What went wrong for LSU against Ole Miss

The LSU Tigers had a real opportunity to ruin the Ole Miss Rebels shot at a New Years Six bowl.

Unfortunately, after the first quarter, it was all Rebels on this Saturday at the Grove. The Tigers were down 17-7 at halftime and then 31-10 late in the fourth quarter. Garrett Nussmeier came into the game and led the team to two scoring drives after Johnson was pulled from the game.

Now LSU will take their off week and prepare for a matchup with the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide on Nov. 6 in Tuscaloosa. It will be the final matchup between Ed Orgeron and Nick Saban as the LSU and Alabama head coaches. The Tigers won the last game against the Tide in Tuscaloosa.

Before we get to the game in two weeks, we review what went wrong in Oxford, Mississippi.

Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers

Up until the first turnover by quarterback Max Johnson, it was looking good for the LSU Tigers. They held Ole Miss scoreless in the first quarter but an interception at the goal line led to the first Rebel points. Ole Miss would outscore the team 31-0 from that point until Garrett Nussmeier checked into the game.

Max Johnson had zero protection

One reason for the inconsistency on offense, the Tigers failed to protect their quarterback. He had two fumbles on sacks that were recovered by the defense. It was hard for the offense to get any momentum due to the amount of time he spent running from pressure. The Tigers were getting beat by three-man pressure far too often.

Lack of a run game bites again

Prior to the Kentucky game, the LSU Tigers couldn’t run the ball much at all. After Ty Davis-Price set an LSU record a week ago, the team averaged just north of two yards per attempt. With no threat of a run game, it allowed Ole Miss to put more emphasis on coverage.

LSU defense couldn't stop the Ole Miss run game

The Rebels had the No. 1 ranked rushing attack in the SEC. It was on full display on Saturday against the Tigers’ defense. They ran a little under their average on the season but it still accumulated over 200 yards on the ground.

Matt Corral was efficient

Last season Matt Corral turned the ball over five times, he did a much better job of protecting the football this season. Coming into the game, he threw just one interception in six games. Corral was able to protect the ball and LSU couldn’t do anything to stop their offensive attack.

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