Kirk Herbstreit on LSU Tigers: 'They're so fragile'

Just two seasons ago, the LSU Tigers were the undefeated national champions of the college football world. Since then, much has changed — including the Tigers’ mindset.

Today on ESPN’s College GameDay, Kirk Herbstreit called out Ed Orgeron’s team for being fragile.

“LSU’s one of those teams, they’re so fragile, I feel like if the game gets away from them, they could shut it down,” said Herbstreit. “We’ve seen that from them in the past couple of years.”

Evidently, LSU hasn’t shown the mental fortitude we were led to believe they possessed. Since their undefeated season, the Orgeron’s record of 7-6 lends credence to Herbstreit’s comments.

Additionally, Desmond Howard agreed with Herbstreit — clamoring for the Tigers to show some toughness.

“They couldn’t even rush for 100 yards against the Chippewas of Central Michigan,” said Howard. “So they have to show some toughness, they have to be able to establish the run. Because I’ll tell you what, this game could get away from them really fast and in a hurry, because Mississippi State can score some points.”

If you can pinpoint a moment where things started to snowball for LSU, it’s their opening season loss to Mississippi State last season. Fresh off their championship, the Bulldogs came into Death Valley and took it to the Tigers — defeating LSU 44-34.

Today, LSU will learn a lot about themselves as they journey into Starkville. If they leave with a victory, they’ll have avenged their loss from last season while winning their third straight game.

However, if LSU loses to Mississippi State for the second consecutive year, Orgeron may not get a third chance.

LSU: Derek Stingley Out

The LSU Tigers will be without a key defensive contributor on Saturday against Mississippi State. Star cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. will not play for LSU with a foot injury, per The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman. Stingley’s absence could turn into an extended one.

Stingley injured his foot at LSU’s Wednesday practice. He made the trip to Starkville, but he will not play against the Bulldogs.

In LSU’s loss to the Bulldogs last season, Mississippi State scored 44 points and threw for 623 yards. Stingley did not play in that game, either.

Moreover, Stingley started all 15 games as a freshman in 2019 during LSU’s undefeated, national championship winning season. Stingley was honored, earning consensus All-American honors after leading the SEC with six interceptions and 21 pass deflections.

Last season, Stingley started seven games for LSU and earned first team All-America honors. Teams did not try to throw at Stingley very often last year, but he came up with 27 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and five pass deflections.

Stingley is known as one of college football’s best defensive backs. He should become an early pick in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft if he decides to declare. Through three games this season, Stingley has eight tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and a forced fumble.

LSU honored Stingley with the No. 7 jersey prior to the season, a tradition started by NFL cornerback Patrick Peterson. The jersey number has been worn by Peterson, Tyrann Mathieu, Leonard Fournette, DJ Chark, and Grant Delpit over the years.