Tag: TJ Finley

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?

Stock up, stock down: Which LSU players impressed, struggled in loss to Auburn

Any chance the LSU Tigers had of turning around their season ended in Saturday’s 48-11 loss at Auburn.

Any chance the LSU Tigers had of turning around their season ended in Saturday’s 48-11 loss at Auburn.

The defending national champions dropped to 2-3 on the season and are off next week before a date with Alabama on Nov. 7.

In the loss, LSU struggled on both sides of the ball. Freshman quarterback TJ Finley had a tough day, completing 13-of-24 passes for 143 and two interceptions.

Finley was terrific in his debut in last week’s win over South Carolina, but he was constantly under pressure in the loss to Auburn. Fellow freshman quarterback Max Johnson entered the game in the second half.

The defense had its share of issues, too, allowing over 500 yards of total offense.

After such a disappointing day, whose stock is high and low for the LSU Tigers?

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

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

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.

Three reasons why LSU will beat Auburn

One of the highlights of Auburn’s revised 2020 schedule was that the annual matchup with LSU would not be played on Halloween.

One of the highlights of Auburn’s revised 2020 schedule was that the annual matchup with LSU would now be played on Halloween.

This matchup can always be counted on to produce a wacky game, where anything from an earthquake to a building burning down have been known to happen.

When the two teams face off Saturday in Jordan-Hare Stadium it will be the first time neither team is ranked since 1999.

Here is how the Bayou Bengals can come out on top Saturday and emerge as the top Tigers in the SEC West.

Stock up, stock down: Which LSU players impressed, struggled in win over South Carolina

Here’s a look at the stock report on LSU after its 52-24 win over South Carolina on Saturday.

The LSU Tigers defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks 52-24 on Saturday in Baton Rouge to improve to 2-2.

It was a nice bounceback performance after a disappointing defeat at Missouri two weeks ago.

Offensively, the Tigers continue to roll. LSU amassed 541 total offensive yards, including an impressive 276 on the ground. The Tigers’ running game has been inconsistent this season, so Saturday’s performance was a welcome sight for offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger.

Defensively, Bo Pelini’s unit has struggled in two of LSU’s three games before South Carolina. While the defense wasn’t perfect in the win over the Gamecocks, it appears the week off helped the previously struggling unit.

With quarterback Myles Brennan out with an injury, this was a big win for the Tigers. The win allows the Tigers to stay in the SEC race, even with two losses.

Here’s a look at the stock report on LSU after its 52-24 win over South Carolina on Saturday.

 

LSU’s pass offense vs. Auburn’s pass defense takes center stage

Auburn has had a wildly up-and-down season so far, but one of its strengths has been its ability to defend against the pass.

One of the big matchups to watch when LSU faces Auburn this weekend will be LSU’s resurgent passing offense going head-to-head with one of the SEC’s top passing defenses.

Auburn has had a wildly up-and-down season so far, but one of its strengths has been its ability to defend against the pass.

Auburn ranks second in the SEC against the pass, allowing just 220.4 passing yards per game. Auburn’s worst performance against a passing offense came earlier this month in a controversial win against Arkansas. Razorbacks quarterback Feleipe Franks was excellent in the game, going 22-of-30 for 318 yards and four touchdowns without an interception.

Gus Malzahn and Auburn hope to reverse recent trends against LSU

Auburn is coming off a game in which they held Ole Miss to a season-low 161 passing yards.

The Rebels have been averaging over 300 yards per game and Lane Kiffin’s offensive system, with quarterback Matt Coral at the helm, passing for 379 yards against Alabama just two weeks ago.

Auburn’s secondary limited Elijah Moore to just 16 yards on five catches, showing the ability to take away a team’s top receiver. LSU just so happens to have the conference’s leading wide receiver with Terrace Marshall Jr. (128.0 yards per game, 9 touchdowns). Moore of Ole Miss is the SEC’s second-leading receiver (118.2 yards per game) in large part because of how Auburn handled him.

LSU enters the key SEC West showdown owning the conference’s third-best passing offense, with Myles Brennan starting the season with 1,112 passing yards and 11 touchdowns prior to his injury.

Brennan, who averaged 370.7 yards per game, is questionable for this weekend according to head coach Ed Orgeron earlier this week. TJ Finley impressed in his debut as LSU’s starter last weekend against South Carolina and will be preparing for his first road start in the SEC.

Finley certainly caught the attention of Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn.

“I was very impressed with the young guy,” Malzahn said in his weekly press conference earlier this week. “They ran the football, and he made some good throws in tight coverage. The big thing is that they were able to run the football successfully with Finley at quarterback.”

