Three Observations from LSU's Victory Over Southern

Offensive line rotations shuffled around significantly, Jayden Daniels sees success in passing game

LSU was seemingly shot out of a cannon to get things going Saturday night in Tiger Stadium. The energy and tenacity was shown from the beginning with the Tigers taking an early lead and never looking back in their 65-17 win over Southern.

Improving in all three phases, their success on special teams was certainly the most impressive piece of the game, but it was a well-balanced attack by the Tigers.

Here are three observations from Saturday night’s home opener:

Special Teams Improvement

From the opening kickoff, the Tigers showed tremendous growth in their special teams play. Though Southern is an inferior opponent, it was impressive to watch this unit really shake back from their struggles a week ago.

Forcing turnovers and being much more active, special teams coordinator Brian Polian clearly lit a fire under his guys. His ferocious coaching style had this group prepared to shake back in a big way.

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At punt returner, we saw UTSA transfer Greg Clayton get the nod for LSU. The first-year Tiger was solid in his debut, being efficient and trying not to do too much.

The Tigers’ special teams unit really held it down Saturday night, forcing multiple turnovers, including a blocked punt that turned into a safety. It’ll be interesting to monitor this unit as the season continues against stronger opponents.

Kayshon Boutte Usage

Boutte finished his night early, only playing in the first quarter for the most part, but offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock certainly looked to get his All-American wide receiver involved from the start.

Jayden Daniels connected on back-to-back passes to Boutte to get the game going with this offense going up-tempo from then on. Boutte finished with five touches for 78 yards.

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It was good to see the projected first round draft pick be involved and see success in this one. His talent is unmatched and the duo of Daniels-Boutte was on full display in this one, even if it was only in the first quarter.

Offensive Line Rotations

The offensive line made a few changes against Southern. Switching up the starting rotation, going with:

LT: Will Campbell

LG: Garrett Dellinger

C: Charles Turner

RG: Anthony Bradford

RT: Miles Frazier

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Brian Kelly and offensive line coach Brad Davis elected to give Charles Turner the start at center, flipping Garrett Dellinger to left guard. This coaching staff came into Saturday looking to get a few different rotations on the field.

It’ll be interesting to see where this unit goes next Saturday against an SEC opponent. With a number of rotations displayed versus Southern, Kelly believes in the depth of his line and could look to experiment even more.