LSU-Jacksonville State analysis: Even with new QB, it’s still about defense at LSU

Don’t take Dave Aranda for granted.

If there’s one takeaway from LSU’s 34-13 win over Jacksonville State on Saturday, that should be it.

Sure, all the talk is about how the Tigers may have found a more effective option at quarterback in Purdue transfer Danny Etling, who came off the bench for an ineffective Brandon Harris and engineered touchdown drives in his first three possessions.

But at the end of the day, the offense gained 371 yards against an FCS team. It’s not like the Tigers suddenly turned into Oregon on offense.

This win was more about how a pretty good JSU offense with a lot of talent at the skill positions was stymied by what’s looking more and more like a great LSU defense.

If this LSU team is going to contend, it’s still about what’s looking like a vintage LSU defense, which is rebounding from an off year under Kevin Steele to become a group that could be dominant.

5 takeaways

• Etling makes better decisions: Two things that were lacking with Harris at quarterback was the third receiver didn’t get touches and tight ends didn’t catch enough passes. Everything seemed to go to the Tigers’ two main receivers, Malachi Dupre and Travin Dural, with the occasional designed throw to a running back. With Etling at quarterback, tight end DeSean Smith caught a 46-yard touchdown pass, third receiver D.J. Chark had his first career catch and Etling seemed to make the easy pass Harris couldn’t or wouldn’t make. The Tigers have enough weapons where the ball doesn’t necessarily need to go to Dupre or Dural on passing downs. If anything changed when Etling was inserted, it was that the ball went to the open guy, not forced to a favorite target.
• Derrius Guice is good: Sure, LSU probably would have gained more rushing yards with Leonard Fournette in the lineup, but the Tigers are still a good running team with Derrius Guice in the backfield. Guice rushed for 155 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries Saturday and looked like the top-tier running back many scouts think he is.
• This is a talented secondary: Jacksonville State’s only touchdown came when two LSU defenders tried to intercept the same pass JSU quarterback Eli Jenkins threw to receiver Krenwick Sanders. Both whiffed and Sanders wound up in a foot race to a 75-yard touchdown. It was a mistake, but it was also a ball-hawking mentality that won’t necessarily be discouraged, so much as controlled. Receivers don’t get open easily against this Tigers secondary, and this group has the athleticism to make plays on the ball.
• This is a good defense: The week after holding Wisconsin to one touchdown, the Badgers put up 54 points and gained 586 yards against Akron. Sure, it was just a second-tier MAC team, but we saw that this was a legitimate Big Ten offense LSU faced last week. And, let’s face it, Jenkins led an offense that was better than a lot of FBS offenses. For LSU to hold this group to 13 points was pretty impressive.
• Special teams were as good as they should be: Sure, Tre’Davious White provided the game’s biggest highlight with his daring, go-backwards-before-going-forwards 60-yard punt return for a touchdown. But one area where FCS teams tend to suffer most against the big boys is on special teams, where inferior depth — FCS teams have 22 fewer scholarships than teams in the FBS — tends to manifest itself most. That said, LSU had better punting (40.8 yards per punt for Josh Growden), better placement on kickoffs and, obviously, a better return game than in the Wisconsin game. The one hiccup? Colby Delahoussaye’s first PAT attempt was blocked.

Report card

Offense: C — The Tigers were good in the second quarter — maybe even deserved an A for those 15 minutes — but were otherwise the same D group that struggled through the Wisconsin game. After a good start, Danny Etling was inefficient (6-of-14, 100 yards, two turnovers) and the offense had too many three-and-outs, including both of Harris’ possessions.

Defense: A- — Jenkins’ above-mentioned long touchdown pass aside, the Tigers were good against a good offense. They sacked Jenkins three times and held the Gamecocks to 120 rushing yards, mostly on Jenkins’ scrambles. The front creates pressure, the secondary covers well and it’s a tough group to run against.

Special Teams: B — As mentioned above, aside from a blocked PAT attempt, there was little to complain about from a group that was pretty bad against Wisconsin.

Coaching: B — Les Miles made the decision to go with Etling at the right time and pushed the right buttons with the move. It created a spark that got the Tigers over the hump. Dave Aranda had the defense ready to play against an offense that will make you look bad if you aren’t ready to play.

Overall: B- — This was far from a perfect effort. Notably, the offense isn’t anywhere near where it needs to be to beat anybody in the SEC West, including next week’s opponent, Mississippi State. But the defense looks like an LSU defense, even if it’s in a new 3-4 alignment and the special teams improved.

Game plan

LSU wanted to get Brandon Harris confidence, looking to throw early. That didn’t work, but Etling came off the bench and gained some confidence in his own right and may be the Tigers’ new starter. On defense, the goal appeared to be to contain the talented Jenkins, and although he accounted for 330 yards (248 in the air and 82 on the ground), everything he did was hard-earned. The Tigers took out the JSU running game, holding Auburn transfer Roc Thomas to 30 yards on 10 carries.

Game balls

• CB Donte Jackson: The nickel back had a big game, coming up with an interception he returned 40 yards to go with another pass broken up. He also returned a kickoff 40 yards, and it would have been a touchdown if a penalty didn’t negate it.
• ILB Kendell Beckwith: JSU couldn’t get anything going in the run game and Beckwith was a big part of that, finishing with a team-high 10 tackles, including his first quarterback sack of the season.
• RB Derrius Guice: LSU hardly missed Leonard Fournette as Guice was dominant, going for 155 yards on 19 carries. Even if Fournette’s out, opponents will still have to focus on stopping the LSU running game first.

Gary Laney