GAINESVILLE, Fla. – LSU’s 2024 football season was pronounced dead at 6:19 p.m. CT here Saturday.
Finally, the Tigers did enough to convince anybody with eyes, a brain and a vote in any top 25 poll that they need to slink into oblivion until next season after getting their faces shoved into the dirt for a third straight loss.
What started as a second-half collapse at Texas A&M and continued a massive embarrassing home loss to Alabama progressed to a death spiral in a 27-16 failure to Florida. That team has had every reason to fold this season because of its embattled head coach and multiple quarterback injuries but instead chose to fight.
“You got to give this group of kids a ton of credit relative to the resiliency they’ve showed,” said Florida third-year coach Billy Napier, whose team is now 5-5 (3-4 SEC) and still alive for bowl eligibility. “This was complementary ball at its best.”
And LSU?
It just rolled over and died, which it has consistently done this season when it’s faced a hint of legitimate competition.
In its latest vanishing act on a beautiful November Saturday afternoon in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, LSU was an unmistakable reflection of its mediocre record, 6-4 overall, 3-3 in the SEC. It’s a team that could just as easily be 4-6 at this point and 1-5 in the league after stealing come-from-behind wins over South Carolina and Ole Miss.
Understanding third-year LSU head coach Brian Kelly hired an entirely new defensive coaching staff in the off-season to replace his overmatched original hires, the Tigers’ preseason hopes to be a legit playoff contender hinged on their offense.
It was a unit with four of five returning offensive starters and an established working relationship between quarterbacks coach turned offensive coordinator Joe Sloan and new starting QB Garrett Nussmeier.
What we saw the last three weeks (and losses) when LSU has been outscored 69-19 in second halves is complementary football failure.
First, it’s an LSU offense gaining plenty of yards between the 30s but can’t finish drives.
It usually starts with a predictable first down 1-yard plunge into a defensive wall that has tossed LSU’s overrated offensive line aside like tissue paper. Second down is one of Sloan’s even more predictable 2 or 3-step drop horizontal passes to a man in motion behind the line of scrimmage who gets nailed for a loss or picks up minimal yardage.
Third down with an unfavorable distance to gain a first down is reserved for Nussmeier rolling out and running for his life or getting trapped and sacked in the pocket because LSU’s offensive line is getting trucked like armadillos flattened by 16-wheelers.
Nussmeier was sacked 7 times for minus 49 yards by Florida, including 6 sacks in the second half.
Not only is the O-line a disappointment but LSU’s receiving corps (aside from the much-improved Aaron Anderson) has also gone into witness protection. Nussmeier has no confidence to throw deep because he usually doesn’t have time to chunk it that far and he doesn’t have anyone receiver remotely with the talent of last season’s WR1 Malik Nabers and WR2 Brian Thomas Jr.
There’s also this glaring fact that the weekly brilliant athleticism of 2023 Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels covered up the vast deficiencies of LSU’s so-called “great” offensive line filled with veteran two and three-year starters.
Kelly admitted after the latest loss in which LSU ran 92 offensive plays and had ball possession for 41:43 and produced one stinkin’ TD that he’s made it a point to become more involved in the offense.
“I think when things don’t go well, the head coach has got to be involved,” Kelly said. “And that’s not to say that I don’t have full faith and trust in my staff. I do, but the buck stops with me.
“Then, when we lose a game, I have to be able to look at the reasons why. And quite frankly, I feel as though, in my background and how I was developed as a coach, I feel like it’s get involved. And so, yes, I’ve been more involved in everything that we’re doing.”
It’s not enough, not even when Kelly chews on players for repeated mistakes, something he has every right to do because those so-called “kids” are now employed paid labor thanks to the wonderful world of NIL.
And when LSU’s offense doesn’t finish the job at the end of possessions, the Tigers’ defense finally fully folds in the clutch because of sheer confusion allowing game-breaking plays.
In losses to Texas A&M and Alabama, it was allowing dual threat quarterbacks Marcel Reed and Jalen Milroe running for 3 and 4 TDs respectively.
Against Florida, it was Gators’ running back Jadan Baugh’s victory-clinching 55-yard TD run with 3:48 left to play.
“Half of us thought we were running one play (defense), half of us thought we were running another play,” LSU linebacker Whit Weeks said.
The Gators didn’t even need the dual QB talent of freshman DJ Lagway, who returned to the lineup still not at full speed recovering from a hamstring he strained two weeks ago vs. Georgia.
All Lagway did was stand untouched in the pocket – he wasn’t sacked once – and occasionally relocate completing 13 of 26 passes for 226 yards and one TD. Nine of his completions were for first downs.
“Because I wasn’t 100 percent healthy,” Lagway said, “I took it as a challenge to prove to myself that I can play in the pocket, and I don’t really need to use my legs. I could maneuver in the pocket and make different throws. I feel like that was a huge confidence booster for me.”
Kelly’s biggest problem with LSU’s remaining games (both at home) vs. Vanderbilt and Oklahoma is keeping his team from completely tanking.
“If you’re not somebody that’s saying, `I’m going to work and continue to work to be better,’ then we don’t have a place for you in the last couple of weeks,” Kelly said. “But if you want to fight and you want to keep working to get better, then we’re going to be alongside of you.”
But LSU’s fanbase?
They’re done for the season. They’ve seen enough of this trainwreck, Kelly’s repetitive excuse of “I’ve got to do a better job of coaching, this is on me.”
They don’t give a hoot about any remaining games. They aren’t going to waste any more time, money or emotional investment on the 2024 Tigers, a team that will be remembered for doing nothing impressive or remarkable.
All they care about if Kelly can sign every key commitment in LSU’s 2025 recruiting class currently ranked No. 6 nationally, including the nation’s No. 1 high school recruit (QB Bryce Underwood) and No. 1 running back Harlem Berry and No. 2 linebacker (Charles Ross) and five other players ranked in the national top 5 at their respective positions.
Obtaining hope for the future is Kelly’s last chance to salvage any positive vibes of a season full of aggravation, disappointment and underachievement.
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com