LSU football stepped up and absolutely dismantled the South Carolina Gamecocks with a final score of 52-24. It was an all-around performance for both the offense and defense of the very talented Tigers. After the game against Florida was postponed the previous weekend, LSU took advantage of the extra time that was given to it, and it was shown on Saturday.
Let us first look at the solid offense that played its hearts out against the Gamecocks. With Myles Brennan hurt, freshman TJ Finley threw for 265 yards and threw three touchdown passes. Not only did Finley win the game for LSU, he has proven that the Tigers have a very solid football program with a good recruiting team. While the passing game was on point, the running game was also on fire with sophomore John Emery rushing for 88 yards and a touchdown. Tyrion Davis-Price had 135 yards and he made a touchdown in the second half.
“We had to get that nasty gut feeling out of our stomachs,” Emery said. “We really needed this win.”
Emery’s comment to the media showed the passion and drive the Tigers had this game to leave with the win. LSU was 7 for 9 on third down conversions and even scored all five times when they were in the red zone. When the offense performs well all around, it makes it hard for any defense to stop them.
LSU’s defense came out hungry and shut down South Carolina’s offense by only allowing 113 yards. On the defensive line for LSU, Joseph Evas, Glen Logan and Siaki Ika deliberated the running game from the Gamecocks. LSU needed to apply pressure on the quarterback, and that is exactly what it did on Saturday in Death Valley. The Tigers sacked Collin Hill five times and continued to apply the pressure for the remainder of the game. This young defense was led by freshman BJ Djulari who had three of the five sacks and now holds a team high of four sacks this season. There is a lot of young talent on this defense, and it will only improve down the road.
Though the whole performance by LSU was extravagant, there were some key plays that stood out by both teams. On the Gamecocks side, even though they came out with the loss, Hill averaged 19.5 yards per completion for 12 completions. This may not look very good, but each completion was very beneficial for South Carolina. The big plays that were made in this game came from LSU’s defense with many stops in the red zone. When the Gamecocks had a scoring chance, the Tigers allowed only two of those possessions to be turned into touchdowns.
The Tigers improved their record and are now 2-2. Things only seem to be going in the right direction from here if they continue with the phenomenal offensive play and stellar defense performances. Next, LSU faces Auburn and it has not had a very good season so far, which means it could be another win for LSU.
Hello! My name is Janelle and I’m a senior at The University of Central Florida studying Human Communications and Event Management. My two favorite teams are the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Penn State Nittany Lions.
You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @janelleshimonn