Tag: Damian Ramos

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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Twitter reacts to mind-boggling LSU special teams error that gave Georgia a touchdown in the SEC Championship

What just happened?

Special teams has been LSU’s Achilles heel all season, and those issues reared their head again in LSU’s SEC Championship contest against Georgia.

In the first quarter, the Tigers were driving to score the game’s first points. A solid drive stalled in the red zone, and kicker [autotag]Damian Ramos[/autotag] lined up for what would have been a 32-yard field goal.

However, Ramos’ kick was blocked, and one special teams error compounded into an even bigger one. Apparently forgetting that a ball is live after a block on a field goal, LSU’s players acted as if the play was ever.

But as Georgia defensive back Christopher Smith knew, that wasn’t the case. Ninety-five yards later, Smith reached paydirt as the Bulldogs swung the momentum completely.

College football Twitter was stunned by the poorly timed gaffe.

Five takeaways as LSU upsets Alabama in Brian Kelly’s first season

LSU beat Alabama 32-31, earning a win that put LSU in firm control of the SEC West.

It was one for the ages in Baton Rouge.

LSU beat Alabama 32-31, earning a win that put LSU in firm control of the SEC West. LSU struck first when [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] found [autotag]John Emery Jr.[/autotag] on a hot route in the flats. Emery made a couple of Alabama defenders miss and trotted 30-yards to the end zone.

The Tide responded with two field goals and LSU took a 7-6 lead into the half. Alabama tacked on another field goal in the third, which gave the Crimson Tide their first lead of the night at 9-7.

LSU had a response of its own, with [autotag]Josh Williams[/autotag] punching it in and taking the lead back.

The back-and-forth continued, Alabama found the end zone but came up short on a two-point attempt. [autotag]Damian Ramos[/autotag] put LSU back on top, 17-15, on the ensuing drive.

It wouldn’t stop there. The squads traded scores into overtime. Alabama got the ball first and found the endzone, leaving LSU with no choice but to do the same.

Jayden Daniels scampered 25-yards on LSU’s first play and [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] sent his offense back out there, going for the win on the next play. Daniels found [autotag]Mason Taylor[/autotag] for two, and that was that.

Here are five takeaways from LSU’s defining win over Alabama.