What's been most surprising about LSU football team through three games?
COLUMBIA, S.C. — LSU football is two plays from being 3-0 on the young 2024 college football season, with a win over a ranked USC team.
The other side of that coin is LSU is two plays away from being a very disappointing 1-2 to start and the perception of where Brian Kelly and the No. 16 Tigers would be a lot different.
LSU (2-1, 1-0 SEC) eked out a 36-33 victory over South Carolina yesterday inside a rambunctious Williams-Brice Stadium, a game it trailed by 17 points in early. Behind a defense that limited damage on a pair of turnovers by the offense in the fourth, the Tigers were able to rally and Josh Williams scored the game-winning touchdown with 1:12 left.
Officially through a quarter of the regular season, here are three questions for LSU.
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Good or bad, what has surprised me the most about this LSU football team?
I feel like this be a universal answer across the beat's board but my mind goes to the offensive line first.
This group, led by star tackles Will Campbell and Emery Jones Jr. along with Miles Frazier and Garrett Dellinger to round out a unit that's started a ton of games, were in conversations of being the most dominant offensive lines in the country this season.
Through three games, I don't think we've seen that. Now, I thought the marquees matchups between Campbell and Jones and South Carolina's star defensive ends Kyle Kennard and Dylan Stewart, the LSU duo overall got the better of those.
How LSU ran the ball with freshman Caden Durham, 11 rushes for 98 yards with two touchdowns, is a big step in the right direction — but it's one performance. I need to see LSU's offensive line sustain how it led the way for the run game.
Will Brian Kelly, Joe Sloan allow Caden Durham to take over RB1 spot?
After the South Carolina game, it seemed to be evident to everyone that the best option at tailback for the Tigers is Durham.
The Duncanville, Texas native just does not go on down on first contact, his legs never stop churning and hits the holes the O-line opens up for far more conviction than Williams or sophomore Kaleb Jackson. But Kelly and offensive coordinator Joe Sloan kept pulling him off the field when it seemed like Durham was getting hot in the run game.
Precedent tells LSU fans that Kelly prefers to play the veterans over younger players for extended stretches. But at the running back spot, specifically, the best player just so happens to be the freshman. I'm not certain Durham gets the start against UCLA and possibly beyond, but he'll likely be the first off the bench and I do think he gets more carries for now.
Was LSU's win at South Carolina an ugly win or a moral victory?
LSU still has loads of questions on both sides of the ball how yesterday's game played out, I would argue that the South Carolina win was more ugly win than a moral victory.
In any given year, the Tigers should never trailed by 17 points to a Gamecock team on talent principal alone. Don't get me wrong, South Carolina's got good players, Stewart is clearly a top-5 NFL Draft choice when his time comes, but LSU held the edge in most of the position matchups.
Lanorris Sellers, who struggled throwing the ball coming into the game, threw for 113 yards before exiting the game just one drive into the third quarter with a leg injury. He was having his best performance against LSU's defense which is concerning.
LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier was a bit careless with the ball at times and that could be harmful for the Tigers later.
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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: What's been most surprising about the Tigers?
