Southern Miss vs. LSU: Game Grades, Analysis for the Tigers

It took a half to get going—perhaps shaking off the cobwebs of an unexpected week off—but the LSU Tigers dominated the Southern Miss Golden Eagles on Saturday night 45-10, improving to 2-0 under interim head coach Ed Orgeron and 4-2 overall this season. 

The lackluster start was disconcerting for LSU, but those qualms faded away almost immediately in the second half when the Tigers offense came to life and never took its foot off the gas. 

Southern Miss, while not a Power Five conference team, was no slouch either. It was 4-2 coming into the contest and will likely play in a bowl game this winter. 

With that, let's check out some game grades for LSU.

First-Half Offense

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Grade: D

We'll give the Tigers a passing grade for the slow start, but passing is all it is. 

While LSU had a week off that it wasn't expecting, the Tigers looked incapable of moving the ball in the first half, racking up just 121 total yards and 10 points against Southern Miss. 

What's worse is that LSU had only 22 plays in the first half, as it was forced to punt far too early in drives. 

A slow start like that against the likes of Alabama, Ole Miss and other SEC foes isn't going to fly.

Second-Half Offense

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Grade: A+

As bad as the Tigers were in the first half offensively, they came to Jesus in the second half and lit up Southern Miss. 

Through the first 10 plays of the third quarter for the Tigers offense, it racked up 235 yards compared to just 120 in the entire first half. 

When the final horn sounded, Derrius Guice finished with 162 yards rushing on 16 attempts with two touchdowns, while quarterback Danny Etling finished 11-of-18 passing for 276 yards, three scores and a pick. 

Perhaps most importantly, Malachi Dupre finally got going this season with a monster night. He finished with 100 yards, albeit on just three grabs, and two touchdowns. 

Orgeron told reporters that he wanted to get the LSU athletes the ball in space, allowing them to work with the ball. Through his first two games, that's proven to be a perfectly executed strategy.

Defense

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Grade: A

LSU's defense hasn't been a question mark all season long. It's been the Tigers' point of pride, and Saturday night was no different. 

Arden Key continued to cause havoc in the backfield, while Southern Miss racked up just 242 yards of total offense. 

The only true black mark on the Tigers defense was its first drive, when two penalties bailed out the Golden Eagles to extend the drive long enough that it eventually resulted in a touchdown. 

But LSU's defense got out of its funk after one drive. It took the offense an entire half.

Ed Orgeron

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Grade: A-

When you win a game against any FBS opponent by 35 points, you probably did a fair coaching job. 

The slow first half is the only reason this grade isn't an A-plus. 

Nevertheless, LSU was desperate for a spark when it fired Les Miles, and Orgeron has been every bit of injected energy that the athletic department could have hoped for. 

The offense has shown an ability to make big plays without Leonard Fournette, as Orgeron has focused on stretching the field with his athletes both vertically and horizontally. 

The defense hasn't skipped a beat either, and LSU is primed to make a surge into a New Year's Six bowl game. 

Two games, a resume does not make. Orgeron will likely have to be perfect the rest of this regular season—maybe the only exception being Alabama, and he'll still have to be competitive in that game—to earn the permanent job. But to get to perfect, you have to go 2-0. 

And he's done that.