LSU Country

The Game Balls: Evaluating the Top Performers from LSU Football's Week 8 Win

Whit Weeks and Caden Durham allow the Bayou Bengals to play complementary football, lift LSU to a critical SEC win.

Zack Nagy

Courtesy of LSU Football.
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No. 8 LSU (6-1, 3-0) captured a 34-10 victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday night in Fayetteville behind a complete performance from Brian Kelly's program.

The Tigers have been searching for a complete performance this season with Week 8 providing just that after dominating in all three phases of the game.

Now, LSU sits atop the Southeastern Conference heading into Week 9 with a date against the Texas A&M Aggies next weekend.

Who stole the show for the Bayou Bengals in Fayetteville? Who allowed LSU to escape with a victory?

The Game Balls: Week 8 Edition

Offense: RB Caden Durham

LSU running back Caden Durham has unlocked the rushing attack for the Tigers this season with the freshman phenom shining once again on Saturday night.

The youngster tallied 21 carries for 101 yards and three touchdowns in Week 8 after averaging nearly 5.0 yards per carry.

It's no secret the LSU run-game has been a struggle in 2024, but with Durham at the helm, he's allowed the rushing attack to show life in SEC play.

Durham's breakout performance this season came in the SEC opener against the South Carolina Gamecocks in Week 3. Now, he's carried the momentum into another pivotal conference game against the Arkansas Razorbacks.

He's shown impressive balance, vision and technique for offensive coordinator Joe Sloan's offense while allowing the program to diverse the playbook.

We've seen signal-caller Garrett Nussmeier put the offense on his back thanks to a fantastic passing attack, but with Durham unlocking the run game, it's allowed this unit to click on all cylinders.

Defense: Whit Weeks

LSU linebacker Whit Weeks has introduced himself to America after back-to-back dominant performances against Ole Miss and Arkansas.

After an 18 tackle performance last weekend against the Rebels, Weeks followed it up with another masterclass showing on Saturday night in Fayetteville against the Razorbacks.

The sophomore star ended the night with nine total tackles, five solo tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss, two pass breakups and one interception. The stat sheet stuffer was shot out of a cannon on nearly every play after wreaking havoc in the backfield.

LSU found themselves in a one-score game with the Razorbacks in the third quarter. With Arkansas trending, insert Weeks as the hero.

The youngster batted a pass at the line of scrimmage, kept his eye on the ball and came up with a momentum shifting interception.

On the next play, it was Caden Durham who punched in the score to shift all momentum LSU's way with the program not blinking after the touchdown.

"We got it to 16-10 and I thought we had a really good chance," Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman said. "Unfortunately we had the ball tipped up, batted up for an interception.  They scored the next play. Three turnovers to no turnovers against a team like LSU, because they are a really good team, hard to win."

Overall: K Damian Ramos

LSU kicker Damian Ramos deserves his flowers after Saturday night in Fayetteville.

The veteran kicker was lights out for the Bayou Bengals after going 4-for-4 on field goal attempts from 33, 48, 33 and 47 yards out.

It's no secret Kelly and Co. have struggled on special teams during his tenure in Baton Rouge, but Week 8 provided an opportunity for the Tigers to play complementary football and dominate from all three levels.

On special teams, it was Ramos who lifted the unit after a perfect performance and drilling four field goals during critical moments of the contest.

No. 8 LSU will head to College Station next weekend for a date against the Texas A&M Aggies in a battle for the top of the Southeastern Conference.

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Zack Nagy
ZACK NAGY

Zack Nagy is the Managing Editor and Publisher of LSU Country, a Sports Illustrated Publication. Nagy has covered Tiger Football, Basketball, Baseball and Recruiting, looking to keep readers updated on anything and everything involving LSU athletics. 

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