The absence of Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Joe Burrow was thought to be the biggest individual loss of defending national champion LSU's offseason. It turns out that we were wrong -- very wrong. Through three games, it's clear that the Tigers' biggest loss of the offseason was defensive coordinator Dave Aranda's departure to head up the Baylor program.
His replacement, Bo Pelini, just doesn't have it.
Missouri stunned No. 17 LSU 45-41 in Columbia on Saturday afternoon in a game that was moved from Baton Rouge due to the arrival of Hurricane Delta. The score doesn't indicate just how awful LSU's defense looked, as was the case in the season-opening home loss to Mississippi State. With the loss, LSU opens a season at 1-2 for the first time since 1994.
Missouri quarterback Connor Bazelak, in his first career start, completed 29 of 34 passes for 406 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions. This despite the fact that he was without three wide receivers including senior Damon Hazelton, the Tigers' second-leading receiver through the first two games of the season. Perhaps more concerning for LSU's defense is that its secondary was consistently out of position and confused.
So how about rushing defense? Nope, LSU doesn't have that either.
Missouri racked up 191 sack-adjusted rushing yards and Larry Rountree added 18 carries for 119 yards -- 6.6 yards per clip. Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitiz' scheme had ball-carriers running free virtually all game long. On the rare occasions that they weren't running free, it seemed like multiple LSU players would miss tackles.
That blame falls squarely on Pelini.
Sure, the argument could be made that having only two returning starters has hindered the progression of the once-proud Tigers. That's certainly a part of it, but it's no excuse for arm-tackling. It's no excuse for mass confusion in the secondary. It's no excuse for Missouri and Mississippi State receivers running free. It's no excuse for lack of effort.
Can LSU return to national prominence? That was the question coming into the season. At this point, the Tigers should just be concerned with finishing above .500. Unless Pelini fixes this defensive unit in a hurry, even that might seem like an insurmountable goal.
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October 11, 2020 at 03:08AM
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LSU vs. Missouri score: No. 17 Tigers failed by defensive effort again while falling to 1-2 on 2020 season - CBS Sports
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