We’re already halfway through the college football regular season. LSU has six games down with six more to go.
LSU’s first six games didn’t lack intrigue. LSU’s played four games against Power Four opponents and three came down to the wire. LSU came up short against USC in Week 1 but staged comebacks against South Carolina and Ole Miss to jump out to a 2-0 start in conference play.
After the Ole Miss upset, LSU is up to No. 8 in the AP Poll, five spots better than where it began the year at No. 13.
Given all that LSU lost after 2023, a 5-1 start is impressive. You can’t make the playoff in the first six games, but you can get knocked out of it. LSU did enough to stay alive and remain in the thick of the playoff race.
Here, we’ll look at five things we’ve learned about LSU in these last seven weeks. We had a lot of questions about this group entering the year and now with a good sample size to look at, many have been answered.
The receiver depth is even better than we thought
Receiver was somewhat of a question for LSU after losing [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag] and [autotag]Brian Thomas Jr.[/autotag] That type of production is hard to replace in one offseason, but LSU is managing just fine with a plethora of talented options.
[autotag]Kyren Lacy[/autotag] leads the way with 30 catches for 463 yards. His five-catch, 111-yard performance vs. Ole Miss made it back-to-back 100-yard games for the fifth-year senior.
[autotag]Aaron Anderson[/autotag] is enjoying a breakout year with 30 catches for 452 yards. Both marks rank in the top 10 among SEC receivers. Transfers [autotag]CJ Daniels[/autotag] and [autotag]Zavion Thomas[/autotag] are both making impacts too.
Along with the receivers, tight end [autotag]Mason Taylor[/autotag] leads all SEC tight ends with 33 receptions.
This group doesn’t have the same explosiveness element as last year’s, but it’s deep and dependable.
Defensive development is ahead of schedule
LSU brought in a new staff on the defensive side of the ball, hoping to accelerate the development and get the most out of its young talent. We’re seeing that so far.
Start at defensive tackle, where [autotag]Bo Davis[/autotag] continues to get competent production from its interior defensive line despite losing [autotag]Jacobian Guillory[/autotag]. True freshmen [autotag]Ahmad Breaux[/autotag] and [autotag]Dominick McKinley[/autotag] are both in the rotation while veteran transfer [autotag]Gio Paez[/autotag] is on track to set career highs in stops and pressures.
At linebacker, Blake Baker has sophomore Whit Weeks playing like a star. Greg Penn has shown progress too.
LSU hired Corey Raymond to rebuild the secondary, and we’re already seeing the impact for LSU’s corners. The Tigers look much more comfortable in man coverage and playing balls in the air. Zy Alexander leads all SEC CBs in PFF coverage grade after week seven.
The OC transition could have been smoother
LSU’s offense is good, but it’s still experiencing some hiccups as it figures out its identity. Mike Denbrock took the OC job at Notre Dame after leading the best offense in the country at LSU in 2023.
Brian Kelly didn’t have to look far for Denbrock’s replacement, promoting QB coach Joe Sloan and WR coach Cortez Hankton.
Sloan called plays before in his time at Louisiana Tech, but this is his first time doing it at this level.
LSU has struggled to recreate last year’s success on the ground. Regression was expected without Jayden Daniels’ legs, but the fall is significant. After leading the country in EPA/rush last year, LSU ranks 94th this year.
Nussmeier isn’t a threat with his legs and LSU is yet to find an adjustment that makes up for that.
The drop-back game is one of the best in the FBS, but consistency is an issue. Nussmeier was uncomfortable early against Ole Miss but eventually settled in. Expect Sloan to get his QB in rhythm early against Arkansas.
LSU shows poise under pressure
All offseason, Brian Kelly spoke about the maturity of this team. He said it was the most “player-led” group he’s had since arriving in Baton Rouge. That’s starting to show up on the field.
LSU hasn’t played many comfortable games this year. Outside of South Alabama, virtually every game was close at one point. That said, LSU found a way to be 5-1.
The Tigers came up short at the end vs. USC, but LSU hung in there to get big conference wins against South Carolina and Ole Miss. Both wins required big plays late in the game.
Ideally, you’d like to see LSU controlling more games than it is, but remaining cool under pressure isn’t a skill every team has. It’ll come in handy with more close games in the coming weeks.
Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.