Tag: Damian Ramos

Five stats that defined LSU’s win over Arkansas

From Brian Thomas Jr.’s big night to the emergence of DaShawn Womack, here are five stats that defined LSU’s win.

LSU beat Arkansas 34-31 on Saturday night after LSU kicker [autotag]Damian Ramos[/autotag] nailed a short field goal in the final seconds.

[autotag]Brian Thomas Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag] stole the show on offense, while the defense was inconsistent and had some struggles.

All things considered, LSU fans should be happy with the win. This offense looks elite and we always knew Arkansas was going to bring its best in a rivalry game coming off a loss.

Today, we’ll dive deeper and take a look at the numbers. Here are five stats that defined the night for LSU, starting with Thomas’ big night.

LSU’s upward movement continues in US LBM Coaches Poll after tight win over Arkansas

The Tigers are moving up one spot after surviving a thriller against Arkansas.

LSU survived quite a scare against Arkansas on 34-31, outlasting the Razorbacks in Tiger Stadium thanks to a time-killing final drive and a game-winning field goal from [autotag]Damian Ramos[/autotag] with just three seconds remaining.

It was a sluggish start on offense for the Tigers, who only managed three points until the final minute of the first half and took a three-point deficit to the locker room.

LSU’s offense woke up in the second half, but the game turned into a shootout as the Razorbacks wouldn’t go away. The Tigers came away with the win but certainly still have a lot to work on.

Regardless, an SEC win was good enough to continue LSU’s trend of moving up in the US LBM Coaches Poll. Here’s how the full top 25 looks after Week 4.

PHOTOS: LSU survives to beat Arkansas 34-31 on last-second field goal

Damian Ramos sealed the win for LSU with a last-second 21-yard field goal.

It wasn’t always pretty, but LSU hung on to win the Golden Boot once again with a 34-31 win over Arkansas.

LSU had to overcome a 13-3 first-half deficit and allowed Arkansas to tie the game late with a touchdown and two-point conversion, but LSU went on to bleed the remainder of the clock, and a go-ahead 21-yard field goal for [autotag]Damian Ramos[/autotag] sealed the win.

The Tigers move to 2-0 on the year in SEC play and will now hit the road to take on Ole Miss next week. Here are all the photos from LSU’s thrilling win over the Razorbacks on Saturday night in Week 4.

Reactions as last-second Damian Ramos field goal lifts LSU past Arkansas

LSU had another tough battle against the Razorbacks on Saturday night in Death Valley.

It was a far closer game than most LSU fans likely expected, but the Tigers moved to 2-0 in SEC play with a hard-fought 34-31 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks thanks to a last-second field goal from [autotag]Damian Ramos[/autotag].

LSU had a slow start on offense, falling behind 13-3 in the first half, and it wasn’t the best showing from the defense. But [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] sparked the group in the second half with a four passing touchdown game, and LSU made enough plays to get the win.

The Tigers now turn their attention to another tough game as they travel to play Ole Miss, which suffered its first loss against Alabama on Saturday.

In the meantime, here’s how social media reacted to the win over Arkansas.

Instant Analysis: Damian Ramos drills late field goal as LSU avoids scare against Arkansas

The Tigers overcame a slow start to survive a tight game against the Razorbacks on Saturday night.

With the game against Arkansas tied at 31 in the final minutes and LSU sitting just at the edge of field goal range at the Razorbacks’ 28-yard line, the Tigers needed a big gain.

Running back [autotag]Logan Diggs[/autotag] answered that call, breaking off a 21-yard run on a shotgun draw that took LSU down to the 6. With Arkansas having exhausted its timeouts, the Tigers could run down the clock as [autotag]Damian Ramos[/autotag] drilled a game-winning chip shot field goal with just five seconds left to lift the Tigers to a 34-31 win.

It was a sluggish start to the game for LSU offensively as Arkansas jumped out to a 13-3 lead, which it held late into the second quarter. The offense woke up, however, scoring touchdowns to end the first half and begin the second as coach Brian Kelly’s team retook the lead.

[autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] overcame an ugly early interception to have another fantastic game, completing 20 of 29 passes for 320 yards and four passing touchdowns. Two of those went to [autotag]Brian Thomas Jr.[/autotag], who led the team in receiving with 133 yards on five catches.

The other two went to [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag], who wasn’t far behind him with 130 yards on eight catches. LSU didn’t rely heavily on the run game, especially in the second half, but Diggs finished with 97 yards on 14 carries.

Defensively, it wasn’t exactly a banner night for the Tigers. They allowed 426 yards to the Razorbacks and gave up several costly big plays through the air that kept Arkansas in it right until the end.

LSU did have some timely big plays defensively, however, headlined by a first-half interception for [autotag]Andre Sam[/autotag] and four total sacks as a team.

It was a tighter game than LSU expected, but the Tigers will certainly be thankful for a win as they prepare to hit the road to take on an Ole Miss team reeling from a disappointing loss to Alabama.

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Alabama transfer Aaron Anderson to return kicks and punts, other special teams notes from Brian Kelly

It’s no secret that LSU was held back by its special teams in 2022.

You didn’t have to watch much LSU football last fall to gather that execution on special teams was a limiting factor.

Those issues reared their head early and often as the Tigers lost in Week 1 against Florida State as the result of a blocked extra point in the final seconds.

After a coaching change (coordinator [autotag]Bill Polian[/autotag] was replaced with [autotag]John Jancek[/autotag], though [autotag]Bob Diaco[/autotag] is currently filling the role), LSU hopes it has those issues fixed in 2023.

Kelly addressed the special teams on Tuesday, announcing that speedy Alabama transfer [autotag]Aaron Anderson[/autotag] will return kicks and punts. True freshman running back [autotag]Kaleb Jackson[/autotag] will be the off-ball returner.

Coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] said avoiding miscues will be key for the returners this fall.

“They’ve got to field the ball, they’ve got to be able to do the little things the right way,” Kelly said Monday.

Kelly had positive things to say about the unit in general. Placekicker [autotag]Damian Ramos[/autotag] has apparently had a good camp and seems likely to hold on to his starting spot again. Punter [autotag]Jay Bramblett[/autotag], who was named to the preseason watch list for the Ray Guy Award, also received praise.

“We think special teams should and can be a positive for us and influence games,” Kelly said.

If that ultimately proves to be the case, it would be a major boon for an LSU team that was held back by shoddy special teams play in an overall good campaign last fall.

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2023 LSU Tigers Snapshot Profile: No. 34 Damian Ramos

Damian Ramos held down the starting placekicker job as a redshirt freshman last fall.

Going into the 2023 football season, LSU Wire will be looking at each player listed on the Tigers’ roster.

Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for Brian Kelly this season.

We continue our look at the specialists on this roster with [autotag]Damian Ramos[/autotag], who held down the starting placekicker job for the entirety of the 2022 season as a redshirt freshman in replacement of [autotag]Cade York[/autotag]. He appears likely to do so once again in 2023.

Damian Ramos Preseason Player Profile

Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland

Ht: 6-2

Wt: 186

247Sports Composite Ranking

Unrated (Five-star per Chris Sailer Kicking)

Class in 2022: Redshirt Freshman

Career Stats

Year G FGM FGA FG% Long XP XPA XP%
2022 14 10 14 71.4% 47 55 57 96.5%

Depth Chart Overview

Though specialists generally aren’t rated by the typical recruiting sites, Ramos was listed as a five-star (out of six) coming out of St. Paul’s High School in Baltimore by Chris Sailer Kicking.

That roughly corresponds to a player who is capable of starting at an FBS-caliber school as a freshman. Though he didn’t see the field in 2021, he became the starter last season, beating out [autotag]Ezekiel Mata[/autotag] and Northwestern transfer [autotag]Trey Finison[/autotag].

