Day-After Dissection: LSU

After 700 days without a home SEC win, Gus Malzahn and Auburn finally broke through with a thrilling 18-13 win over No. 18 LSU. The defense flexed its figurative muscles again, the offense (outside of the red zone) looked as crisp against a Power Five opponent as it has in some time and special teams brought it all together as the Tigers exorcised their Jordan-Hare demons.

With some time to reflect on Auburn's clutch performance, how did each individual aspect of the team perform?

Coaching: A-

• Malzahn's decision to relinquish his play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee proved to be an effective one. The Tigers offense punted just three times against LSU's strong defense and moved the ball consistently, gaining 388 total yards on 75 plays. The lack of red zone production costs this area some points (in real life and this imaginary grading metric), but Lashlee's offense caused a lot of problems for LSU.
• At this point, praising Kevin Steele's defense is getting redundant. After some early losses despite great performances, this time, the defense's play was a significant part of a victory. Auburn sacked LSU quarterback Danny Etling three times, forced a fumble and held LSU to 338 yards and 13 points. Oh, and the defense made the game-winning stop with their backs against wall. Not a bad night.

Quarterback: B

• While Sean White couldn't lead his offense past the goal line, he did a fine job managing the game and showing consistency that's been sorely missed under center. White went 19-for-26 for 234 yards and didn't throw any interceptions. He did lose a fumble in the third quarter that led to LSU's final points, but White did nothing in this game to show he's not the leader of the offense.

Running Back: A

• Those concerned that Kerryon Johnson would relinquish a large portion of his playing time to Kamryn Pettway can rest easy after Johnson's performance against LSU. Johnson ran 22 times for 93 yards while hauling in four catches for 68 yards. His 26 touches and 161 yards of offense were both career highs. His physical play, especially in the second half, was crucial for the Tigers.
• Kamryn Pettway was Auburn's featured back in the first half, but he didn't make an impact in the second half because of a minor injury. He still ran for 61 yards on 17 carries.
• Overall, Auburn's running backs carried the ball 39 times for 154 yards. None of those 39 carries lost yardage.

Wide Receiver: B-

• Tony Stevens had some drops, including a likely touchdown in the third quarter. Outside of that, it was a decent performance from Auburn's wide receivers. 
• Auburn's young receivers stepped up big against the Bayou Bengals. Ryan Davis hauled in 5 passes for 31 yards, including some big first downs on the offense's final drive. Kyle Davis converted a third-down pass and Darius Slayton's lone catch went for 36 yards.

Offensive Line: B+

• Sean White was sacked three times by LSU's aggressive defense, but outside of that, Auburn's offensive line had arguably its best performance of the season thus far. The line's strong play was a big reason why the Tigers offense was able to get in a rhythm between the 20-yard lines.
• As I mentioned earlier, Auburn's running backs got 39 carries and never lost yards once. That speaks volumes about the offensive line's performance.
• This rating would be higher if Auburn could have punched it in on fourth-and-goal before halftime, but LSU's defense deserves a lot of credit for its red zone performance.

Defensive Line: A

• LSU's ground game found some success, especially in the first half, but as the game went on, this unit only got stronger. All-world running back Leonard Fournette was held to just 101 yards on 16 carries, while Etling was sacked three times: twice by Carl Lawson and once by Andrew Williams.
• Lawson's sack on LSU's final drive was described by Malzahn as the "play of the game."
• 122 of LSU's 220 rushing yards came on three plays. LSU's 29 other carries gained just 98 yards.

Linebackers: B+

• Tre Williams' ejection for targeting hurt this unit, as did some poor angles on some running plays in the first half that allowed LSU to break big gains. However, TJ Neal stepped in nicely for Williams, while Deshaun Davis and Darrell Williams continued to anchor the Tigers defense. For this unit to accomplish what it did, especially in the second half, without Tre Williams is pretty spectacular. It goes to show just how deep and talented this Tiger defense is.
• At one point in the game, Auburn's Darrell Williams tackled LSU's Darrel Williams in the backfield. That has no impact on this grade. I just find it amusing.

Defensive Backs: A

• A lot of LSU's struggles can be attributed to its quarterback issues. It's well-known how much Les Miles' program has struggled at the quarterback position in recent years, and Etling's performance did nothing to change the narrative.
• However, Auburn's secondary still did what it was supposed to do. Etling was flustered all night, completing 15-of-27 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown (which just barely broke the plane of the goal line). LSU has talented receivers, but Auburn's defense never allowed the Bayou Bengals to get in a rhythm through the air, which was crucial considering how the front seven was keying on Fournette.
• Tray Matthews, Johnathan Ford and Joshua Holsey were Auburn's three leading tacklers, combining for 22. It's especially significant that Matthews (nine tackles) led the team, considering his poor tackling in last year's meeting with Fournette and LSU has been replayed ad nauseam. 

Special Teams: A+

• There isn't much to say about Daniel Carlson that hasn't been said already, so a good way to summarize his performance is to quote Deshaun Davis. After the game, Davis said that Carlson is so automatic on his three-point tries that he's "like Steph Curry." I'm just guessing, but that seems like some pretty high praise.
• Carlson's six field goals tied a school record for most field goals in a game. Carlson's a perfect 12-for-12 this season.
• Punter Kevin Phillips had a quiet night, mainly because the offense was rarely stopped short of scoring territory. Phillips punted just three times with an average of 40 yards.

Overall: A-

• It was close and weird, in typical Auburn fashion. The first SEC home win in two seasons didn't come easy, but it certainly did come. All three units for the Tigers seem to be progressing nicely, and a 2-2 (1-1) start is certainly better than a 1-3 (0-2) start. Auburn needs to fix its red-zone offense, which has plagued it for much of Malzahn's tenure, but other than that, Auburn definitely outplayed LSU.