LSU Tigers

The LSU Tigers Showed A Glaring Weakness Against Southern Miss

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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With a very difficult conference slate coming up, many came into Saturday’s game against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles basically expecting the game to be nothing more than a formality as they looked ahead to Ole Miss. Going into the halftime break tied at 10, that certainly did not appear to be the case. LSU was struggling, and the collective fanbase held its breathe.

But in the second half the Tigers came out on a mission and absolutely dismantled the Golden Eagles, outscoring them 35-0 and winning by a final margin of 45-10. What once looked like a potential devastating upset ended in a convincing win.

In the second half, we saw a defense that played with an incredible chip on its shoulder. They forced a turnover and overwhelmed Southern Miss for two full quarters. The offense was as explosive as we’ve seen it to this point. Derrius Guice dominated on the ground and picked up two touchdowns, and Danny Etling looked very comfortable slinging the ball all over the field.

All around, it was a good night. The Tigers shook off their poor start and came back to dominate, and for the first time all year we a saw a passing game that had rhythm for extended lengths of time and was able to move the ball productively. We were reassured that this defense can be as dominant as we thought they were, and were convinced that this team can dominate even without Leonard Fournette.

But, the LSU Tigers did show one big weakness against Southern Miss, and it’s one that could greatly impact them down the stretch.

Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

I’ve already mentioned the team’s early game struggles against the Golden Eagles, and while I’m not very concerned that they got off to a slow start, I am concerned about the way Southern Miss played this Tiger defense early on the first half.

If you watched the game, you probably already know what I’m talking about. USM received the opening kickoff, and then proceeded to go on a 75-yard, eight minute touchdown drive that left LSU fans speechless. The Golden Eagles lined up against the Tigers and handed the ball off over-and-over again and were able to pick up yards each and every time. When they weren’t gashing the defense on the ground, quarterback Nick Mullens was moving the ball on short or medium length passes. They did pretty much anything they wanted, and took their time in the process.

Southern Miss had a couple of other drives throughout the first half that looked similar, but came up short of a touchdown. The Tigers did a nice job as a whole of limiting points at the end of drives, but the ease and method with which they moved the ball against LSU in that first half is very concerning.

With the team playing Ole Miss, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, and Texas A&M in consecutive weeks, they cannot afford to have a repeat of the defensive effort in that first half. If Southern Miss can go on near-10 minute drives against LSU, how can you expect the teams I just named to not do the same?

This Tigers defense is one of the best in the country. Their really isn’t any question about that. But they showed Saturday that in stretches when the momentum is not in their favor, they are susceptible to giving up long, back-breaking drives. If they want to win some of these games down the stretch, that cannot be something that happens often.

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