Despite a season-opening loss to Florida State, LSU enters SEC play this weekend with all of its goals still in front of it. This team can still win the SEC, and it can even make the College Football Playoff.
But the margin for error has gotten considerably smaller. This team can’t afford any slipups in conference play, and it has some problems to address to avoid that happening.
CBS Sports broke down one issue that each SEC team must fix, and for LSU, it revolved around getting [autotag]Harold Perkins[/autotag] more involved on defense.
After beginning the year playing at inside linebacker, Perkins moved back to his old spot on the edge last week. Still, the production hasn’t matched what he was able to do last fall.
LSU — Free Harold Perkins: In theory, LSU’s plan to develop linebacker Harold Perkins by playing him off ball for longer stretches had some merit, especially with his more slender linebacker build. Two games into the season, it’s fair to call the move a wholesale disaster. Perkins went from one of the most feared defensive players in the SEC to essentially invisible. He was credited with 41 pressures and 7.5 sacks as a true freshman but now has just six total tackles through two games without any disruptive plays. LSU has suffered from a lack of playmaking with only one team sack through team games. Perkins can solve that.
Failure to put pressure on the quarterback was certainly an issue in the loss to Florida State, but if there’s one player on the roster who has the talent to be a game-changer in that regard, it’s Perkins.
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