By RYNE BERTHELOT, Journal Sports
NEW ORLEANS — The next-to-last-second heroics of Jayden Daniels and Mason Taylor were almost enough to turn Brian Kelly’s LSU debut into a win, no matter how inauspicious the circumstances might’ve been.
But the most overlooked phase in the blanket of preseason media focus, special teams play, blocked the Tigers’ bid for a miraculous comeback win. Instead, Florida State danced off the Caesars Superdome field with a 24-23 season-opening, possible program-turning triumph Sunday night.
Kelly’s offense, with Daniels going the distance at quarterback, looked lethargic and aimless for most of the game, until the closing minutes. The Arizona State transfer led a 15-play, 75-yard scoring drive to close LSU within 24-17 with 4:07 remaining.
Then after the Tigers defense got a vital three-and-out, return man Malik Nabers fumbled his second punt, setting up the Seminoles at the LSU 8 for a clinching score with just over 2:15 to go. But three plays later, the Tigers’ Mekhi Wingo pounced on a stunning FSU fumble in the shadow of the goal post with 1:20 left.
Down by a touchdown, Daniels drove the offense 99 yards on 11 plays, completing six of seven passes and rushing for 51 yards. After freshman tight end Mason Taylor took a 17-yard reception near the end zone with one second left, and a lengthy officials replay session, Daniels tossed a 2-yard touchdown pass to Jaray Jenkins to move the Tigers to the brink of overtime.
But it was FSU’s second blocked kick of the night that sealed the outcome. Seminoles redshirt freshman Shyheim Brown batted down the Damion Ramos extra point try for a tie. The blocked kicks weren’t the only issue on special teams, though; Nabers also muffed a second-quarter punt, and LSU punter Jay Bramblett shanked one of bounds.
Kelly told the media after the game that Nabers’ spot as the Tigers’ punt returner would be evaluated during the week.
“We put a guy back there like Malik Nabers,” Kelly said. “We watch him, we evaluate him through four weeks of practice, and you feel comfortable with his elite skill set and his mindset that he’s going to do a great job. That wasn’t the case.”
Daniels looked as advertised on the ground, slipping out of the pocket and working his way downfield with his feet rather than his arm. As a passer, though, Daniels (26 of 35, 209 yards) left something to be desired for most of the game: The junior couldn’t eclipse the century mark through the air until the fourth quarter and oftentimes struggled to keep his eyes downfield as the pocket broke down.
That is, until the final drive.
Daniels threw for 66 yards on six-of-seven passing, finding Nabers, Keyshon Boutte, Brian Thomas, Jr., and Taylor on a last-second miracle drive that would’ve gone down in LSU lore.
Instead, it was a hard lesson on the importance of mundane details.
“They outplayed us in the first half,” Kelly said. “Mistake after mistake for us.”
Daniels wasn’t given any help from the offense around him, either. Boutte, who was named to the Watch List for the Biletnikoff Award, given to the best wide receiver in college football, caught two passes for 20 yards on six targets and dropped a pair of passes.
Then there was the run game, which was nonexistent outside of Daniels. Four Tiger running backs carried the ball 13 times for 39 yards and a touchdown, which came late in the third quarter when Noah Cain muscled his way into the endzone at the goalline. Kelly said the rushing stat sheet wasn’t filled up by design, rather out of necessity.
“Those were scrambles that he was smart on,” Kelly said. “There was a lot of man coverage. So we’re telling our quarterback, ‘We got a lot of bear front, we got a lot of pressure fronts,’ that was the game plan we hadn’t seen from them.
“If we didn’t feel like there was somebody open, that’s the connection that he brings, and that’s running the football. That’s what you’re going to give up if you have guys turning their back and running.”
Another disappointment: the defensive performance, particularly against the passing game.
LSU entered fall camp with questions at almost every position in the secondary, settling on a hodgepodge of transfers in Colby Richardson (McNeese), Major Burns (Georgia), Jarrick Bernard-Converse (Oklahoma St.), Sevyn Banks (Ohio St.), and Mekhi Garner (UL-Lafayette).
Just a week removed from his team eclipsing 400 yards on the ground against Duquesne, Florida State head coach Mike Norvell decided to test the unit through the air, and it was successful. Seminoles quarterback Jordan Travis threw for 260 yards and two touchdowns on 20 for 32 passing.
Perhaps the worst gut punch was the loss of standout defensive tackle Maason Smith, who came up limping after celebrating an early stop with teammates. Kelly said after the game that Smith was due for an MRI Monday. BJ Ojulari left the game briefly with a knee injury but returned. Team co-captain Ali Gaye was ejected in the third period on a targeting call.
Still, a sense of resolve and urgency arose when the Tigers needed it the most. Just too little, too late.
“In the second half we got comfortable,” Burns, the Georgia transfer safety, said after the game. “We were accountable, we all came together on the sideline because we knew we had to get stops. We didn’t quit, man. We showed fight and we really wanted to win. Like I said, everything doesn’t happen like you want it to. You have to go back to the drawing board.”
Contact Ryne at rgberthelot@gmail.com
Photo by PETER FOREST, Journal Sports