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No. 20 LSU (9-3) rolled past Texas Tech 56-27 on Tuesday at the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl in Houston’s NRG Stadium.
The Tigers broke open a close game with a 35-point second half to pull away. After watching their lead dwindle down to 21-20, LSU outscored the Red Raiders 35-7 the rest of the way.
Here’s a look at how they did it:
5 TAKEAWAYS
- The LSU offense isn’t going to change anytime soon: When coach Les Miles was retained following the Texas A&M game, he said he would tweak his boring offense. With a few extra weeks to prepare for the bowl game, it was believed that changes would be noticeable. But it was the same old tired offense that Miles and OC Cam Cameron employed on Tuesday. And just as with previous inferior competition, the Tigers wore down the Red Raiders and won the game with superior talent, not offensive creativity.
- The Tigers defense came into the game fired up: It was going to be a huge challenge for the LSU defense to stop one of the top offenses in the country. Relatively speaking, that’s exactly what the Tigers did. Texas Tech was held to its second-lowest scoring output of the season (They had 26 points in a loss to West Virginia). But a stunting, slanting, highly active and extremely motivated group limited the Red Raiders to one touchdown in each of the four quarters.
- LSU QB Brandon Harris still has some work to do: LSU’s sophomore QB still has a long way to go to keep defenses from loading the box to stop the run. He is not confident with his abilities to throw the ball in a tight game. But let the Tigers get a lead and if Harris doesn’t have to make a play, he’s been known to throw a pretty deep ball. And the timing throws are usually on the money, if he’s throwing because he wants to rather than because he has to.
- Tigers RB Leonard Fournette will enter 2016 among the Heisman favorites: In addition to rushing for 212 yards and four touchdowns, the sophomore caught his first touchdown pass. He accounted for 256 yards of offense and scored a total of five touchdowns. Those are numbers that make Heisman voters think about and take notice of during the offseason.
- Texas Tech didn’t get the ball in the hands of WR Jakeem Grant nearly enough: The small and speedy senior was the only player LSU had trouble keeping up with. The Tigers couldn’t cover him and they couldn’t catch him, either. Although he had a game-high 10 pass receptions for 125 yards and three touchdowns, he didn’t handle the football nearly enough to keep the Red Raiders in the game, even though they did also employ him to return three kickoffs for a total of 61 yards.
REPORT CARD
Offense: (A) – It sure didn’t start out that way, but LSU eventually wore down the Red Raiders’ swiss cheese defense. The Tigers rolled up 638 yards of total offense. Mostly the doing of Fournette, LSU rushed for nearly 10 yards per carry, churning out 384 yards on 40 attempts.
Defense: (A) – The Tigers defense was active all night and the stunts and slants from the defensive front caused problems for Texas Tech, which was held to its second-lowest scoring output of the season. LSU freshman DE Arden Key led the charges.
Special Teams: (C) – The Tigers have had problems all season in covering kickoffs. On Tuesday, they tried kicking short but that only resulted in Texas Tech starting with good field position on nearly every drive. A couple of deep kicks were covered well, but for the most part LSU was content on letting the Red Raiders start from around the 30-yard line.
Coaching: (A) – It didn’t look like it from the beginning, but the Tigers were put in position to be successful, especially on defense. LSU defenders were in the Red Raiders’ backfield all night long. And on offense, LSU eventually wore down the Texas Tech defense.
Overall: (A-minus) – It’s hard to argue with a 29-point victory. Although it was a one-point game early in the third quarter, the Tigers continued to pound away at the Texas Tech defense and eventually wore it out, scoring 35 points in the second half.
GAME PLAN
As with most inferior teams, Miles elected to play it close to the vest and not lose the game but rather pound his opponent with superior talent. It’s an effective plan if you have the better athletes on your side. The Tigers did on Tuesday, and it was ultimately taken full advantage of.
GAME BALLS
- DE Arden Key: The freshman from Atlanta wreaked havoc on Texas Tech. He was often in the Red Raiders’ backfield and disrupted their passing game.
- RB Leonard Fournette: Easily the player of the game, at least on offense. The sophomore sensation rushed for 212 yards and four touchdowns on 29 carries, but also earned his first touchdown reception, a 44-yard screen pass midway through the second quarter.
- DC Kevin Steele: The LSU defensive coordinator had the Tigers fired up from the opening kickoff to the final whistle. He put together a solid game plan that the team executed and the result was a limitation in the Texas Tech offense.
INJURY UPDATE
- DB Jalen Mills left the game with an apparent ankle injury early on, but returned after halftime.
Glenn Sattell is an award-winning freelance writer for Saturday Down South.
