This wasn’t the home-opener the LSU Tigers had hoped for, taken down by the Mississippi State Bulldogs in Baton Rouge, 44-34.
Redshirt junior Myles Brennan faced quite the task in taking the reins after Joe Burrow departed to the NFL — we all knew that. But the offense’s overall performance was lackluster as Brennan was outshined by graduate transfer quarterback K.J. Costello, who broke the record for most passing yards in a single SEC contest.
Here’s a look into how both players grade out after the first week of action:
K.J. Costello, Mississippi State
Costello is everything we thought he could be, and is looking like the guy some pinned to the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft this offseason.
He was 36-of-60 pass attempts for 623 yards and five touchdowns and two interceptions. There was some questionable decision-making in there a small number of times, particularly when the pressure was coming down on him, but Costello looked comfortable and accurate in the offense for the better part of the contest.
Head coach Mike Leach commended him for his performance, but also had some constructive criticism.
“I thought it was a really good debut,” he said. “I mean, some of his turnovers were his fault and some weren’t. But I think that’s a good start, I think that we have to take care of the ball better, no question about that, but the biggest strength and I really saw out of him was that he’s the same guy every play. He would have the disappointment, and something would happen, but he would come back the same guy. Ready to go, ready to pick the unit up. He went through a stretch there and it was as bad as I’ve ever seen a quarterback go through, but he was right there and we got that key drive at the end.”
Leach’s air attack is shaping up to become a force to be reckoned with, and Costello is one hell of an important part of that.
OVERALL GRADE: B+