It wasn’t a stellar year for Mata, who went 10-of-14 on the year on field goal attempts. He missed just two of 57 extra points, one of which was blocked on the final play of the game in the loss to Florida State.

He saw some action on kickoffs as well, though [autotag]Nathan Dibert[/autotag] was the primary kick-off specialist. That dynamic seems likely to continue this fall.

Damian Ramos’ Photo Gallery

2023 LSU Tigers Snapshot Profile: No. 31 Nathan Dibert

Nathan Dibert was LSU’s starting kickoff specialist for the final 11 games last season.

Going into the 2023 football season, LSU Wire will be looking at each player listed on the Tigers’ roster.

Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for Brian Kelly this season.

We’re taking a look at another specialist for LSU in [autotag]Nathan Dibert[/autotag], a sophomore placekicker who spent the 2022 season as the Tigers’ starting kickoff specialist in 11 games. He received Freshman All-SEC honors and was featured on the 2023 preseason All-SEC list while serving as the backup placekicker to [autotag]Damian Ramos[/autotag].

Nathan Dibert Preseason Player Profile

2022 All-SEC teams loaded with LSU players after SEC West Championship season

Tigers littered the all-conference teams, including six on the SEC All-Freshman team.

The 2022 season was bookended by some frustration as the Tigers lost their opener against Florida State and dropped the final two games against Texas A&M and Georgia.

Still, that shouldn’t take away from what happened in between, as coach Brian Kelly had a massively successful first year on the bayou. LSU finished 9-4 with upset wins over Alabama and Ole Miss that clinched an SEC West title, the program’s first since it won the national championship in 2019.

As one of the top teams in the conference this season, it shouldn’t be a surprise that LSU players littered the All-SEC lists this season, particularly the All-Freshman team, which featured six Tigers.

Here’s everyone who was honored for their efforts in 2022 by the league.

Instant Analysis: LSU comes up short against Georgia in SEC Championship Game

The Tigers just didn’t have enough juice to keep up with Georgia on Saturday afternoon.

It wound up being more competitive than it appeared it would in the first half, but the Tigers were simply overmatched in their 50-30 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship Game on Saturday.

LSU had about as rough a start as one could imagine in this game. It was actually driving down the field to score the game’s first points, but a 32-yard field goal from [autotag]Damian Ramos[/autotag] was blocked and, apparently unaware the ball was still live, the Tigers allowed Georgia to return it for a touchdown.

That special teams gaffe and one of the stranger interceptions you’ll ever see when [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag]’ pass bounced off Jack Bech’s helmet allowed the ‘Dawgs to stretch a 35-10 lead heading into the locker room.

Daniels played through an ankle injury and was clearly hobbled in this game. He finished with 208 passing yards and a touchdown through the air but was limited in the run game and was sacked three times. He ultimately left the game and wouldn’t return, and [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] seemed to spark the offense in his stead.

The redshirt freshman threw for nearly 300 yards and two touchdowns, and he helped make it close in the second half. But after a drive in the third quarter that could have cut the lead to 11 stalled on fourth and inches, the lead felt insurmountable despite Nussmeier’s best efforts.

LSU actually outgained Georgia in this game, totaling 549 yards, but was unbalanced. The Tigers only had 47 yards on the ground, which corresponds to the longest run of the day from [autotag]Josh Williams[/autotag]. Aside from that, nothing was working.

UGA, meanwhile, was quite balanced. LSU allowed 255 rushing yards to the three-headed attack of Kenny McIntosh, Daijun Edwards and Kendall Milton. Stetson Bennett also had one of the best games of his career, finishing with 274 yards and four passing touchdowns.

It wasn’t the worst performance, but allowing half a hundred to the Bulldogs was certainly not how LSU wanted this game to go. With the loss, the Tigers’ hopes of making the New Year’s Six diminish considerably. They will learn their postseason fate on Sunday.

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Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

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