LSU vs. Wisconsin: Game Grades, Analysis for Tigers

The No. 5 LSU Tigers fell victim to the slew of upsets in Week 1 of the 2016 college football season, as the Wisconsin Badgers won 16-14 at Lambeau Field. 

Heisman candidate Leonard Fournette failed to truly take over the game, with the bulk of his 138 rushing yards coming in the second half after he was stifled early. 

Overall, LSU's defense looked impressive, but its offense, under signal-caller Brandon Harris, looked stale. 

With that, let's check out the game grades for Tigers' positional units.

Rush Offense

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Grade: C+

Fournette did rack up 138 yards, which isn't a bad outing by any stretch of the imagination. But the Heisman-hyped back failed to take control of the game despite finding his stride in the second half. The team averaged 4.4 yards per carry, but it failed to pick up crucial first downs late in the first quarter to chew up clock. 

Heisman backs generally can manage the game with their attack, but ultimately Fournette was unable to do that against the Badgers. 

Pass Offense

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Grade: D

Travin Dural's five receptions for 50 yards and a score on a wheel route provided the only bright spot for the Tigers' aerial assault, which was disjointed throughout the affair. 

Brandon Harris finished the game just 12-of-21 passing for 131 yards, one touchdown and two costly interceptions. The scrutiny on Harris is only amplified by the fact an indefensible interception late in the fourth quarter, with the Tigers in field-goal range down just two points. 

Just four LSU players made receptions, so added depth on the edges is an area the Tigers must address going forward.

Rush Defense

Morry Gash/Associated Press

Grade: B

The Tigers limited the Badgers to 134 yards on the ground, and no Wisconsin player individually passed the century mark on the ground. 

LSU also held the Badgers to just 3.2 yards per carry. 

However, Corey Clement did have 86 yards and a score on the ground, and few of his key runs extended drives during critical moments.

Pass Defense

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Grade: B

Like the Tigers' front-line defense, its secondary did a fine job on Saturday in Green Bay. 

Wisconsin quarterback Bart Houston threw for just 205 yards, while the Tigers picked him off twice, including Tre'Davious White's pick-six. 

LSU's defense wasn't the problem against Wisconsin. The Tigers got the offense back onto the field often— Wisconsin was just 3-of-15 on third downs—and had two takeaways. It was the offense that couldn't reinforce its efforts.

Special Teams

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Grade: C

LSU kicker Colby Delahoussaye didn't attempt a field goal, but he was perfect on two extra-point attempts. The Tigers also only had two kick returns that averaged 11 yards—not great but not something to admonish with a small sample size. 

The Tigers struggled with punting on special teams. Josh Growden had seven punts that averaged just 32.4 yards, failing to flip the field and giving Wisconsin consistently good field position. 

LSU has two other freshman punters on its roster. Les Miles should seriously consider giving one of the other two a try in the coming games.

Coaching

Morry Gash/Associated Press

Grade: C

Miles didn't coach a bad game. But he got beat, so you won't get anything above an average grade for a loss. 

Most of LSU's mistakes were on the field, not necessarily on the sidelines. 

Nevertheless, Miles came in with his squad ranked fifth in the nation and failed to live up to that hype. LSU's offense looked stagnant throughout the game and clearly had not installed enough plays to give enough deception to a very good Wisconsin defense. 

Fournette's 23 carries, in a close game, is also a low number. Fournette admittedly struggled early, so Miles may have started to look elsewhere. But with 23 carries to Harris' 21 pass attempts, the balance should shift more toward the Heisman hopeful.