Tag: Max Johnson

Ed Orgeron offers update on QB Myles Brennan’s status ahead of Alabama game

LSU could see a true freshman quarterback take the field once more if Myles Brennan isn’t healthy in time for Alabama.

LSU has an open date working in its favor as the Tigers hope to return starting quarterback Myles Brennan to the field after he suffered a lower body injury earlier this season against Missouri.

Brennan has missed the last two games, but the coaching staff will evaluate where he’s at in the two weeks ahead of the Tigers’ home matchup against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

“We’re gonna throw the ball with him a little bit today,” Orgeron said on Monday. “He’s going to try to get into the offense, see what he can do. He’s not ready yet. It’s day by day, and I don’t know if he’s going to be ready for the Alabama game. I think we’ll know a little bit more next week. We’re going to try to let him do a couple of things today, see how he can do it.”

Brennan was replaced by true freshman quarterback TJ Finley ahead of the team’s 52-24 win over the South Carolina Gamecocks. It was a successful outing for the signal-caller on the first start of his college career, as he completed 17-of-21 passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns.

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Things didn’t go as well for Finley in the road test against Auburn last week, as he completed 13-of-24 passes for 143 yards and two interceptions before being benched for fellow true freshman Max Johnson.

“We expected TJ to take another step, and obviously he didn’t,” Orgeron said Monday. “He struggled. He’s a freshman so I can’t put that on him. If Myles can’t practice, we will see who is better with TJ or Max. Max went in there and played fine.”

It will be interesting to see if it’s Finley or Johnson, who Orgeron says are both in an open quarterback competition in the event that Brennan can’t play, takes the field against Alabama when LSU returns to action on Nov. 14 in Tiger Stadium.

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Studs and duds in LSU’s 48-11 loss to Auburn

The LSU Tigers fell to 2-3 on the season after Saturday’s humiliating 48-11 defeat at Auburn. 

The LSU Tigers fell to 2-3 on the season after Saturday’s humiliating 48-11 defeat at Auburn.

Quarterback TJ Finley made his second career start in place of the injured Myles Brennan and had his share of struggles. Finley completed 13 of 24 passes for 143 yards with two interceptions.

Finley didn’t receive a lot of help from his running game, as the Tigers managed just 32 rushing yards.

This was LSU’s worst loss since 1996, and its most lopsided defeat at the hands of an unranked opponent since 1936.

The Tigers are off next week before their annual meeting with No. 2 Alabama the following week.

It was a tough day for LSU on both sides of the ball. So, who were the studs and duds for the Tigers in defeat?

LSU remains out of AP Top 25 Poll for Week 10

LSU lost at Auburn, 48-11 on Saturday and fell to 2-3 on the season.

LSU suffered a 48-11 loss at Auburn on Saturday and moved to 2-3 on the year.

The Tigers have a bye next week before hosting Alabama on November 14.

LSU allowed 506 total yards of offense to Auburn and only gained 32 rushing yards with its own offense. John Emery Jr. led the Tigers in rushing with just 21 yards gained on nine carries.

Freshman tight end Arik Gilbert led the team in receiving with 55 yards on six receptions.

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TJ Finley started the game at quarterback for the Tigers and went 13-of-24 for 143 yards and two interceptions. He was benched for fellow freshman Max Johnson who went 15-of-24 for 172 yards and a touchdown.

LSU’s defense had a challenge stopping Auburn quarterback Bo Nix who went 18-of-24 for 300 yards and three passing touchdowns.

LSU gave up 206 total rushing yards to Auburn. The Tigers also committed three turnovers, with two interceptions and a fumble.

The loss keeps the Tigers out of the AP Poll for the fourth straight week. The last time LSU was listed in the AP Top 25 was after a 41-7 win over Vanderbilt following week two of the SEC season.

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The SEC has five teams ranked in the Week 10 AP Poll. Auburn moved back into the rankings after the win over the Tigers which improved its record to 4-2 on the season.

Here is the updated AP Poll after 10 weeks of college football.

