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Here are some quick thoughts on LSU’s 45-24 win over South Carolina.
What it means: The Tigers remain unbeaten atop the SEC West, while South Carolina’s struggles are mounting. The Gamecocks are still looking for their first win in conference play.
What I liked: LSU showed offensive options beyond Leonard Fournette. Freshman Derrius Guice actually led the team in rushing with more than 160 yards, and sophomore quarterback Brandon Harris set career highs for passing yards, attempts and completions. Harris remained somewhat inconsistent in terms of accuracy, but his confidence is growing and this week he got more help from his receiving corps. The strides in the passing game were needed, as South Carolina routinely loaded the box with eight defenders, a tactic the Tigers can expect to see more of unless the passing game becomes a consistent, credible threat.
The Gamecocks also showed improvement in the passing game. With Lorenzo Nunez sidelined by a shoulder injury, Perry Orth got the nod and looked much better than he did in his first start of the season against Georgia. Orth was far from perfect, but going against a well-reputed LSU secondary, he made numerous big throws for the Gamecocks.
What I didn’t like: LSU’s kickoff coverage. The Tigers have had problems adequately covering kickoffs all season, and it finally burned them on Saturday. On his first touch of the season South Carolina’s Rashad Fenton went untouched for touchdown in the second quarter. LSU also kicked off out of bounds on the to open the game and resorted to squib kicks in the second half.
South Carolina’s rush defense took a big step backward in the second half. It’s probably not realistic to expect many teams to keep Fournette under wraps for an entire game, but the Gamecocks’ stellar first-half tackling was absent in the final two quarters. In addition to Fournette, Guice and Darrel Williams put up good numbers for LSU.
Who’s the man: Fournette. Again. For a while it appeared we might have to look elsewhere in this category. And then Fournette broke free for an 87-yard touchdown run on the Tigers’ first possession of the second half, putting him over 100 rushing yards for the seventh straight game and making him the fastest LSU player to 1,000 yards in season.
Key play: The aforementioned 87-yard burst by Fournette. The Gamecocks had kept the sophomore sensation bottled up until then and were just seven points behind at the half. Fournette’s run gave the Tigers some cushion and punctured South Carolina’s hopes for an upset.
What’s next: LSU (5-0, 3-0 SEC) hosts No. 11 Florida (5-0, 3-0) at 7 p.m. next Saturday. South Carolina (2-4, 0-4) hosts Vanderbilt (2-3, 0-2) at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Brent Holloway is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Georgia, LSU and Mississippi State.
