By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
Follow ON X @LonnPhillips
Wearing the #3 patches on their helmets, an emotionally charged LSU football squad stepped on the sunkissed Death Valley field just after 6pm central time with one mission: secure yet another victory for their fallen brother & absent starting safety Greg Brooks Jr.
Suffering a brain tumor & undergoing emergency surgery this past week, LSU were missing their inspirational locker room figure for the second straight SEC contest; but while the team faced obstacles on the field as their talisman takes on far more extreme and sobering challenges from a hospital bed, Brian Kelly's LSU Tigers showed the kind of fight Brooks Jr is surely proud of.
Fighting off defensive struggles from LSU's porous secondary, allowing KJ Jefferson to toss for 289 yards and 3 TDs, Jayden Daniels went toe to toe against his SEC QB counterpart and delivered his own phenomenal outing in a 34-31 rollercoaster win, throwing for his third 300 yard game out of 4 weeks (320 yards), hitting Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr for 2 TDs apiece.
Still, DBU greatly missed Brooks Jr's hammerhead presence at the back on Saturday night, Matt House's secondary seemingly letting KJ Jefferson dink and dunk his way to a 10 point lead, as well as continually answering LSU's second half scores with his own.
However, Arkansas' 11 penalties (most due to the raucous Death Valley crowd), 2 turnovers, and an inability to stop Jayden Daniels, Malik Nabers, Brian Thomas Jr and Logan Diggs turned the tables in LSU's favor.
Throughout a wild second half, Daniels and Co took over offensively, winning an epic, back and forth 34-31 shootout thanks to a game-clinching Damian Ramos field goal.
Although Daniels missed some early throws, including a few inaccurate low attempts that were nearly intercepted (1 that was) and a further pass that hurt Malik Nabers in the process, his game was elevated by two brilliant plays from Brian Thomas Jr, coming back to the football on a pair of underthrown passes before scoring.
Headlined by a crazy play where Thomas Jr undercut a DB on an errant pass, reeled the ball in, only for an Arkansas DB to knock it loose, Brian bobbled it twice, then maintained enough concentration to pull the ball back in, make a man miss after the catch and ultimately stride into the end zone to the roaring delight of Death Valley's raging 12th man.
Regardless of his solid numbers in the past, including his game vs Florida St, this is the Brian Thomas Jr we expected when Coach Ed Orgeron & Mickey Joseph recruited him out of Walker High....the receiver Nick Saban tried damn near everything to sign.
Scoring a critical touchdown right before halftime that cut Arkansas' surprise 10 point lead to 3, Daniels and Thomas gave LSU their biggest play over 2 quarters, aside from a fantastic 41 yard run from Josh Williams.
Then, #1 WR and superfreak Malik Nabers went to work, piling up 130 total receiving yards, 8 grabs and 2 TDs from 13 targets, answering his historic week 3 with a blistering performance once again.
Constantly winning one on one battles vs former Tiger teammate Dwight McGlothern, Nabers burned the All-SEC cornerback for one big play or 3rd down completion after another, culminating in his second straight game with multiple touchdowns for the first time in his LSU career.
From then on, Mike Denbrock's offense were unstoppable, gassing Arkansas through the domineering legs & barrelhouse violence of running back Logan Diggs, yet another impact transfer for LSU's 2023 squad.
Rattling off 97 yards on 14 carries as he averaged 6.9 per rush, Diggs was pasting Hogs defenders into the grass at every turn.
LSU's offensive line survived a few scares and missed assignments during a disjointed second half, in the end leading their offense to victory by providing Daniels a safe platform to deliver the football nearly all game, before wearing down the Hogs' poor performing front seven on the ground for 189 total rushing yards.
