The first six weeks did not go according to plan for the LSU defense.
In ESPN’s Bill Connelly’s original SP+ projections, LSU’s defense ranked 10th. After Week 6, the unit is all the way down to 76th.
LSU’s allowing 3.21 points per drive, which ranks 123rd in the country. No Power Five team is allowing 20-yard plays at a higher rate.
Whatever way you want to paint it, it’s not a pretty picture. With two losses, LSU is likely out of the playoff picture, but a New Year’s Six appearance is still in play if the defense can figure it out.
There were some positive signs against Missouri. For the first time since week three, LSU prevented an opponent from gaining over 50% of available yards. LSU still allowed three points per drive, but that was also its best mark since week three.
LSU’s defensive stars stepped up and made big plays too. [autotag]Harold Perkins[/autotag] finally looked comfortable in coverage, coming up with a pivotal interception. [autotag]Maason Smith[/autotag] began to emerge too, leading [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] to say that was the best game he’d seen Smith play.
Now, Auburn comes to town — a team whose offensive issues mirror those of the LSU defense. Auburn ranks 94th in points per drive thanks to a passing game that’s struggled to get anything rolling.
Auburn ranks 129th in yards per pass, 122nd in completion percentage, and 126th in sack rate. The situation is bleak.
That begs the question: If the LSU defense doesn’t turn it around now, then when?
The next few weeks provide this unit a chance to get right. After Auburn, LSU faces Army before heading into the pre-Alabama bye week.
Auburn doesn’t have the same talent at receiver LSU saw with Ole Miss and Missouri. There’s no Tre Harris or Luther Burden here. That should come as good news for an LSU secondary that’s struggled to contain anything the last few weeks.
But facing a struggling offense has been no indicator of success for LSU this year. Facing Grambling in Week 2, an FCS opponent, the Tiger’s secondary still managed to lose some matchups.
They followed it up with a shutdown performance against Mississippi State but failed to build on it, allowing 34 points to Arkansas the next week. That Arkansas offense ranks dead last in the SEC in yards per play.
LSU can’t allow itself to be the reason the Auburn offense gets rolling. Nobody is demanding a shutout, but it’s time to see some progress. The final moments of the Missouri game that saw LSU force turnovers on the last two drives offer hope.
Despite what we’ve seen this first month and a half, [autotag]Matt House[/autotag] is a smart defensive coordinator and there’s talent in this room. For one reason or another, it hasn’t looked like that. But we saw it last year.
Something they try is going to work, but it needs to work now. LSU has some room for error against these next two opponents. But once that Alabama game rolls around, the margins will be slim. It’s time to figure it out.
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