ESPN's College GameDay goes to the biggest college football game every week, and they were in Columbia, South Carolina this past week for a showdown between the LSU football team and South Carolina. There were some people wondering if there was maybe a better matchup for College GameDay to be at, but this SEC clash between the Gamecocks and the Tigers fully lived up to the hype and then some. It was a tremendous game.
Before we get into this game, it's important to discuss what the LSU football team has already endured during this short season. The season has only been going on for a few weeks, but the Tigers have already experienced a rollercoaster ride of emotions. The preseason expectations for this team have especially amplified the intensity for the first few weeks of the season.
LSU has very high expectations for this season, which is Brian Kelly's third year with the program. Year one of the Brian Kelly era went surprisingly well as the Tigers ended up beating Alabama and they also made it all the way to the SEC title game. They were handily beaten by Georgia in that game, but making it that far was still something to celebrate.
After the success that LSU football found in that first season, the expectations for their 2023 season went through the roof. The Tigers were expected to be one of the best teams in the SEC and their goals were to win an SEC title and make the College Football Playoff. Those expectations seemed realistic, but they didn't meet them. Quarterback Jayden Daniels had a great year and won the Heisman, but there wasn't really much else to celebrate besides that.
Last season was still a solid one, but LSU football fans were expecting more than 9-3 when the season started. The Tigers were embarrassed in their season opener against Florida State, and they also lost to Alabama and Ole Miss. The good news for the Tigers is that they know exactly what they need to fix if they want to compete for championships this year: their defense.
LSU had one of the best offenses in college football last year as the best player in the country, Jayden Daniels, led the way. However, their defense couldn't stop anything and they gave up 45, 42 and 55 points in their three losses. It's hard to win football games when you're giving up that many points, and that continues to be a concern into this season.
The good news for LSU is that their offense is probably going to be good enough to have a good year even if the defense continues to struggle. Yes, they do have to replace Heisman winner Jayden Daniels who is now in the NFL, but they have a lot of talented weapons on offense, and new quarterback Garrett Nussmeier is one of them.
Nussmeier has been great so far this year, but him and the offense weren't able to do enough in week one when the Tigers lost to USC.
Week one was a tough one and it was the most frustrated that we have seen Brian Kelly since he arrived at LSU. He thought that his team should have won that game, but they didn't. In Kelly's defense, his Tigers did have a few chances to go up two scores and really put the game out of reach late, but they didn't do it, and the Trojans got the big week one win.
Losing that early in the season puts a lot of pressure on a team, and the pressure was certainly felt on Saturday when the LSU football team hit the road for a big-time challenge against South Carolina.
Saturday's game was an incredibly fun watch. For awhile, things weren't looking good for the LSU football team. South Carolina came ready to play on Saturday and they jumped on the Tigers to take a 17-0 lead in the second quarter. It looked like the Gamecocks might cruise to a victory, but LSU was able to fight back.
The Tigers had a great close to the half as they scored 16 points in the final 8:30, and they were down 24-16 at the break. LSU then came out of the half strong as well and they ended up taking a 29-24 lead in the fourth quarter. South Carolina scored the next nine points to go back up 33-29, but a late LSU touchdown put the Tigers up 36-33.
South Carolina drove down and had a field goal opportunity to tie the game, but they missed it. LSU survived and got the win.
It was close one, but the LSU football team got a gutsy win on Saturday. They should be proud of it, but they need to clean some stuff up if they want to compete for an SEC title. Here are their main concerns:
Slow start
The LSU football team can't get off to slow starts against the best teams on their schedule this year. The Tigers outplayed South Carolina for the majority of the game, but they didn't show up for the first quarter and a half, and they went down 17-0. That almost ended up costing the Tigers the game. LSU has to be better out of the gates going forward.
Turnovers and penalties
The LSU football team had a couple of costly turnovers on Saturday as well, and that is a bit of a concern. The Tigers definitely have to clean some of that stuff up if they are going to be competing with the best of the best in the SEC. Good teams don't turn the football over and they don't commit penalties. The Tigers also had a penalty problem on Saturday as they had 75 yards of them. That needs to be cleaned up as well.
Defense
Defense is still the biggest concern for this LSU football team. They haven't shown enough in the first few weeks to make anyone confident that they can slow down the best offenses in the SEC. When the Tigers play Ole Miss and Alabama, things could get ugly if they don't improve on that side of the ball.
At the end of the day, LSU football fans should be more happy than concerned after the win against South Carolina. There are things to clean up, yes, but that was an impressive comeback win on the road against a tough team. Good win for the Tigers.
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