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By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
Sitting just feet in front of a fiery Head Coach Brian Kelly after yet another close opening week loss on a grand, microscopic stage, Kelly pounded the table in a fury, each slam exposing a ripped jugular vein thick with exhaustion upon the LSU Head Coach's face....this was not how it was supposed to go down....
"I can't believe we're sitting here again!" Kelly punctuated the word "again" with a pounding fist on the table, shaking the sponsorship water bottle in front of him to its core, rattling as if sent sprawling from a hurricane force wind...."talking about the same things!" He continued with frustration, staring from one media member to the next, including a stare right into the soul of this author, who remained unflinching in the historic moment, watching Kelly intently in primitive amazement and approval of his anger....."about not finishing when you have an opponent in a position to put em away, but what we're doing on the sideline is feeling like the game is over....and I'm so angry about it!" Kelly crossed his arms, looking almost uncomfortable showing his anger outwardly, "and I gotta do something about it, I'm not doing a good enough job as a coach and I gotta coach em better....because it's unacceptable for us not to have found a way to win this football game, it's ridiculous...."
In fact, he is right.
It is ridiculous.
For a 5th straight season, LSU just lost another opener....and it's getting beyond ridiculous at this point, it has become an annual event.
An offseason of new beginnings, a roster stacked with elite talents every program is chasing, assembling highly paid resumé winners on staff, a spring and fall camp full of media hype devolving into fan exaggeration, overhype, and an intense, emotional obsession for the team that will never die......those elements constantly combine alongside a propped up core of lackadaisical veterans who've presided over 3 of the last 5 opening losses, a Head Coach who admittedly can't get his team ready for Week 1 each year, and a logistical travel nightmare for support staff, team, families, and of course the fans to trek across country at these mega money-neutral site-faceoff-bloodbaths inside cavernous enormadomes paid for by taxpayers and the blood of the swine....
Yes, it is all too ridiculous....a night of pure fear and loathing in Las Vegas, where LSU's offense showcased reptilian fear, the team displayed a loathing to be there, and all in all, an open wound savagery at the heart of LSU's fanbase has been torn free....blood on the tracks.....blood in the streets in the town of Las Vegas, blood on the floor of Allegiant Stadium....
In this Wild West "no rules" land of Old Testament blood and bone, ridiculousness is a law unto itself.
It was a night of surreal ridiculousness....where LSU had a nervy, see saw game on a knife's edge taken from them in the final seconds by a supposedly weaker, softer opponent, losing 27-20 to USC after letting a 17-13 lead and dominant 3rd quarter slip in the final stages.
Lincoln Riley's USC, who outcoached LSU's staff, with defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn deserving massive credit for the win, outplayed LSU in the clutch moments of the game in all three phases, QB Miller Moss tossing 378 yards, 0 interceptions or fumbles, and a key control-taking touchdown; USC also enjoyed a few momentum swinging returns on special teams, a brilliant one handed catch by Kyron Hudson that juiced their sideline & crowd (also rattling Corey Raymond's secondary), plus Lynn's defense tackled well, broke plays up, and forced LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier and Joe Sloan's offense out of rhythm with constant run stuffing on key plays at critical moments.
Lynn's defense also held LSU to 5-13 on 3rd down, as the Tigers also shot themselves in the foot via 10 penalties for 99 yards....giving up an entire field in penalty yardage, which would end up equaling the 7 points LSU needed to send the game into overtime.....losing the game right there in pure penalty yardage.
Quite simply, LSU made big plays.....but not when they needed them most, only scoring a single touchdown and field goal in each half while proving unable to rattle off game turning plays or truly control the line of scrimmage....LSU's O-line failing to dominate the "fist fight" All-American left tackle Will Campbell forecasted.
In contrast, USC always found an answer, usually through a smooth operating throw by Miller Moss to one of his 6 receivers with 45+ yards, Kyron Hudson leading the way.
Torching safety Jardin Gilbert, star Major Burns, linebacker Greg Penn III, and cornerback Sage Ryan for big gains downfield, with missed tackles from all the above, as well as Harold Perkins surprisingly, these passing game errors led directly to the defeat, as well.
Running the ball without any success at all, in fact just 7 yards total deep into the 3rd quarter, USC's offense still gashed Blake Baker's defense....just through the air for the majority of proceedings & on the ground when it counted most.
This was a much improved LSU defense, that is for certain, especially the front seven (led by Saivion Jones' star-turn 2 sacks, 2 TFLs, 1 PBU & 1 FF), yet any progress was countered by poor offensive play wasting possessions or coverage busts within their secondary.
