LSU Football: Report Card Grades for Tigers' Second Game

Coming off a huge win against Oregon in a memorable Week 1 opener, LSU wanted to make sure they didn't have a letdown against FCS opponent Northwestern State.

The Tigers' proved that letdown wasn't going to happen as they dominated Northwestern State from start to finish in a 49-3 victory on Saturday night in Baton Rouge.

Let's break down the game and hand out some grades before we begin with the preparation for the Tigers' SEC opener at Mississippi State on Thursday.

Quarterbacks

Jarrett Lee started the game for the Tigers, and after jumping out to a commanding lead, he was able to give way to backup Zach Mettenberger.

Both quarterbacks were outstanding in the victory.

Lee was 9-of-10 for 133 yards and a touchdown in the first half. He looked poised and calm and has developed a very nice connection with No.1 wideout Rueben Randle. 

Mettenberger came in to start the second half and looked equally as impressive. He completed 8-of-11 passes for 92 yards and a touchdown.

Lee is clearly the starter, but if he is ever in question, the Tigers should be in good hands going forward.

Grade: A

Running Backs

LSU's running back duo of Michael Ford and Spencer Ware weren't quite as impressive as they were against Oregon, but combining for 92 yards and four touchdowns certainly doesn't warrant any type of criticism. 

Ford was the offensive star of this game, rushing for 72 yards and two scores on just 13 carries. But as good as Ford and Ware were, there was another back who shined bright as well on Saturday night.

Sophomore Alfred Blue rushed for 53 yards and a touchdown in the win. Although most of it came in mop up duty, it is a positive sign to know that the Tigers' already loaded backfield has another capable runner.

Grade: B+

Wide Receivers

We had an idea that Rueben Randle would be looked upon to be a No.1 receiver with the suspension of Russell Shepard. But this game proved that Randle is a star in the making.

Randle had five catches for 121 yards, an average of 24.2 yards per catch. While my prediction of Randle not getting in the end zone did indeed hold true, he still looked far and away like the most dominant receiver on the field Saturday night.

In addition to Randle's performance, freshman Odell Beckham also impressed with four catches.

Once Shepard comes back from his suspension, the sky is the limit for the receiving core. Right now, it will do the job.

Grade: B-

O-Line

LSU dominated the line of scrimmage in this contest, which was expected of them coming into this game.

The O-line paved the way for 175 yards on the ground, 23 first downs and only committed one turnover on a fumble.

The Tigers' offense outgained Northwestern State by 305 total yards. It didn't matter if it was the first team offense or the third team; this unit was dominant in every sense of the word.

Grade: A

D-Line/Linebackers

As much as the quarterbacks drew the headlines from this blowout victory, it was LSU's run defense that was by far the most impressive.

Northwestern State finished the game with minus-4 yards rushing on 27 rushing attempts. That might go down as the most impressive defensive performance not only in LSU's season, but throughout all of college football this season.

Grade: A+

Secondary

My predication of a defensive touchdown for LSU did not come true, however, the Tigers' did record an interception in the blowout victory.

Then the only issue was, it was by a defensive tackle instead of a defensive back.

Nonetheless, the Tigers' secondary was solid throughout the game, not allowing an offensive touchdown and holding Northwestern State to under 100 yards passing.

Northwestern State's Brad Henderson did complete 16-of-26 passes, which isn't great, but certainly isn't awful.

The secondary still has room to grow and needs to do so before facing Geno Smith in two weeks.

Grade: B-

Special Teams

Jarvis Landry had an electric 31-yard punt return in the game, and outside of that, there wasn't much excitement in the return game for LSU in this contest. 

As far as the kicking game goes, junior kicker Drew Alleman was 7-of-7 on extra points but missed his only field goal attempt in the game.

The punting was fine but nothing too spectaular here.

Grade: C

Coaching

LSU coach Les Miles made it a point to make sure his team did not take Northwestern State lightly.

The second ranked Tigers did everything their coach asked of them in this contest as they prepare for SEC play ahead.

Miles didn't have to do a whole lot of coaching in this one, so it would be tough to grade him down for anything.

Grade: A

Intangibles

Over 90,000 fans were on hand to watch this game.

With the win, LSU now improves to 2-0 and will now prepare to open up SEC play at Mississippi State on Thursday night.

The Tigers are ranked No. 3 in this week's AP Top 25 poll.

Overall Grade for Game: A