LSU’s loss to Kentucky came down to more than one bad snap, one missed tackle or one busted call. The real issue was the pattern underneath it all.
That showed up most clearly on Kentucky’s winning two-point conversion in a 35-34 overtime victory. Kenny Minchey took the shotgun snap and ran straight up the middle, and Lane Kiffin later said LSU had prepared for Kentucky’s empty look by changing the rush. The problem was that the defense didn’t all get the same message.
“Someone got the call, and one didn’t get the call,” Kiffin said.
That’s the part LSU can’t shrug off. The Tigers were aware Kentucky might go for two. Kiffin said the staff had an adjustment in place for the quarterback run, but the defense still lined up with at least one player operating off different information than the rest.
And once that happens, the offense doesn’t need to win every matchup. One defender’s movement changes the space for everyone else, and the whole structure starts to crack.
Kiffin previously said Whit Weeks was wearing the "Green Dot" or the helmet with coach-to-player communication devices in it, but that in his absence, it was not a set in stone thing who would be wearing it.
The communication issue was only the final example of a night full of defensive leaks.
Kentucky punched LSU immediately on its first offensive snap. CJ Baxter ripped off a 77-yard run right through the middle, with PJ Woodland barely getting him down at the LSU 3.
Baxter scored on the next play. A defense that misses its gap assignment leaves everyone else scrambling, and LSU paid for it right away by putting Kentucky on the doorstep after one snap.
Special teams added another blow in the second quarter when Brock Coffman took a punt 55 yards for a touchdown, even with a missed block in the back penalty on the play, to push Kentucky ahead 14-10. Kiffin said after the game that an LSU player was in a position to make the tackle but did not finish the job.
That kind of play lives in the same neighborhood as a defensive bust, even if it comes on punt coverage. Getting close doesn’t matter if the ball carrier slips free. You have to secure the tackle and finish it.
“If you don’t do fundamentally sound stuff, you get exposed versus good teams,” he said.
LSU did come up with some defensive answers. Deuce Geralds broke up a fourth-down pass at the LSU 17 in the third quarter to end a Kentucky drive after an interception had already given the Wildcats a short field.
The stop mattered. It also didn’t erase the earlier breakdowns that had already handed Kentucky yards and points LSU had no business surrendering.
That’s what makes this game so frustrating for LSU. The defense showed it could get off the field, but too many snaps were undone by basic failures: a gap left unattended, a tackle not completed, an adjustment not delivered to everyone.
Kentucky found three different openings, and LSU had chances to stop all three. It didn’t.
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Mississippi States quarterback situation is the wrinkle LSU will be watching closely, because the Bulldogs offensive outlook shifts depending on who is available. For LSU, the path back starts with cleaner work on both sides of the ball, better execution in key moments and a sharper response than the one it showed a week ago, but the bigger question is whether the Tigers can prepare for the version of Mississippi State that actually shows up. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Could Catch A Huge Break In Mississippi State's Backfield
Mississippi State arrives on LSUs schedule with a couple of key offensive questions hanging over its backfield, and both of them trace back to the same injury-hit trip through Alabama. Quarterback Kamario Taylor and running back Fluff Bothwell were each listed as questionable for the matchup with LSU after leaving the previous game hurt, leaving Jeff Lebby and his staff to sort through contingency plans as kickoff gets closer.
For LSU, the uncertainty matters because the Bulldogs offense could look very different if either player is limited or unavailable. Lebby has already identified possible replacements, but the Tigers will be watching to see whether Mississippi State can get either Taylor or Bothwell back in time, since their status could shape how much stress LSUs defense has to absorb on Saturday. [Read more 🡒]