  1.  Clemson (7-0)
  2. Alabama (6-0)
  3. Ohio State (2-0)
  4. Notre Dame (6-0)
  5. Georgia (4-1)
  6. Cincinnati (5-0)
  7. Texas A&M (4-1)
  8. Florida (3-1)
  9. BYU (7-0)
  10. Wisconsin (1-0)
  11. Miami  (5-1)
  12. Oregon (0-0)
  13. Indiana (2-0)
  14. Oklahoma State (4-1)
  15. Coastal Carolina (6-0)
  16. Marshall (5-0)
  17. Iowa State (4-2)
  18. SMU (6-1)
  19. Oklahoma (4-2)
  20. USC (0-0)
  21. Boise State (2-0)
  22. Texas (4-2)
  23. Michigan (1-1)
  24. Auburn (4-2)
  25. Liberty (6-0)

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Report Card: Grading LSU’s loss against Auburn

After suffering the program’s worst defeat since 1996, there was plenty of blame to go around for LSU after its loss at Auburn.

Just about anything that could go wrong for LSU against Auburn went wrong.

LSU was dominated by Auburn in a 48-11 setback on Saturday that dropped LSU to 2-3 as the month of October came to a close.

With such a decisive loss, there is plenty of blame to go around. Let’s hand out some grades for this week’s performance as LSU wraps up the midway point of its season.

Quarterbacks: D

Young quarterbacks will tend to have some growing pains in new situations. This was one of those for TJ Finley. A week after impressing against South Carolina, Finley got a rude dose of reality from an aggressive Auburn defense. Finley completed just 13 of 24 attempts for 143 yards with two interceptions and a fumble, which was returned for an Auburn touchdown.

Max Johnson came in to deliver Finley in the second half and ended the game with 172 yards and a touchdown. After the game, Ed Orgeron made it clear that Myles Brennan will still be LSU’s quarterback when he is ready to return to the field.

Next: Running backs

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Instant Reaction: LSU demolished by Bo Nix and Auburn, 48-11

LSU suffered its worst loss since 1996 with a 48-11 loss at Auburn. Bo Nix passed for nearly 300 yards and accounted for four touchdowns.

LSU (2-3) dropped below .500 once again following a blowout loss against Bo Nix and Auburn (4-2) on Saturday. Auburn sent LSU home with a 48-11 loss that sends them into a bye week with plenty of questions to address moving forward.

Defense was the story of the first quarter with both teams pitching a shutout, but things got away from LSU in the second quarter and the snowball continued for the rest of the game. Auburn jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the second quarter. A missed field goal and a failed opportunity to take advantage of an Auburn fumble led to Auburn striking first and never looking back. Bo Nix completed a short pass to Eli Stove to open the scoring after an Auburn interception return was ruled out ay the LSU four-yard line. The Auburn defense got on the board a few drives later when Christian Tutt returned a TJ Finley fumble 20 yards for a score to put Auburn up 14-0.

Auburn took a 21-0 lead with a 99-yard touchdown drive with a good dose of Tank Bigsby and Bo Nix wearing down the LSU defense.

TJ Finley replaced by Max Johnson

In his first road start for LSU, TJ Finley had a tough game. Finley completed 13-of-24 passes for 143 yards with a pair of interceptions and a fumble. After showing so much poise against South Carolina last week, Aubrun’s defense made Finley look like a freshman at times.

With the game well out of reach in the second half, Ed Orgeron decided to give Finley a rest and sent Max Johnson in to lead the offense for the remainder of the game.

Johnson completed 15-of-24 attempts for 172 yards and a touchdown. It may be misguided to suggest Johnson should have started in place of Finley, because Auburn was in full control the entire game.

LSU defense can’t catch Bo Nix

Auburn quarterback Bo Nix was the easy pick for MVP of the game. Before leaving the game for an early rest in the fourth quarter, Nix had passed for 299 yards and three touchdowns. That included a 91-yard pass to a speedy Anthony Schwartz, who got by two LSU defenders who may have had a miscommunication or blown assignment on the play.

Nix completed 18-of-24 pass attempts while coming up just shy of his first 300-yard performance since passing for 335 yards against Mississippi State on Sept. 28, 2019. Nix was one yard shy of his third career 300-yard passing game. He also ended his day leading Auburn in rushing yardage. Nix rushed for 81 yards and a touchdown prior to leaving the game.

Worst loss in a generation?

You have to go back to 1996 for the last time LSU lost a game as decisively as they did on Saturday. LSU’s 37-point setback was the largest margin-of-defeat for the Tigers since losing 56-13 at Florida on Oct. 12, 1996. The big difference between now and then? Florida was the No. 1 team in the country in 1996 on their way to a national championship.

Odds are fairly good this Auburn team won’t be making a national title run this season.

What’s next?

