OFFENSIVE LINE
While my review up to this point has been positive, things will change here. As a group, the offensive line struggled to get much movement in the run game and had a few lapses in pass protection, as well.
There were multiple plays where an LSU lineman got worked by the Miami defensive line, including multiple whiffs and errors by Garrett Brumfield, Adrian Magee, and Damien Lewis. Lewis showed that, while incredibly strong, his footwork and body adjustments need some work. After Magee went down, Badara Traore entered the game at RT, and he and Lewis had some miscommunications on assignments early.
Traore also completely disregarded a rusher that led to Burrow taking a shot right in the back. The RT position for the LSU football team will be a big question mark that will need to be addressed before SEC play begins. Saahdiq Charles had a mental error on a pass set once, but should was the most consistent LSU lineman. Lloyd Cushenberry had an above-average night, as he didn’t make many noteworthy mistakes and showed some athleticism when getting to the next level.
Overall, the OL had trouble defending many of the run stunts and slants Miami was running. Gerald Willis dominated LSU’s line for much of the game. But LSU had a quality night of pass protection, and made holes in the run game when it counted. In a game that is increasingly harder to play OL, the LSU line held its own.
OL MVP: Saahdiq Charles