For most of Saturday’s game at South Carolina, it looked like LSU was heading for one of the worst losses of the [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] era.
The Tigers found themselves in a three-score deficit, but a hot close to the first half and start to the second fueled a comeback. LSU held on to win 36-33 and avoid the upset after South Carolina missed a 49-yard field goal that would have sent the game to overtime as the clock expired.
The Tigers fell behind early, dropping into a 17-0 hole in the first half in part thanks to a blocked punt that set up an easy Gamecocks touchdown. LSU fought back before half, leading three consecutive scoring drives to end the second quarter including a touchdown to cut it to one score with 1:20 to play.
The extra point was botched after a bad hold, however, and the Tigers went to the locker room down eight.
The offensive momentum continued out of the gate, with LSU driving down to set up a first and goal from the two on its opening possession of the second half. Though it was held out of the end zone with a fourth down stop, it scored a touchdown on its ensuing drive from true freshman running back [autotag]Caden Durham[/autotag] — his second of the game — but failed to convert the game-tying two-pointer.
After forcing a quick stop, the Tigers didn’t squander another goal-to-go opportunity as [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] found [autotag]Mason Taylor[/autotag] for a go-ahead touchdown pass on the first play of the fourth quarter.
That lead wouldn’t last long, however. On the following possession, South Carolina’s Raheim Sanders broke a 66-yard touchdown run, and while the Gamecocks missed their two-point try to go up three, they still recaptured a slim 30-29 lead.
LSU tried to answer, but things went from bad to worse when a miscommunication led to a mistimed snap and turnover in its own territory, allowing South Carolina to stretch the lead to four with a field goal.
The Tigers were gifted a massive opportunity when a fumble from Robby Ashford, who entered for an injured LaNorris Sellers, gave them the ball in the red zone. But the opportunity was again wasted as [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] threw a bad interception at the goal line that was returned 100 yards the opposite way.
A penalty called back what would have been a dagger pick-six, but the Gamecocks still took over with less than six minutes to play.
After the South Carolina offense continued to struggle to move the ball, LSU got something going in the final minutes set up by an impressive sideline catch from [autotag]Kyren Lacy[/autotag], and [autotag]Josh Williams[/autotag] capped it off with a two-yard go-ahead touchdown with just 1:12 to play.
South Carolina managed to get the ball down to the LSU 31, but the game-tying quick sailed just left.
Despite earning the win, there were plenty of concerns for the Tigers, especially on defense, where they allowed 243 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. They struggled to contain Sellers, who had 88 yards and two scores with his legs before he left the game with an injury. Sellers struggled through the air, and Ashford did after replacing him, as well.
Offensively, there were some bright spots. Durham emerged as the team’s leading rusher, finishing with 98 yards and two scores on 11 carries, while Nussmeier made some big plays but struggled with efficiency and made some questionable decisions.
Still, he finished with 285 yards and two touchdowns through the air, along with one interception.
LSU has quite a bit to work on, and it will get a break from SEC play next week as it hosts UCLA in a matchup against a Big Ten opponent in Baton Rouge.