LSU could see another TJ Finley start vs. Auburn, Myles Brennan ‘feeling better’

Although Finley looked poised and calm leading the LSU offense against South Carolina, starting on the road in the SEC in his second start should be a much different situation. This is especially tougher considering the ability Auburn’s pass defense has. Malzahn hopes his program can bring pressure up front.

“We’ve got to continue to build upon that and make quarterbacks uncomfortable,” Malzahn said when asked about whether or not Auburn will improve its pass rush. “That’s going to be a big factor for the second part of the season to help our defensive backs out.”

Auburn has just eight sacks this season (LSU has an SEC-leading 14). LSU has allowed nine sacks this season, putting them right in the middle of the SEC.

LSU faces Auburn on Saturday, Nov. 1 at 2:30 p.m. on CBS.

LSU could see another TJ Finley start vs. Auburn, Myles Brennan ‘feeling better’

Orgeron said he’s taking it day-by-day with starting quarterback Myles Brennan.

LSU starting quarterback Myles Brennan returned to practice Monday, but he’s still not sure to start as he continues recovering from a significant lower body injury — meaning we could see true freshman quarterback TJ Finley assume the helm once more on Saturday.

Orgeron said he’s taking it day-by-day in a Tuesday interview with WNXX-FM, 104.5.

“He didn’t do much yesterday,” he said. “He’s feeling better, but I don’t know if he’s going to be ready to go.”

Orgeron said that Brennan would practice at “about 25%” on Monday.

“I don’t know yet if he’s going to play,” he said earlier in the week. “He may play. It all depends on how practice goes this week… see what he can do, feel it. He’s probably going to be sore.”

Later in the week, Orgeron gave a more direct answer, making it seem highly unlikely the Brennan will see action.

“I don’t believe he’s going to play,” Orgeron said on Wednesday

Finley drew no shortage of praise in his debut as a starting LSU quarterback last weekend,  completing 17-of-21 passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns.

There’s still no quarterback controversy in Baton Rouge, though, which the head coach has reiterated several times.

“If Myles is healthy, he’s our first-team quarterback,” Orgeron said. “But I’m not putting him in unless he’s 100%.”

It will be interesting to see who takes the field when LSU and Auburn face each other at 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Which bowl game does ESPN project LSU to appear in?

Two weeks ago, LSU’s postseason destination was in question after a shocking 45-41 loss to Missouri. 

Two weeks ago, LSU’s postseason destination was in question after a shocking 45-41 loss to Missouri.

The defending national champions got back on track this past weekend with a decisive 52-24 win over the South Carolina Gamecocks.

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and Kyle Bonagura released their latest bowl projections and have the Tigers heading to the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla.

This week, both Bonagura and Schlabach agree with LSU’s destination — and opponent. Their projections have LSU facing Indiana of the Big Ten.

[lawrence-related id=12172]

The Hoosiers pulled a major upset in their return to play last week, defeating then-No. 8 Penn State.

Just last week, Bonagura had LSU in the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl facing the Houston Cougars, while Schlabach had LSU in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl against the Florida State Seminoles.

LSU is now 2-2 on the season and faces the Auburn Tigers in a pivotal SEC matchup on the road Saturday.

[vertical-gallery id=12001]

LSU QB Myles Brennan practices Monday, questionable for Auburn

LSU quarterback Myles Brennan returned to practice today, but is questionable for Saturday’s matchup against Auburn.

LSU quarterback Myles Brennan returned to practice Monday after missing Saturday’s game against South Carolina with a significant injury to his lower body.

Ed Orgeron is taking it day-by-day and hasn’t made a decision on who will start at quarterback against Auburn this weekend after true freshman signal-caller TJ Finley’s standout performance.

The head coach added that he won’t put Brennan out on the field until he’s absolutely ready to go.

“If Myles is healthy, he’s our first-team quarterback, but I’m not putting him in unless he’s 100 percent,” Orgeron said.

[lawrence-related id=12168]

Finley looked composed in the pocket against the Gamecocks, completing 17-of-21 passes for 265 yards, responsible for three of the team’s touchdowns.

“TJ did a tremendous job of delivering the football on time,” Orgeron said. “I told y’all he has a cannon for an arm. I was so pleased with TJ’s poise. He looked like a veteran out there. I think that’s what made the difference in the football game.”

 It will be interesting to see who’s ultimately taking the snaps against Auburn on Saturday, but it’s clear that Orgeron has complete confidence in whoever that may be within his quarterbacks room.

[vertical-gallery id=12001]