How much trouble is LSU football in if Harold Perkins is out an extended time?
BATON ROUGE – The win over UCLA felt more like a gut punch than a celebration following the game for LSU football Saturday night.
No. 16 LSU (3-1) pulled away from the Bruins in the second half, outscoring them 17 to zero in the second half en route to the 34-17 victory inside Tiger Stadium. But the scoreboard wouldn't quash the sickening feeling that the Tigers could've lost their star outside linebacker Harold Perkins to a knee injury.
Perkins went down about halfway through the fourth quarter, when LSU led UCLA 31-17, and after being seen about for a couple of minutes on the field and inside the medical tent, the New Orleans native was ushered to the team locker room before the game was over.
With that lingering over Brian Kelly and company's head, here are three burning questions for LSU as it inches closer to Southeastern Conference play.
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Is LSU football in trouble if Harold Perkins' injury keeps him out for an extended time?
If Perkins' scans come back and he's out for a while, it would be devastating for LSU's defense. Perkins is the only defender for the Tigers this season that opponents gameplan and account for. Offenses have to know where he is, where he lines up so they can shield protections and adjust.
Without having to account for Perkins and the threat he brings to any given play, teams will be able to rely more on formations and schemes they feel they can execute best. Couple that with LSU's inability to slow teams down for most of games, and the Tigers could be in some serious trouble.
Where does LSU stack in up SEC after four games into 2024 season?
LSU has been one of the more puzzling teams to watch this season, and grading it out against the rest of the SEC is tougher than it sounds.
Make no mistake, LSU's defense has serious issues. And the possibility of losing Perkins expounds those. But what the Tigers can do at any given moment offensively with Garrett Nussmeier running the show, it's likely that LSU would never be out of any game.
But with what we've seen collectively out of the team through four games, the inconsistencies and lack of complementary football for the most part, it's difficult to see a scenario where this team beats Ole Miss and Alabama.
Should SEC schedule day games at LSU in early season?
Ideally, this would never happen, right? Seems like temperatures just get hotter in southern Louisiana in late August and September than they are in the heat of summer in June and July. That makes things unsafe.
Reportedly there were a number of fans that had to seek medical treatment for heat related issues during the LSU-UCLA games and that's troubling to hear. If LSU had any say, it would have every home game at night – you know, the whole "Saturday night in Death Valley" thing. But ESPN has the money and money is power. And power controls the TV schedule and when teams are slotted to play each week.
But to answer the question, day games at LSU early in the season should never happen.
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Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU football mailbag: Tigers in trouble after Harold Perkins injury?
