STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) -LSU coach Les Miles’ words were the kind no football player wants to hear.
Especially after a win.
“The team better show up at home on Monday ready to work,” Miles said.
Sure, the Tigers beat Mississippi State 30-26, remained undefeated and jumped from seventh to No. 4 in the Top 25. But it was the kind of game that leaves a coach worried his team could be the next contender to lose.
The challenge increases immediately with consecutive games against No. 18 Georgia and No. 1 Florida the next two weeks.
LSU was listless on offense Saturday and remains the Southeastern Conference’s last-place unit after picking up 263 total yards and just 30 rushing – or 1 yard per attempt – at Mississippi State. That’s well below the 325.7 total yards the team averaged in its first three games. And LSU has yet to crack 31 points, averaging 28 per game – ninth in the SEC.
od thing. But at the same time, they didn’t play the way a top-5 team would be expected. Miles thought the team missed opportunities to score.
“Right now we’re playing vulnerable,” Miles said.
Jordan Jefferson threw for a career high 233 yards, but after he completed 53 percent of his passes Miles felt he should have been more efficient with eight men stacked to stop the run.
No running back averaged more than 2.5 yards per carry against the Bulldogs and the Tigers were forced to rely on big plays and scores from the defense and special teams to win.
Similar story lines played out in two of the Tigers’ three previous victories.
When the Tigers are at their best, they’re something to behold. Jefferson completed two long passes in the game. He hit Terrance Tolliver for a 40-yard gain in the first quarter that set up Brandon LaFell’s 5-yard touchdown catch. Then Jefferson found a wide-open LaFell for a 58-yard score on the first drive of the second half.
“They were leaving deep ball opportunities open,” Jefferson said.
Throw in an 18-yard completion to LaFell and Jefferson picked up 116 of his passing yards on just three plays. It’s the other 25 throws that netted 4.8 yards per attempt Miles says he needs to work on.
Eight penalties didn’t help, either. Or the missed 19-yard field goal that would have sealed the win without the need for a goal-line stand.
“When we play sloppy, we allow other teams to hang around,” Miles said. “We put out opponents in a great position when we make those mistakes like that. I’m glad to see our players rally late, but we cannot make mistakes like we did.”
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