns already this season, and he’ll be counted on to break some big ones as the competition gets tougher. Dural has been so good at getting open against single coverage that it begs the question as to whether he’s making Jennings look better than he really is.
LSU got good experience against a spread no-huddle team – No, the Bearkats aren’t an SEC team, but the Tigers are young up and down the roster. Plenty of freshman saw action against SHSU, and the defense got a watered down taste of what they can expect when they meet up with the Aggies and Auburn Tigers down the road. Miles and defensive coordinator John Chavis will be able to use some elements of Saturday’s game plan when they get ready for those two SEC West heavyweights.
The freshman can play – From Harris and Leonard Fournette to Malachi Dupre and Darrel Williams, the offense got a big boost from it’s first year players. Fournette obviously heard the Heisman hype, busting out the famous pose in the end zone, while Dupre made his presence felt almost immediately after getting into the game when he hooked up with Harris for a diving touchdown catch. On the other side, Sione Teuhema picked up the first two sacks of his career. It seems like critics say the Tigers are young every year, but it matters less when those young players can ball out like this group did.
Defensive Back U’s classes are in session – Sam Houston might be an FCS school, but they’re loaded with a host of FBS transfers at receiver. It didn’t matter to LSU’s secondary, as they blanketed the Bearkats’ potent passing attack. Thanks in part to CBs Jalen Collins and Rashard Robinson, SHSU QB Jared Johnson completed 9-of-28 passes, and top targets Derreck Edwards and LaDarius Brown were held to a combined one catch for 16 yards. Safeties Dwayne Thomas and Rickey Jefferson both stepped up as well, shutting down scoring opportunities with timely interceptions.
A former freelance journalist from Philadelphia, Brett has made the trek down to SEC country to cover the greatest conference in college football.
