LSU Tigers

Run game still key for No. 12 LSU (Sep 09, 2017)

Published Sep. 7, 2017 9:28 p.m. ET

LSU looked like LSU in its season opener.

The Tigers were beginning their first full season with Ed Orgeron as coach and playing their first game with Matt Canada as offensive coordinator.

The defense outshined the offense -- so no change there -- and the offense was no less dependent on the run game than it was before Orgeron replaced Les Miles four games into last season. The Tigers' 27-0 victory against BYU in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome showed they can still play smash-mouth football like they did under Miles.

LSU ran the ball 57 times and passed it only 18, with Orgeron estimating that Canada used only about 10 percent of his offense.

"We took what they gave us," Orgeron said.

The 12th-ranked Tigers might not learn too much about themselves Saturday night against an FCS opponent, Chattanooga, which lost its opener to Jacksonville State 27-13 on August 26. The Mocs, who were off last week, are ranked 14th in the FCS coaches poll.

"I thought the bye week was great timing for us," Chattanooga coach Tom Arth said. "At the same time, when you go so long and play just one game, you get a taste before you have to wait again. We had a lot we needed to work on over this past week that I think we did.

"All of the mistakes that happened were self-inflicted. You can tell them, tell them, tell them, but until they live through an experience like that, you hope that's all they need."

The Mocs' defense had two major breakdowns, allowing a 76-yard touchdown run and a 59-yard touchdown pass. The offense turned the ball over three times, including two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown.

Nick Tiano, thrust into the lineup when starting quarterback Alejandro Bennifield was hit with an NCAA-imposed four-game academics-related suspension on the eve of the opener, completed 23 of 43 passes for 218 yards with one touchdown.

He'll be facing an LSU defense that allowed only 97 yards to BYU, helping the offense to possess the ball for nearly 42 minutes. But the Tigers also committed 10 penalties and failed to score touchdowns on four of their seven red-zone opportunities, kicking two field goals, missing a field goal attempt and turning the ball over on downs.

Derrius Guice ran 27 times for 122 yards and two touchdowns against BYU, but Orgeron said he'd like to limit the workload of the reigning SEC rushing champ.

"I think any time you get over 25, it's too much because we have three or four backs that can run the football," Orgeron said. "I don't think that you're going to see Derrius carrying the ball over 25 times or 30 times in a game every game. We don't want to wear him out. We want to rotate our backs. We don't want him to carry the whole load."

LSU started five true freshmen against BYU, and then the lopsided nature of the game enabled the Tigers to go deeper into the depth chart to play 17 freshmen.

There is the potential for the Tigers to get another long look at young players this week. But Orgeron said he's taking nothing for granted.

"The challenge of this week is focusing on the task at hand, get our team ready for a battle," Orgeron said. "We've all been in these games where you can overlook the opponent and it turns out to be a battle. So we are not planning anything but a battle."

Orgeron said Danny Etling, who completed 14 of 17 passes for 171 yards last week, "played fantastic" in terms of managing the game.

"His passes were on the money," Orgeron said. "He had great decisions."

UTC is playing its first true road game after meeting Jacksonville State in Montgomery, Ala.

"It's a great opportunity to play against the best in college football," Mocs linebacker Tae Davis said. "I'm a competitor and so is the team, so it brings out the best in us.

"We're looking forward to competing and doing our job. As a defense and a team, we're pretty good. We're looking to go out there and show that we belong. You definitely get an extra juice playing in an environment like that."