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All of the stars seemed to align just right for LSU in their showdown matchup with Georgia this past Saturday.
The Tigers’ offense didn’t turn over the football. They played a clean game, committing just five penalties. And senior quarterback Zach Mettenberger was brilliant – depositing arguably the best game of his collegiate career onto Sanford Stadium’s turf.
But LSU’s once-vaunted defense mustered just a mere whimper against the Bulldogs. Their wrongs overtook the day full of rights for the Tigers, sending LSU to its first loss of the season.
The Tigers allowed 494 yards to the Dawgs in a 44-41 shootout defeat. The final blows came in the final minutes as Georgia drove down the field for a game-winning touchdown with just more than a minute to play.
“This is a tough loss,” senior linebacker Lamin Barrow said. “Not that many teams have put up that many points on this defense in a long time.”
The scoreboard operator was busy from the earliest seconds of the game in Saturday’s showdown.
The Tigers won the coin toss and deferred to the second half, giving Georgia the football. The Bulldogs promptly drove it down the field 75 yards in just eight plays – a drive capped with a 5-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Aaron Murray to receiver Michael Bennett.
Murray was a huge factor in the Georgia victory, completing 20-of-34 passes for 298 yards and four touchdowns.
But most of Georgia’s early damage was done on the ground. The Bulldogs rushed for 143 yards in the first half against the Tigers on just 21 carriers.
Standout halfback Todd Gurley was a force to be reckoned with, picking his spots for 73 yards on eight tries in the opening half. Backup Keith Marshall was just as lethal in the opening 30 minutes, gashing the Tigers for 70 yards on nine carries.
“We blocked pretty well,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “We ran blocked well and we pass protected well. … The line of scrimmage was won by Georgia today. That was big. When you block and protect well, you have confidence you can move and score the way that we did.”
But the Bulldogs’ plans changed on the fly when Gurley went down for the game in the second quarter with an ankle injury.
With Gurley on the shelf, LSU’s defense bottled up the run and allowed just 53 yards rushing in the second half.
But that’s when Murray started to do most of his damage.
The Georgia senior was 9-of-15 in the second half, tossing two touchdowns – including the game-winner.
The stats are lofty, but the lack of resistance from the LSU defense is what was most alarming to the Tigers’ players and coaches.
LSU did not record a sack in the loss – rarely getting close to Murray on passing situations.
When dropping into coverage, the Tigers’ defensive backs often seemed confused and discombobulated.
Murray completed several long passes throughout the game on plays that appeared to take place because of busted coverages.
LSU coach Les Miles and his players said that the confusion was because of some communication problems the team had in getting the play from defensive coordinator John Chavis in the press box.
“We had some trouble getting the calls in and called the wrong calls sometimes,” Barrow said. “Just a little bit of miscommunication, but something that we can go over in practice over and over. It’s something that we should be able to adapt to by now.”
“We have some young guys that we want to put on the field,” Miles said. “They are guys that are very talented. But they have to play coverage over a variety of calls and coverages, and it’s got to work. If we do that, we’ll be fine.”
Take away the defense and LSU was pretty impressive in the defeat.
Mettenberger was brilliant, completing 23-of-37 passes for 372 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.
Junior Jarvis Landry was the beneficiary of 10 of Mettenberger’s passes, gashing the Bulldogs’ young secondary for 156 yards and a touchdown.
Halfback Jeremy Hill also had a productive game, carrying 21 times for 86 yards with a score.
Miles and the rest of the Tigers emphasized following the game that LSU’s season is still intact, despite the loss.
If the Tigers win the rest of their SEC games, they are guaranteed a spot in the SEC Championship Game.
“We are a good football team,” Miles said. “We can prove that we can fulfill the goals that we have. I think everything is in front of us. The great thing about losing to an Eastern Division team is that there are examples of what we need to do to accomplish our goals.”
But for that to take place, LSU’s defense needs a bit of polish – in a hurry.
The Tigers get their next crack at an SEC foe this weekend in a road tilt with Mississippi State.
That game will kick-off at 6 p.m. on ESPN. The Bulldogs are 0-1 in SEC play following a loss to Auburn.
LSU wide receiver Jarvis Landry juggles tacklers during Saturday afternoon’s shootout between the Tigers and Georgia. Landry had a big day against the Bulldogs, catching for more than 100 yards on the day. His dominance was spoiled by the Tigers’ inability to slow down Georgia’s high-powered offense. The Bulldogs had success both rushing and throwing against the Tigers’ defense, which said after the game that it struggled because of an inability to get calls from the press box to the field.
