It’s sure more fun to win those than lose.
LSU got a 23-22 win over Arkansas on Saturday retaining the Golden Boot.
There’s a lot to chew on. So let’s get to our 5 takes.
5 TAKES AS LSU TOPS ARKANSAS
TAKE ONE: QB1 is clear – Michael Van Buren is LSU’s best quarterback right now. Is Garrett Nussmeier hurt? Maybe. Has he just regressed? Maybe. But there is NO WAY LSU wins that game without Michael Van Buren playing today. He made the game-winning plays all with his legs, extending the play before a touchdown pass to Bauer Sharp, then icing it with a 20+ yard scramble. Nuss does neither of those. He was nervous early, yes. He was rusty early, yes. But this kid right now is head and shoulders better. It’s not close, either.
TAKE TWO: GTFO, Little brother – Arkansas is like a sand fly. You hear it buzzing. You slap it at. It comes back. You slap at it. It’s not going away. You’re not going to kill it. But it’s also not much more than just a minor nuisance. LSU is 13-4 against the Razorbacks in the last 17. They’re not nearly the threat they think they are. But they’re just an annual nuisance.
TAKE THREE: Special teams are atrocious – Whoever LSU’s next head coach it, you have to fix the special teams. You had a punt blocked for a touchdown today. You had two punts damn near shanked today. You gave up a long punt return and you kicked two kickoffs out of bounds. You have no semblance of a return game and you do next to nothing well in that phase. If it were one game, it’s a fluke. It’s now 4 years worth of games. It’s a trend. And a mess.
TAKE FOUR: Happy for Frank Wilson – I do not think Frank Wilson will be a candidate to be LSU’s full-time head coach. There’s a lot of evidence from his previous stops that says maybe he shouldn’t be. But the man does have something Brian Kelly never had: pure love for the school and state. The man was asked his thoughts on winning a game as LSU’s coach and he immediately was taken to tears. No matter what happens in the next month, you’re a Tiger forever, Coach.
TAKE FIVE: Number 7 breakout game – This was a great game for Harold Perkins – as good as he has had in a long time. He flew to the ball, caused chaos as a pass rusher and was good when in coverage, getting a big interception to flip momentum. You love to see all of those things. Finish strong, 7.
TAKE SIX: Bobby Petrino is such a See-You-Next-Tuesday – We all know Bobby Petrino is a shady person. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, Google ‘Bobby Petrino Shady Person’. But he’s also just a clown show of a football coach. He spent the entire game whining, bickering and complaining. Arkansas, PLEASE hire that man to be your full-time head coach. PLEASE. I beg you. Give him a huge buyout too.
TAKE SEVEN: Run the ball, bro – LSU did not do enough to attempt to run the football early on Saturday. The Tigers got a push late and iced it down on the ground, but the Tigers have to have more faith in the run game for it to be consistent – especially against a defense as bad as Arkansas’s.
TAKE EIGHT: Empty the Tank – I loved the late-game LSU drive where the Tigers just say ‘Screw it,’ we’re running all of our trick plays. LSU ran a trick play literally 5 snaps in a roll and they … had success. Sometimes, have a little fun with it. That was a fun part of the game.
TAKE NINE: Mansor Delane is a dude – In a portal crop filled with as many duds as studs, Delane is an unquestioned stud. I have not seen a DB better all season. Easily a first-round pick.