Is it time for the Tigers to thow in the towel?

On Saturday LSU had their worst loss since the 2014 season. LSU lost to the Mississippi State Bulldogs by a score of 37 to 7. The Tiger defense gave up 180 yards in the air with two passing touchdowns to Fitzgerald and another 146 yards on the ground to Williams. Fitzgerald also had 88 yards rushing. LSU also had 9 penalties for 112 yards plus two defensive players being ejected in the third quarter.

While that all sounds bad, I look at it this way LSU is a young team. This loss makes a great learning experience for both coaches and players alike. Coach Orgeron is going to use this film for the remainder of the season as an example of what not to do. Dropped passes, missed blocking assignments, tageting, offensive pass interference, and letting your emotions run wild can all contribute to a loss. While bad calls cost the Tigers 14 points, bad calls are just part of the game no matter what team you are on.

One of the things Coach O expressed early this week was that he wanted to keep emotions in check. He brought in referees during the week to help control the amount of penalties. But sometimes it is hard to create the emotion of a game with 60,000 cowbells.  Even with Coach Orgeron’s preparations this past week, the young tigers were unable to settle down on the field.

The next two weeks will be a work in progress with back to back home games against Syracuse and Troy before traveling to the Swamp to play Florida.

A loss at this time of the season and to a team like Mississippi State (who will not beat Bama, Arkansas, or Auburn) will not hurt the Tigers later in the season. The Tigers need to use this loss as a learning process and move on. If the Tigers can put together a nine game winning streak, they will have a seat in the playoffs.

In addition to losing early in the season, one of the positives of this game was that there were no turnovers. In a game that nothing went right, no turnovers is a huge achievement. In a game where emotions were high, Etling remained composed, made good decisions, and did not try to force anything which would have risked an interception. Under the Senior quarterbacks leadership, the tigers will grow and mature this season which can only be a good thing for tiger fans. Geaux Tigers!!!