LSU Tigers defense collapsed against USC in Week 1 showing same exact issues as last season
The LSU Tigers have been known for their tough defense for decades now, but struggled immensely to stop anyone in 2023. So, head coach Brian Kelly brought in a new defensive coordinator in Blake Baker, added a little help in the Transfer Portal, and hoped that things would get fixed for 2024.Unfortunately, through one game […]
The LSU Tigers have been known for their tough defense for decades now, but struggled immensely to stop anyone in 2023. So, head coach Brian Kelly brought in a new defensive coordinator in Blake Baker, added a little help in the Transfer Portal, and hoped that things would get fixed for 2024.
Unfortunately, through one game against the USC Trojans it looks like LSU's defense is already showing some of the same exact issues it had last year.
LSU Defense Collapses against USC
LSU finished 2023 ranked outside of the top 100 defenses in yards per pass attempt allowed and total passing yards allowed. They couldn't bring enough pass rush pressure, so they finished well outside the top 40 in sacks per game, and they continually used their best defensive player Harold Perkins in predictable (and seemingly incorrect) deployments. It looks like they're on pace for all of those things to be a huge problem yet again.
However, to start the game LSU actually looked rather competent on defense. Ashton Stamps made a couple good plays in pass coverage. Major Burns was causing some difficult reads with his pre-snap alignments and aggression. Sai'vion Jones grabbed a sack. And all in all, LSU only allowed 10 points (two scores) and 219 total yards through their first five drives. But then the wheels fell off.
Throughout their final five drives LSU committed several penalties, allowed over 250 total yards, and gave up 17 more points. They allowed over a half yard more per play than on their first five drives. There was seriously a near 10% shift in yards per play allowed, and over a 50% shift in points per play allowed down the stretch. Horrific crash and burn.
But why? Bud Elliott of CBS Sports (among many others) pointed to LSU's lack of portal additions and depth at critical spots on the defense.
Allowing 10.2 yards per pass attempt puts LSU on pace for another bottom 10-20 defensive rank in the nation. 10 penalties on the game is just simply completely unsustainable. The team only managed six total pass rush pressures on 63 snaps. The defense just completely melted down. And it really might have had something to do with their lack of depth and elite contributions from the majority of the defense.
Yes, Brian Kelly added Jardin Gilbert from Texas A&M and Gio Paez from Wisconsin as key contributors this off-season. But outside of those two, the team did not bring in many impact players to help improve their horrifically bad defense from 2023. Despite losing nearly their entire defensive front to the NFL Draft, LSU just leaned more into high school recruiting, hoping their depth up front would be good enough. It wasn't.
The team tallied just two sacks on the game against USC and they were both by the same player (Sai'vion Jones). There was very little pressure on Miller Moss, especially in the second half, and frankly the defensive front just looked gassed at times.
Unless LSU begins to see much more consistent pass rush pressure help from a wider variety of players their defense is going to remain a complete nightmare in the worst way at every level.
Harold Perkins put on a nice show again racking up about eight total tackles on the night, but he can't carry the entire defense. Brian Kelly and his defense need to find some answers. And they need to find them fast.
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