Collecting 7 TFLs, 2 sacks, forcing 2 fumbles (0 recovered) and 3 batted passes from Bo Davis & Kevin Peoples' D-linemen & edge men, things were far better defensively than 2023 for LSU, but the way the Tigers wasted drives on offense put Baker's group in uncomfortable situations....losing grip on assignments and allowing major gains to turn into points.
As we said during our pregame buildup, LSU need 30 points to win this game....and we thought that wouldn't be as difficult as it appeared tonight.
Nussmeier misread a few RPO situations and succumbed to intense pressure on a few big red zone moments, LSU's offense leaving 18 total points on the field through three different wasted red zone trips.
Nussmeier started the game on fire, completing his first 6 passes (304 Yards, 29/38, 2 TDs, 1 INT), led the team on a 7 minute drive orchestrated with precision, WR Kyren Lacy opening the game catching 4 straight passes for 41 yards before he elevated to 94 yards, 7 catches & 1 TD in the first half alone.
Unthinkably, as LSU tried to control the line of scrimmage by running the football ad nauseum, Lacy was only targeted twice in the entire second half, 0 catches and 0 yards, just 1 target throughout the 4th quarter.
During the 2nd half, running back John Emery Jr started on a tear, punching in 68 total yards throughout the 3rd quarter alone (58 of his 61 total rushing haul & 1 catch for another 10 yard sprawl). Then, right as USC couldn't deal with Emery's pace or agility, he was replaced for Josh Williams, and after a quick no gain stuff, the tantalizing drive was over.
Yes, the signs concerning Lacy or Emery are very promising, however the lack of awareness from LSU's staff in failing to feed the hot hands......it boggles the mind, often killing momentum, stalling drive after drive, wasting opportunities to cash in points.
And that's why Brian Kelly had to show anger at the post game press conference....
....LSU didn't just lose to a USC team that might actually be better than this Tigers squad (something very few LSU fans would acknowledge or could even fathom before this game, including myself), Kelly's Tigers actually choked it away, opened the door for the home invaders, literally handing Alec Baldwin a loaded pistol with their lives in his hands, basically letting Jeffrey Dahmer come over for dinner....after their first momentum swinging lead at 17-13, LSU felt like they'd already won the game, took the foot off the gas, and the second they did, USC punched 'em in the face, hijacked the car at the red light, and tossed LSU into the street like a sack of underfed potatoes.
It didn't have to come to this....
As I watched the game tick down slowly, agonizingly to its final conclusion, the score separated by a mere 3 points, I could feel the anxiety emanating off LSU media veterans around me who'd seen this script play out far too many times before....
.....one of the more dedicated Tiger reporters of longtime status, was visibly biting his nails, looked physically uneasy, unable to even watch LSU's disjointed, ghostly performance....and I could sense that same jittery, "let's just coast to a 20-13 win" kind of vibe during that 2nd half....almost an LSU on autopilot, trying to ghost USC out of a game...psyching their own fans out of competitive intensity......instead, opting for dull, wasted plays, delayed RPO shotgun draws up the gut for zero or minute gains (behind an offensive line that performed well below their standards), electing to receive after winning the opening coin toss, failing to feed Kyren Lacy following a near 100 yard first half...10 penalties, allowing over 14 yards per completion, missing tackles in space, starting veterans getting beaten on intermediary routes over the middle or over the top......we've seen this script before, although some elements & factors were all new and deadly specific to this 2024 Vegas kickoff between LSU and USC.....
LSU lost another gut wrencher among a tough environment of ravenous desert heat, intensive fan derangement or opulent obsession reaching toxic levels of investment, ESPN, ABC and every major reporting outlet in America in attendance or watching every moment on bated breath, hanging on every error or drama for their own post-mortem reaction video sadism, and yet, with all these knives out & bloodthirsty desperadoes of Tiger demise, LSU still had chances to win this game, but showed little interest in seizing control, carrying body language that gave off zero swagger or identity......LSU looked like a team that were less hungry for victory & more afraid of losing.....true fear and loathing.
It's night now, the lonely desert wind whispers bloody kisses across the aimless town, left to bask in wonder or dismay....perhaps wondrous dismay at the fact LSU are now starting their 5th straight season with outrageous fan & media criticism on the backs of every player and staff member, under a melting microscope of scrutiny, facing a gauntlet of a schedule ahead knowing this was a game LSU theoretically could not afford to lose if they were to meet their College Football Playoff ambitions, and yet.....here we are.....staring down the barrel of a beastly 2024 campaign schedule....already blemished on record, however, if not figured out quick, the psychological affects of this defeat may reverberate longer than one game.
By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
©️ 2024 Uninterrupted Writings Inc
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