LSU survives genuine scare to edge Arkansas, 34-31

We should have seen this coming. The oddsmakers felt otherwise, establishing LSU as a three-score favorite over visiting Arkansas.

Both the Razorbacks and Tigers knew better.

The last three meetings were decided by three points each.

Make that four in a row.

LSU survived a genuine upset bid Saturday night at Tiger Stadium, edging the Razorbacks 34-31 on a 20-yard field goal by Damian Ramos with five seconds remaining.

In the first half, the LSU offense was not good enough until the final possession of the half as LSU trailed 13-10 at the break.

Fortunately, that momentum carried over to the second half and the offense played like it played against Mississippi State and Grambling.

It had to.

The LSU defense could not get off the field all night.

While the Tigers were busy amassing 509 yards of offense, Arkansas put up 426 yards.

Equally as important was Arkansas controlling the ball for 34:22.

LSU hardly had the ball in the first half.

Given enough at-bats, the Tigers are going to hit home runs with their superb playmakers.

LSU got enough at-bats, just enough in the second half.

Most importantly, LSU produced the golden possession it needed most in the final minutes.

The LSU defense fell short. Make that way short.

Arkansas scored 31 points and controlled the time of possession, converting 8 of 13 third down conversions and its only fourth down conversion.

LSU was in position to take control of the game when a roughing the passer penalty on Harold Perkins extended an Arkansas drive which culminated in a game-tying touchdown.

After a poor start where he threw a bad interception, missed receivers who were open deep twice and made a couple of bad reads on running plays, Jayden Daniels looked like gold in the second half, just as he did against Mississippi State and against Grambling.

Daniels finished 20 of 29 for 320 yards and four touchdowns with the interception. Daniels also ran for 36 yards on 10 carries.

It was magical night for Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr.

Nabers continued his brilliant play with eight carries for 130 yards and two touchdowns while Thomas had eight catches for 130 yards and two scores. The performance by the duo brought back vivid memories of the dynamic duo of Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson, much like the play of Daniels is conjuring up memories of Joe Burrow.

As I have continuously stated, Logan Diggs is clearly LSU’s best all-around back, a strong, quick runner, a good receiver and good in pass protection. Diggs rushed 14 times for 97 yards. Caleb Jackson remains a clear star in the future, though he had just two carries for 12 yards.

There simply is nothing good to say about the LSU defense, aside from bending but not breaking for most of the first half.

LSU cannot continue to be in shootouts and expect to outscore opponents.

The progress made with the encouraging performance at Mississippi State is a fading memory. The Tiger defense must improve and improve significantly if LSU is to have a real shot at winning the SEC West.

What we will remember about this game was the thrilling nature of the conclusion as LSU won the game.

When needed, the Tigers got the ball and drove 72 yards in nine plays, taking 5:01 off the clock, erasing all of the timeouts of Arkansas and all but five seconds of the game, giving the Razorbacks no shot of scoring. That was essential, with the way the LSU defense played.

Moving forward, it is apparent that the SEC is not as good as it has been.

Georgia is still the chalk.

Alabama looked good in the second half against Ole Miss.

The Rebels are solid and Missouri is capable. Texas A&M has talent, if it shows up.

Still, there are no teams remaining on LSU’s schedule that strike true fear into your thought process. All games are winnable, including at Tuscaloosa.

Then again, several could go the other way, particularly if the defense does not play better, make that considerably better than what we saw Saturday night.