Monday morning examination: LSU improves to 3-0
Saturday night’s home opener saw improvement across the board for the LSU Tigers. The defense improved. Special teams continued to be one of the strongest units on the team. And yes, the offense improved. All this improvement led to LSU’s 29-7 victory over the Mississippi State Bulldogs and a 3-0 start to the season.
Throughout the night the Tigers defense made play after play, creating five turnovers and harassing Mississippi State’s quarterbacks all night long. The only flaw in an otherwise dominating performance was the first drive of the second half. LSU’s defense knocked out starter Chris Relf midway through the drive and the Bulldogs inserted freshman Tyler Russell. Russell came in and threw the ball effectively, finishing out the drive with a touchdown and bringing Mississippi State as close as they would get all night.
The defense made an adjustment and proved to be too quick and too disruptive for Mississippi State to get anything going. Defensive coordinator John Chavis dialed up blitzes on every down it seemed, whether it was a run or pass. Chavis’ personnel suit this style of play to a T, especially on passing downs when he can bring his nickel and dime packages on the field. When you can replace a down lineman, usually Levingston, and a linebacker, Francois, with Ron Brooks and freshman sensation Tyrann Mathieu, it incorporates speed and physicality on the edges. Mathieu has been the star of the freshman class and continues to have a nose for the football. Through his first three games he has created turnovers, broken up passes, and been a tackling machine on special teams. He reminds me of Patrick Peterson, Chad Jones and Laron Landry all sprinkled into one. Yea, he’s that good through three games.
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