LSU at Auburn Official Game Thread

Discussion in 'The Tiger's Den' started by northernvatiger, Oct 1, 2022.

  1. kcal

    kcal Founding Member

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    https://theathletic.com/3648581/2022/10/02/lsu-win-auburn-greg-brooks-brian-kelly/

    excerpts from a good article by Brodie Miller at the athletic:

    AUBURN, Ala. — They’d run it so many times that everybody knew what was about to happen. Matt House knew it. Brian Kelly knew it. And of course Greg Brooks Jr. knew it. Auburn had run that short passing concept over and over from that same bunch formation, and each time, Brooks came closer and closer to snagging it out of the air.

    So House, the defensive coordinator, called it on the headset. Auburn was driving in LSU territory with two and a half minutes to go in a chaotic Saturday night of turnovers and back-and-forth football, and eventually one of these teams had to go win it.

    “He’s gonna steal this one,” Kelly, the head coach, recalled House saying after LSU’s 21-17 win. “He’s gonna steal it.”

    LSU had switched from playing more conservative Quarters coverage against that formation in the first half to playing a more aggressive Robber as the game went on. Brooks, the safety, would move into the box and try to jump the passing lane.

    Brooks knew it was coming, so he told cornerback Colby Richardson to help him out over the top. He was going for it. He sprinted full speed toward Auburn receiver Koy Moore, and Moore actually caught the pass. Except for the sprinting Brooks grabbing the ball, dropping down to a powerful crouch and ripping it out of Moore’s hands for the game-sealing interception.


    “There’s a saying in golf: There’s no pictures on the scorecard,” Kelly said. “There’s just what you score. And tonight, there’s no pictures on the scoreboard for us. We just found a way to win this game.”

    Early, even the supposedly stellar LSU defense looked flawed. It allowed Ashford to break contain and scramble, and in turn LSU played out of its responsibilities with defensive backs breaking in to chase him and leaving wide-open receivers downfield. Ashford, Auburn’s backup quarterback, had 247 yards on 12-for-20 passing by halftime.

    Kelly said LSU cleared up its communication in the second half. Kelly also credited LSU’s linebacker play — that of Perkins, Micah Baskerville and Greg Penn — getting more active and pushing Auburn beyond the chains. “Once we did that, we forced them to do some things in the passing game they just don’t want to do,” Kelly said. Auburn never scored again.

    It was a night on which LSU couldn’t pass the ball well, finishing 10-for-26 for just 85 yards, making it the first SEC team to win a conference road game with under 100 passing yards since … LSU in 2017. Daniels had time in the pocket and simply couldn’t find an opening. Kelly said the staff didn’t properly prepare him for the double zone Auburn showed.

    At halftime, the LSU offensive line pulled the rest of the offense together and said, “Hey, we’re gonna run the ball. We’ve gotta get push off the ball. That’s what we’re gonna do,” running back Josh Williams said. LSU pounded the ball to Williams (17 carries, 68 yards), Emery and Noah Cain in a way that wasn’t always pretty but converted in big moments.

    On the winning drive, LSU used Daniels in a new way. LSU always lets Daniels run, but rarely on designed calls. He’s more of a scrambler. But three times in four plays, it had Daniels take off running into the heart of the Auburn defense. That set up the touchdown by Emery to take the lead. The offensive line built on two true freshmen and a sophomore proved the tougher unit when it came to crunch time.

    “We’ve been able to exert our will in the second half on most teams this year,” Kelly said. “Again, I’ll go back to what I’ve felt, that the conditioning of our football team has been better than our opponents.”

    LSU remains an imperfect team with major offensive flaws, discipline issues and special teams problems that come up each week. It’s simply not a team that can go out and convincingly win SEC road games from start to finish, at least not yet.

    But through five games — including the late near-comeback in the loss to Florida State — it’s proven it can show up when it matters. It can figure things out when it’s not smooth. And it’s proven its star players can make winning plays few others can.

    That might sound obvious, but it’s a major step.
     
    KyleK and GiantDuckFan like this.
  2. Hou-duco

    Hou-duco Founding Member

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    We had 85 passing total yards for the game. That would be a terrible half for most teams in college or pro football. We would be far better off with Brennan. He was better at reading defenses and could throw into tight windows. He was having a great year in 2020 before that freak injury. And though our offensive line is far from great, it is no worse than what we had in 2020.
     
  3. Hou-duco

    Hou-duco Founding Member

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    Though the 1st half defensive performance was poor, you have to pleased with the 2nd half performance.
    1st half - 36 yrds rushing - 247 yrds passing - 283 yrds total
    2nd half - 65 yrds rushing - 90 yrds passing - 155 yrds total
    Matt House and the defensive staff seem to exceed at making 2nd half adjustments.
     
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  4. Kikicaca

    Kikicaca Meaux

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    Brennan would be in a wheelchair after the 3rd game.
     
  5. Kikicaca

    Kikicaca Meaux

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    You are right we are an average SEC team, right now. We are an average SEC that has a whole new coaching staff, a new QB and many many new young players. We are an average SEC team that is getting better. We are an average SEC team that could possible beat most any SEC team except Bama and Georgia and with the right breaks could upset them. I am liking this coach and his staff more and more each game. We need two more recruiting classes to be where we should.
     
  6. CagedTiger

    CagedTiger Freshman

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    The reality of the situation at QB is we don't a true SEC-caliber QB, but Daniels offers us the best shot because we have an extremely young OL and he can run if he has too. Nuss, for some reason, feels he has to make a play every time he touches the ball and that's a recipe for disaster. Howard appears to be the answer, but throwing him to the wolves as a true freshman this season would do more damage than good. We'll win more games, but it probably won't be that pretty to watch.
     
  7. CagedTiger

    CagedTiger Freshman

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    I agree. With a few breaks, we could possibly have a much better season than most of us expect. Not having to play against Bryce Young wouldn't be a bad start!
     
  8. BornOnTheBayou

    BornOnTheBayou 2022 Masters Pick 'Em Champion

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    Anyone expecting CBK & his staff to turn around the mess he inherited in his first year can't spell football, much less know anything about the game. Pre season I told my brother I would be satisfied with a 6 - 6 season. Right now I think we can reach 7, perhaps 8 wins. Icongeauxtigers.png
     
  9. Kikicaca

    Kikicaca Meaux

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    We are simply not there yet. We could be 5-0 with a few breaks. I don't think JD is the answer but Its all we got and in spite of his short comings the coaches are using his skills as best they can. We are 2-0 in the SEC. This is LSU we won't be down long.
     
  10. Kikicaca

    Kikicaca Meaux

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    About what I am thinking. We could upset the hillbillies next weekend and I think we will. I am excited about next year. I think we are going to get at least 1 maybe 2 big time transfers that will put us on the level of an Ole Miss and Kentucky winning maybe 10 games.
     

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