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By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
Behind another unforgettable outing by Blake Baker's defensive unit, led by the ridiculous playmaking of Whit Weeks, 101 yards & 3 TDs on the ground from freshman Caden Durham, and the surgically accurate kicking of Damian Ramos, Brian Kelly's top 10 Tigers went into Fayetteville, Arkansas, a scene of some incredibly tough past outings, and skulldragged the Razorbacks for 60 dominate minutes.
LSU grabbed an early lead thanks to a slaloming, agile run by Caden Durham, breaking through the Hogs' secondary, making multiple defenders miss as he dove for the pylon with authority, punching in the first touchdown of the night on the game's opening drive and setting an emphatic tone.
Though LSU's offense produced 7 terrible first half penalties, 6 on the offensive line alone (9 in the end), they were of little consequence as Blake Baker's defense became ravenous, stoic, and plugging everything that came their way, holding Taylen Green's Hogs offense to 277 total yards and just 38 on the ground.
Whit Weeks continues to show the college football world that he is a definitve frontrunner for the Butkus Award, racking up 9 more tackles (leading the way once again on the stat sheet), adding another sack on the year, another pass breakup in coverage, but his greatest contribution was the play that ended the game as a contest:
Barreling down on QB Taylen Green inside his own 5 yard line, Weeks raised up high to bat Green's intended pass up into the air before tracking its downward flight and pulling it in for the interception at the 2 yard line, a truly special play straight out of the Honey Badger playbook.
LSU would score on the next play, another touchdown by Durham, taking a 24-10 lead and completely draining the crowd atmosphere out of the stadium and breaking the will of Sam Pittman's Razorbacks.
Weeks was far from alone in this savage, dominating defensive display:
The Tigers forced three turnovers, the Weeks interception, plus two forced fumbles by Greg Penn III as well as Javien Toviano, assisted by recoveries from Major Burns and freshman Davhon Keys, who stepped in for the injured Penn and delivered a strong performance (4 tackles, 0.5 Sack, 0.5 TFL, 1 PBU, 1 fumble recovery).
Adding 3 sacks and 5 TFLs (Paris Shand & Jay'viar Suggs making great plays through the interior with 1.5 sacks between the pairing), running 21 more plays on offense than Arkansas, rushing for a solid, tempo-setting 158 total yards at 4.3 per rush, LSU played complimentary football and closed the doors early on the Razorbacks, first with a great scoring start, followed by authoritative defense, and never lost control from there.
In what was his best game of the year, safety Sage Ryan broke up a pass intended for the end zone (1 of 2 PBUs on the night), getting a few fingers to the ball, smashing players with vicious hits & strong tackling before knocking Arkansas' best producing threat Jaquindon Jackson out of the game.
This was a brutal, hell bent for leather showing by LSU.....refusing to fall into any sort of preconceived upset trap, unwilling to lose track of the success they've carved out over the past few weeks, growing each game with confidence....and despite some underpar offensive play, or a few question marks still here or there, overall, this is a team that is not only deserving of their top 10 spot, they belong....
Within a wild, turbulent SEC full of 1 loss and 2 loss squads all packed together, showing incredible strengths followed by disastrous weaknesses the next Saturday, LSU fans will take the consistency, the graceful brutality from their defense yet again, an improved running game, and a calm, assured orchestrated offensive attack by QB Garrett Nussmeier (his first start as a without a touchdown pass...and it didn't matter).
The injury to linebacker Greg Penn III is a significant worry, however, the scintillating plays made by Davhon Keys should satisfy any concerns for the time being.
Overall.....viewers must be impressed by LSU's violent calculation on defense & the assured, measured brilliance of freshman running back Caden Durham, a breakout game by CJ Daniels (86 yards and 7 catches), a couple key 1st down pickups by Aaron Anderson & Kyren Lacy.....LSU simply never allowed Arkansas any control in this game.....and if you're a Tiger fan, watching this team figure it out week to week, you have to feel confident heading into a date with top 15 A&M next weekend.
The best teams can beat you multiple ways.....the best teams are always the hardest to play against........I don't know a single college football team who want to line up against these 2024 LSU Tigers....
POSTGAME SHOW TOMORROW ON SUNDAY!!! STAY TUNED!!!
By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
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