LSU'S WEEK 1 LOSING STREAK (2020-???): INSIDE THE #'s
- Lonn Phillips Sullivan
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Since 2020, against 4 different opponents over 5 straight seasons, LSU has lost each and every Week 1 matchup since Joe Burrow & Co torched Georgia Southern during a scorching 90 degree afternoon at Tiger Stadium in 2019....wow....
That happened???
There used to be home openers against weaker opponents to get your feet wet for a long season???
Not on the road inside some enormadome compound, at a weird location, taking on a far more dangerous, highly rated team???
New normals become....well...new normals, sadly....but hey, let's drink to the fact that our program won't back down, even if it's completely against our best interests while Georgia schedule Mercer or Alabama face the existential threat of Montana State (😂😂 sorry), LSU still won't change course.....they haven't only embraced the primetime openers, now even moved to an isolated spot on Sunday nights over Labor Day, they seem almost mandatory now, with Clemson coming to Baton Rouge next season for the first home opener since 2020......
.....but hey, LSU did schedule SMU for a pair of games in 2028 and 2029....
These past 5 losses for LSU arrived under both Ed Orgeron and Brian Kelly, with defensive coordinators as wildly apart as Bo Pelini and Blake Baker, offensive coordinators as disparate as Mike Denbrock & Jake Peetz, featuring a Heisman winner at QB for 2 of those defeats...during a pandemic or inside the Superdome, in Vegas, New Orleans, L.A or Orlando, LSU continue to find a million ways to lose their opening games......
....with the psychological, physical toll of opening game defeats setting squads of highly talented but mentally weak players on course for failure, while breaking mediocre teams altogether, it'll be highly intriguing to see what kind of team Brian Kelly's 2025 Tigers are, even in the case of a 6th straight defeat vs Clemson.
How in the name of Rob Halford making a Land Before Time soundtrack has this been allowed to happen???
How in the name of Mitt Romney is this program letting continuous Week 1 defeats fester into a culture where, right out of the gates, at the fever pitch apex of excitement and optimism, every single season, LSU let their fans down in grand fashion on a national stage.
How has LSU lost 5 straight openers to 4 different teams (playing Florida State twice), with only 2 of these brutal humiliations decided by a single possession???
How has LSU lost 5 straight openers with 5 first round picks participating in multiple opening day drubbings: Derek Stingley Jr, Will Campbell, Malik Nabers, Brian Thomas Jr, and Jayden Daniels, or elite Tigers like BJ Ojulari, Damone Clark, Maason Smith, Terrace Marshall, Mason Taylor, Harold Perkins, etc...hell even Arik Gilbert played for one of these LSU teams, catching a touchdown via Myles Brennan....
....it's incredible how it happened, it's almost unforgivable how long it's gone on, but that's just why we love football, isn't it??? The game confounds our curiosity & devastates our expectations just as much as it titilates the ecstatic.
So......one question......HOW and WHY did 5 years of Week 1 dilapidation happen???
While there is an emphasis on errors & poor play by our trenches (on either side of the ball) as well as horrific performances by the secondary, blame can go almost all the way around....and you can't blame 1 specific coach or player for what's happened.......here, let me show you👇
WEEK 1 DEFEATS
2020 vs Miss State (Tiger Stadium)
2021 vs UCLA (Rose Bowl, Los Angeles)
2022 vs Florida State (NOLA Superdome)
2023 vs Florida State (Orlando)
2024 vs USC (Las Vegas)
-Lost to 4 Unranked teams,
another ranked @ 23
-Allowed 44+ points (2x)
-Allowed 38+ points (3x)
-Gave up 392+ total yards (5x)
-Gave up 2,435 total yards across all 5 games (487 per game)
-Gave up 55% of 3rd down opportunities (38/69)
-Offensively converted just 36% on 3rd down (24/66)
-Rushed for 98.8 yards per game as a team for 494 total, inc Jayden Daniels' 177; Not counting Jayden's #'s brings it down to 63.3 & 317 total;
Since 2019 (pre-dating the Tigers' Week 1 losing streak), John Emery Jr's 61 yards vs USC remains the highest rushing total by a running back in Week 1 for LSU.
Nick Brossette was the last LSU running back who rushed anywhere close to 100 yards during Week 1 of the 2018 season vs Miami.
-3 fumbles lost, 5 INTs thrown
-Gave up 623 passing yards to KJ Costello's Miss St
-Dusted for 210 rushing yards vs Chip Kelly's 8-4 UCLA
-Let QB Miller Moss throw for 378 yards before losing to Moss & Lincoln Riley's 6 loss USC
-Surrendered at least 10.2 yards per pass (4x)
-Lost time of possession by 8 1/2 - 11 minutes in both games against Florida State
By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN
©️ 2025 Uninterrupted Writings Inc
We have met the enemy and they are us. As the old saying goes. It is not just scheduling top opponents out of the gate, it is the lack of preparation, a disjointed coaching staff, and lack of team depth that has plagued us. I don’t care about Klubnik or the number of first round draft choices on the Clemson roster. We know have talent, depth, strong coaching, and the right leaders. If we lose this year out of the gate, it is on CBK. I like him, and think he is a good coach, but it’s time to put up or get out.,