More Than a Blowout: LSU's Young Tigers Steal the Show Against McNeese

BATON ROUGE, La. — Everyone knew LSU was supposed to win this game.

The more interesting question was what the Tigers could learn from it.

Turns out, quite a bit.

No. 11 LSU overwhelmed McNeese 63-14 Saturday night inside Tiger Stadium, piling up 731 yards of offense and scoring nine touchdowns in a game that was essentially decided before halftime.

But somewhere between the touchdowns, the backups entering the game and the unfamiliar numbers appearing all over the field, Saturday became about something more than beating McNeese.

It became a glimpse at LSU's future.

And the future looked pretty good.

The Starters Took Care of Business

LSU didn't spend much time allowing McNeese to believe an upset might be possible.

Tamarcus Cooley intercepted Jake Strong on McNeese's opening possession, and LSU immediately turned it into points with a Dilin Jones touchdown.

Then the Tigers kept coming.

Sam Leavitt found freshman Roman Mothershed for a touchdown.

Backup quarterback Landen Clark entered and scored on a three-yard run.

And by halftime, LSU led 35-0.

Leavitt finished his night completing 18 of 23 passes for 176 yards and three touchdowns.

His job was done.

That's when the night became especially interesting.

Hello, Corey Barber Jr.

If LSU fans didn't know the name Corey Barber Jr. before Saturday night, they certainly do now.

The true freshman entered the game with one catch this season.

He left as LSU's leading receiver.

Seven catches. 83 yards. Two touchdowns.

And this wasn't simply a freshman padding his stats after the game was already decided.

Barber started making plays in the first half.

He converted a fourth down during LSU's second scoring drive and then caught touchdown passes of six

and 12 yards from Leavitt before halftime.

Every opportunity LSU gave him, Barber seemed ready for.

That's exactly what coaches are looking for in games like this.

Not whether a young player can simply get on the field.

Whether he looks like he belongs there.

Barber did.

Deuce Geralds Is Becoming Something Special

At this point, can we really call Deuce Geralds a surprise anymore?

The true freshman defensive tackle has been forcing his way into the conversation all season.

Saturday, he somehow found another way to do it.

First, Geralds did what he's becoming known for.

He got to the quarterback.

His second-quarter sack gave him five through LSU's first five games.

Then Lane Kiffin decided to have a little fun.

Early in the third quarter, LSU reached the McNeese 1-yard line.

In came the 300-plus-pound defensive tackle.

Geralds took the direct snap.

Touchdown.

A defensive tackle recording a sack and then scoring an offensive touchdown in the same game?

Even Kiffin had to check the LSU history books afterward.

This isn't simply a freshman getting developmental snaps anymore.

Geralds is becoming a legitimate part of what LSU does.

And He Wasn't the Only Freshman

That may have been the most encouraging part of the night.

LSU didn't sprinkle one or two freshmen into the fourth quarter after everything was over.

Fourteen true freshmen appeared in the game.

Roman Mothershed caught the first touchdown of his LSU career.

Harlem Berry took advantage of his opportunities in the backfield, rushing 15 times for 125 yards and a touchdown.

Lamar Brown saw action on the defensive line.

Havon Finney Jr. recorded a tackle in the secondary.

Brayden Allen and JC Anderson got opportunities in the passing game.

And names LSU fans may not hear every Saturday yet — Richard Anderson, Nolon Buckels, Isaiah Washington, Brysten Martinez, Jabari Mack and others — got something no practice rep can completely duplicate.

Real snaps inside Tiger Stadium.

That's valuable.

Especially with seven consecutive SEC games waiting.

LSU's Running Backs Had Themselves a Night

The freshmen weren't the only players taking advantage of expanded opportunities.

LSU finally unleashed the running game.

The Tigers rushed for 367 yards and six touchdowns, averaging nearly seven yards per carry.

Berry led the way with 125.

Then Stacy Gage entered and needed only six carries to produce 110 yards and two touchdowns.

His two fourth-quarter touchdown runs went for 46 and 39 yards.

Dilin Jones added 79 yards and a touchdown.

For an LSU offense that has shown how dangerous it can be through the air, developing this kind of depth in the backfield adds another dimension.

Granted, this was McNeese.

Kentucky and the rest of the SEC schedule will present a very different challenge.

But 367 rushing yards are still 367 rushing yards.

Three Quarterbacks, 101 Plays and a Lot of Film

Kiffin couldn't have asked for many more opportunities to evaluate his roster.

LSU ran 101 offensive plays.

One hundred and one.

Leavitt handled the first-team work.

Clark completed seven passes for 126 yards and added the rushing touchdown.

Then Husan Longstreet got his opportunity, completing six of nine passes for 62 yards while also showing his athleticism with 32 rushing yards.

It wasn't about running up the score.

It was about reps.

Kiffin acknowledged afterward that LSU is going to need some of these players as the season continues.

Injuries happen.

SEC football happens.

Depth gets tested.

Saturday gave LSU an opportunity to find out who might be ready before it's forced to find out.

Exactly What This Game Needed to Be

Nobody is going to look back in December and call a 63-14 victory over McNeese the defining win of LSU's season.

It wasn't supposed to be.

But that doesn't mean it wasn't important.

LSU handled the opponent it was supposed to handle.

The Tigers built a 35-point halftime lead.

The starters did their jobs.

The running game exploded.

The defense held McNeese to just 196 total yards.

And then Kiffin opened the door.

The kids walked through it.

Some got their first snaps.

Some scored their first touchdowns.

Some showed that their opportunity for a bigger role may arrive sooner than expected.

Corey Barber Jr. looked like another weapon LSU can use now.

Harlem Berry showed exactly why there has been so much excitement surrounding him.

Roman Mothershed got his first taste of the end zone.

And Deuce Geralds continued looking less like a promising freshman and more like a problem SEC offenses are going to have to deal with.

LSU left Saturday night 4-1.

But perhaps more importantly, the Tigers left knowing a little more about what sits behind the names everyone already knows.

The schedule gets much harder from here.

Kentucky is next.

Then comes the grind of SEC football.

The starters will carry LSU as far as they can.

But championships are rarely won with only 22 players.

Eventually, somebody young gets called.

Somebody buried on the depth chart has to step forward.

Somebody gets an opportunity before anyone expected it.

Saturday night, LSU got a look at who some of those players might be.

The scoreboard showed what LSU is right now.

The freshmen showed us what LSU could become.