The LSU Tigers fell short to the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday night's road game, marking the second loss of the season and the second road-game loss.
The Tigers had major expectations heading into this season, under new head coach Lane Kiffin and his roster renovation. Two losses by the mid-season point were not expected from the Tigers, especially with similar mistakes in each loss.
The team has too much talent within the roster to continue to make simple mistakes that have large impacts, needing a season turnaround without any errors.
Turnover Trouble
Quarterback Sam Leavitt is still trying to prove himself as an SEC quarterback, both on the road and at home, after transferring from ASU during the offseason.
Now that he's been the known offensive leader for LSU's offense, he has come up with an unfortunate statistic this season, being the only quarterback in the league to throw an interception every game.
It's not just about missing the receiver, but the timing of the turnover. In both of the Tigers' losses, Leavitt has had crucial late-game turnovers that have ultimately handed the game over to the opponent.
During the matchup against Ole Miss, Leavitt threw a crucial interception with five minutes left in the quarter, while LSU was down by one score.
Against Kentucky, Leavitt was sacked for a loss of 15 yards with a fumble recovered by the Wildcats, when the Tigers were up by three and had the chance to maintain possession for the last four minutes of the game.
Leavitt can't keep up this routine each game, especially with crucial turnovers in matchups that have a major impact. Being able to have extra time in the pocket to allow the play to develop and find a receiver quickly, especially in the SEC road game atmosphere, can allow him to become the once-top-ranked quarterback again.
Defense Slipping-Up
LSU had a top-ranked defense heading into the season, recently leading the nation in sacks.
It did not look like the same defense against Kentucky. The unit was only able to put up one sack, while also allowing Kentucky to put up 404 total yards against them.
The unit struggled during the entire game, missing open-field tackles and not applying early pressure, but made the ultimate mistake by allowing Kentucky quarterback Kenny Minchey to have a walk-off two-point conversion to put the Wildcats ahead.
Similar to Leavitt, this unit seems to crumble under the pressure of an SEC road game, with another unfortunate performance against the Rebels.
Being able to consistently put up the pressure-filled defense that the unit has shown during home games will not only make the Tigers an automatic threat, but also limit the opposing offense's scoring production.
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