LSU fueled by championship-caliber offense, kicking game

There were lots of good things but several bad things to take away from LSU’s 66-38 victory at Vanderbilt.

The plus side was obvious.

Joe Burrow has now completed 81 percent of his passes with 17 touchdowns and just two interceptions through four victories. Against the Commodores, Burrow was 25-of-34 for 398 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions. J’Marr chase was brilliant with 10 catches for 229 yards and four touchdowns. Clyde Edwards-Helaire rushed 14 times for 106 yards and a touchdown.

Simply put, the offense was superb. Of course, Vanderbilt offered little resistance with a woeful defense but that does not diminish what was another fun performance but the suddenly fun LSU offense.

The kicking game is excellent.

Cade York has filled the void left by Cole Tracy in excellent fashion. Avery Atkins kicks virtually nothing but touchbacks. Zach Von Rosenberg has punted very well. Derek Stingley, Micah Baskerville and Edwards-Helaire are fine in the return game.

Then, there is the negative side of the victory which cannot be ignored.

The Tigers suffered a rash of injuries to key players.

Linebacker Michael Divinity suffered what was described as a “significant” injury by Ed Orgeron.

Wide receiver Terrace Marshall, who was off to a great start, fractured his foot and will miss several weeks, according to Ross Dellenger.

Justin Jefferson sprained an ankle. With a week off, there is at least a chance that Jefferson could return in two weeks against Utah State, though the goal will clearly be to get him ready for Florida on Oct. 12.

Then, Racey McMath got ejected for targeting and he will miss the first half of the game with Utah State in two weeks. With the ejection and the injuries incurred, LSU will be much thinner at wide receiver for that contest.

There were two bad turnovers by the offense, both of which turned into touchdowns for Vanderbilt. There is no chance LSU can survive this occurrence against Florida, Auburn or Alabama.

Edwards-Helaire had a fumble which was recovered for a touchdown while Myles Brennan threw a pick-six. Some would wonder why LSU was throwing in that situation but it is clear that Orgeon wants Brennan to get real game experience.

Then, there is the matter of defense.

While Vanderbilt is a terrible defensive team, the Commodores are respectable offensively. They accounted for 374 yards of offense and 24 points against LSU.

To be a championship team, you must be a complete team.

LSU has shown an excellent kicking game to go with its brilliant offense, thus far.

The defense has been anything but brilliant.

Simply take a look at Top 25 results from this past weekend to get a glimpse of what championship teams do.

Clemson gave up 10 points to Charlotte. Alabama yielded just seven points to Southern Miss. Ohio State gave up just five points to Miami of Ohio. Florida gave Tennessee just three points. Oregon allowed just six points to Stanford. Washington gave up 19 points to BYU. Virginia allowed 17 to Old Dominion. Georgia yielded just 17 points to Notre Dame in a battle of top 10 teams. Auburn won 28-20 over Texas A&M in a battle of top 25 teams.

While the LSU defense was excellent against Georgia Southern, it has leaked oil since.

Texas is a very good team and will score on most teams, though the Longhorns scored just 36 on typically defenseless Oklahoma State while they scored 38 on LSU. Though the Tigers allowed just 14 points to Northwestern State, the Demons moved the ball nearly at will in the first half.

Surely, getting healthy will help this LSU defense. It will look better with Rashard Lawrence, K’Lavon Chaisson, Glen Logan and Apu Ika on the field. How much better remains to be seen, particularly with Divinity likely out for an extended period of time.

With a week off, Orgeron and Dave Aranda will go back to work to try to solve issues with giving up significant plays in the running game, finding a way to have linebackers make more plays and to create turnovers.

Utah State is no pushover. The Aggies lost 38-35 to Wake Forest and have beaten Stony Brook 62-7 and San Diego State 23-17. This will be a tougher test than Northwestern State was.

There is much to like about the 2019 LSU Tigers. They are worthy of their top five ranking nationally. To be a national contender, the defense must improve.