LSU will be off next week, giving them plenty of time to regroup. Next up for the Tigers is a chance to pull a major upset of No. 2 Alabama. LSU hosts Alabama on Nov. 14. Auburn, after a bye week of their own, will visit Mississippi State on Nov. 14 as well.

Will Muschamp, South Carolina Gamecocks prepared for whichever LSU QB thrown their way Saturday

Will Muschamp believes LSU will maintain its overall identity regardless of who suits up at quarterback this weekend.

It’s still unknown which LSU quarterback will take the field in Tiger Stadium on Saturday, with redshirt junior signal-caller Myles Brennan expected to be sidelined against the visiting South Carolina Gamecocks.

But head coach Will Muschamp is ready for whatever may come his way — including if he ends up facing true freshman passer T.J. Finley or Max Johnson instead of Brennan.

Muschamp seems to be more interested in what the LSU offense is as a whole, as opposed to looking into one particular change at a single position — and it’s going to present a challenge for the South Carolina defense.

“We’ve got to continue to improve, because this group’s thrown for 400 a game,” Muschamp told reporters. “They’re throwing the ball at a very high-level against some really good players.”

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The head coach believes LSU will maintain its overall identity regardless of who suits up under center this weekend.

The supporting cast, which includes wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr., who totals 424 receiving yards and seven touchdowns over three games, will be something to keep an eye on.

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“They both have athleticism to extend plays and create things in the run game, which they somewhat do with Brennan – as best they can,” Muschamp said. “So again, they have been very successful in what they do. They’ll identify the things that are really good for those guys and what they feel comfortable with and then you’ve got to adjust in the game to what they’re doing.”

It will be interesting to see which team comes out on top when the two teams face each other on Saturday at 6 p.m. CT in Tiger Stadium.

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Will we see QB Myles Brennan in action for LSU vs. South Carolina?

When LSU QB Myles Brennan returns to the starting lineup will depend on how long his lower body injury lingers.

LSU starting quarterback Myles Brennan has been out from practice with a significant lower body injury sustained against Missouri this season, and has been focused on rehab, according to head coach Ed Orgeron in a teleconference on Wednesday.

The Tigers have two exciting true freshman signal-callers in T.J. Finley and Max Johnson, who Orgeron described as “very similar.” We could expect to see one or both of them on Saturday vs. South Carolina, with Orgeron saying that Brennan wasn’t likely to play this weekend.

Brennan’s injury is something that will continue to be monitored, and Orgeron said that he’ll be ready to put the redshirt junior back in action whenever he’s ready.

The question is as to just when that will be, though.

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According to Orgeron, that could be as early as this week, or could be longer if it’s a “lingering deal.” For now, Brennan is obviously not at 100%, and the final decision for if he’ll be able to come back as early as Saturday will be made by the end of the week.

The Tigers and Gamecocks are set to face off in Tiger Stadium at 6 p.m. CT on Saturday.

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LSU football freshman profile: QB Max Johnson

It’s not unreasonable to assume that freshman quarterback Max Johnson could see playing time at LSU this season.

It’s not unreasonable to assume that freshman quarterback Max Johnson could see playing time at LSU this season.

While Myles Brennan will be the starter, Johnson has the same pro-style attributes that could help him follow in Brennan’s footsteps. He was rated as a four-star quarterback coming out of high school, and was a monumental get for the Tigers’ 2020 recruiting class.

Johnson was one of the country’s best high school quarterbacks coming out of Oconee County High School in Georgia. He passed for a total of 5,140 yards and 47 touchdowns throughout his high school career.

The Tigers’ freshman signal-caller is the son of former Super Bowl champion Brad Johnson, and sports runs in his family.

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He was rated as the No. 30 overall quarterback in high school football, and ranked as the No. 15 pro-style quarterback by 247Sports.

Learning behind Brennan for a season or two will prepare Johnson for a potential starting role once his time comes. He joins freshman quarterback  T.J. Finley as the two likely backups to Brennan in 2020.

With the SEC likely going to a conference-only schedule, Johnson may not see a ton of playing time. But, the time that he receives will give LSU fans a small glimpse of his play style for the future.

The Tigers’ quarterback competition is Brennan’s to lose, but Johnson could give him a run during fall camp.

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Though he has the same passing style as Brennan, the freshman will have plenty of time to learn the offense while possibly sitting behind him for a period of time.

Even with his potential limited role this year, it will be interesting to see just how much of a role Johnson earns in 2020.

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