LSU defense thought South Alabama was ‘good sign’ before Ole Miss comes to Tiger Stadium
As soon as he saw South Alabama quarterback Gio Lopez scramble out of the pocket, LSU linebacker Whit Weeks knew he could break away from the receiver he was covering. Weeks sprinted toward Lopez, trying to prevent a touchdown.
Defensive back Major Burns and safety Jordan Allen swarmed Lopez at the goal line first, then Weeks finished the tackle for a turnover on downs in the third quarter Saturday night. South Alabama had gone for it on fourth and goal from the 4-yard line.
“I knew I had to get there fast,” Weeks said. “Major made a good play, and I was able to clean him up.”
In the first game since Harold Perkins suffered a season-ending knee injury, LSU’s other starting linebackers shined in a 42-10 win. LSU coach Brian Kelly mentioned them first while assessing the defense.
LSU linebacker Greg Penn (18) chases down South Alabama wide receiver Jeremiah Webb (81) in the first half, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024 at Tiger Stadium.
Weeks recorded nine tackles, one tackle for loss and one pass breakup. Greg Penn made a career-high 14 tackles. Kelly thought they handled their assignments against an offense that used a lot of misdirection.
“Those two pair up really well,” Kelly said, “and kind of feed off each other.”
South Alabama had one of the nation’s most explosive offenses through four games, averaging 48.3 points per game and 7.58 yards per play. LSU held the Jaguars to 5.3 yards per play while allowing seven explosive gains, an encouraging performance before Southeastern Conference play resumes in two weeks against Ole Miss.
“They give you a lot of eye candy on offense,” Weeks said, “so for us to be able to eliminate big plays when there is that eye candy is a really good sign.”
Without Perkins, LSU returned to a 4-2-5 defensive scheme with Burns at the Star position, which it used the first two games of the season. The Tigers had switched to a 4-3 front the past two games in order to have three linebackers on the field.
Weeks said the defense went back to the 4-2-5 as soon as Perkins went down. Playing the Star position again, Burns made a season-high eight tackles Saturday.
LSU finished with three sacks and nine tackles for loss while holding South Alabama to 3.4 yards per carry. Electric freshman running back Fluff Bothwell only had 17 yards on 10 carries, and the Jaguars went 4 of 14 on third down.
“It’s important to point out we’re really doing a nice job upfront,” Kelly said. “We’re not giving up running lanes that put our ‘backers in a position where they can’t go downhill and make some plays.”
After punting five times in the first half, South Alabama scored on the opening drive of the second half. It nearly scored again after LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier threw his second interception.
But then LSU made the goal-line stand. South Alabama never threatened again.
“I don’t know that that’s going to put them back in the game, but I think it ended the game for them in that situation,” Kelly said. “Those are big plays that you don’t see very often.”
Freshman Xavier Atkins also received his first meaningful snaps at linebacker, and senior West Weeks returned from an ankle injury. West Weeks did not play often Saturday, but his brother Whit said he might feel 100% after the open date. He and Atkins give LSU depth without Perkins.
“No one’s really going to be able to replace (Perkins),” Penn said. “Me, Major, Whit, West when he gets healthy, we’ve got to play off each other and make it easier for one another so we can go out there and make plays.”
Kelly thought LSU played well defensively other than the one touchdown drive in the third quarter. He said the Tigers have to “tighten up a couple things here and there,” especially at safety, but he saw progress against a difficult offense.
“Overall, structurally, we’re heading in the right direction,” Kelly said. “We thought we closed the gap last week. I think we’ll continue to close the gap, and quite frankly, we have to, right? As we get into SEC play, the teams that we play will expose you if you don’t. We’re making the progress necessary that we need to.”
