LSU football led Baylor by 17 points at halftime of the Kinder’s Texas Bowl, but the Bears cut the lead to 10 in the third quarter.
The Tigers, tasked with replacing multiple starters on defense, embodied a “bend, don’t break” philosophy en route to a 44-31 win.
Led largely by safeties [autotag]Javien Toviano[/autotag] and [autotag]Jardin Gilbert[/autotag], LSU prevented the big play. The two tied for the team lead in solo tackles with six tackles apiece, according to PFF.
Gilbert, in particular, came up with two key stops on late downs.
“I thought when we did a really good job late in the game, in the third and fourth quarters, eliminating the run game, they [the Bears] were up against it because the passing game then becomes one where we could play a lot more quarters coverage and get off playing man coverage,” LSU head coach Brian Kelly said.
Shrinking the field and secondary players making open-field tackles have been points of emphasis for Kelly all season. Without [autotag]Sage Ryan[/autotag] or [autotag]Major Burns[/autotag], Gilbert was the lone safety with experience, while sophomore Toviano got his first real game time as a starter.
Once the Tigers thwarted Baylor’s ground game, they focused on defending quarterback Sawyer Robertson through the air in zone coverage.
According to GameOnPaper, LSU held Baylor to -0.29 EPA per rush — one of the Tigers’ best marks of the year.
Baylor’s red zone success rate was 33% and reflected the secondary’s work in small-field situations.
“When the field began to shrink, our safeties could be flat-footed and really squeeze those routes,” Kelly said. “It was hard for them to put the ball in the end zone because of that.”