In total, the Tigers' offense eclipsed 500 yards for the third straight game;
Against all 4 opponents on the schedule, even as Daniels and Co struggled to score, set up a dynamic passing game, or run the ball vs Florida State, Mike Denbrock's offense hasn't racked up less than 459 in any game, and featured a 100 yard receiver in every contest thus far.....now making it two 100 yard receivers vs Arkansas, just the second time LSU have had multiple receivers catch over 100 yards during the same game since 2019 (Nabers and Boutte accomplished this feat vs UGA, 2022 SEC title game).
Yet for every moment of progress by Denbrock's feverish offense, trouble arrived from Matt House's defense, failing to showcase any kind of consistency after their solid outing vs Mississippi State.
Allowing KJ Jefferson to establish a rhythm early through short passes, Arkansas found themselves on the front foot for 2 quarters of the game......and every time Daniels and the offense regained a lead during that crazy second half, Jefferson and Arkansas would tie it up.....even exploiting LSU's defense on a two point conversion.
Many Tigers within our secondary were poor vs Arkansas, Burns, Harris and Alexander each allowing TDs for the 2nd time in 2023, standing 10 yards away from receivers on nearly every snap, gifting the Razorbacks easy yards early and late. Despite our coverage improving inside the red zone, Arkansas still dissected House's defense for a perfect red zone rating.
Though our coverage was ghastly for the most part, LSU's front seven sustained just enough pressure and caused the right amount of havoc to earn victory, intercepting Jefferson twice (once on the final Hail Mary play by Zy Alexander), sacking the Hogs veteran 3 times, forcing 6 tackles for loss, and delivering 3 QB hits.
Underrated linebacker Greg Penn III was not only LSU's leading tackler on the night with 12 total stops, it was his best game wearing purple and gold, batting a pass at the line, sacking KJ Jefferson, and playing like his life depended on it.
Harold Perkins sacked a QB for the second straight game, and while there are still some schematic issues in his utilization, Perk was effective and physical (5 tackles, 1 sack, 1.5 tackles for loss, 3 pressures, 2 forced fumbles).
Andre Sam missed some tackles, gave up a few big gains, however his game turning INT, pass break up, and 7 overall stops were pivotal for a DBU group in desperate need of playmaking
Freshman Whit Weeks stood out for the second consecutive game, amassing 9 tackles, 0.5 sack shared with Mekhi Wingo (set up by Weeks' furious pressure, 2 total), and 1 bruising QB hit across another stunning start for the debutant.
Also showing out, first year Tiger Dashawn Womack picked up his first sack when he pounced on Jefferson during the second half, losing his helmet long before he relentlessly used his weight and basketball arms to take down the sizable quarterback. Womack also produced a 2nd ranked 3 pressures on the night, producing once again during just 5 snaps.
Transfer arrival Bradyn Swinson may not have earned his own first sack on Saturday night, but it wasn't from a lack of trying.
Swinson was LSU's most ferocious and dedicated pass rusher on the night, clocking a team-high 4 pressures while being held on most plays, issuing 2 QB hits, 1 batted pass at the line, the team's #1 defensive & pass rushing grade, and 0.5 tackle for loss.
Another DL transfer, defensive tackle Jordan Jefferson made an indelible dent, penetrating the backfield on a few occasions, recording 0.5 tackle for loss but generating a stronger push than either Maason Smith or Mekhi Wingo on occasion due to their double teams (Wingo still produced 3 pressures, 0.5 sack and Smith played 50 snaps & 2 pressures).
In the end, LSU's final 5 minute drive secured victory, riding Logan Diggs' economical eruptions, Daniels led the Tigers inside the red zone, controlling the clock, and setting up kicker Damian Ramos' game-winning triple via a beautifully controlled sequence.
I'm sensing a theme here.....
LSU now improve to 3-1 on the season, sealing the Tigers' 3rd win of 2023 for #3.....by a margin of 3 points....Jayden Daniels' 3rd 300 yard game....LSU sacked Jefferson 3 times....3 QB hits....
All about 3.
By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
Follow ON X @LonnPhillips
©️ 2023 Uninterrupted Writings Inc, a subsidiary of Uninterrupted Media LLC
Comments