LSU football vs. ULM report card: Ed Orgeron continues fourth-down gaffes, gets a D

BATON ROUGE — LSU went through the motions in a 27-14 win over Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.

Quarterback Max Johnson led the Tigers (5-6) with three total touchdowns, but the offense underwhelmed against the Warhawks (4-7). 

LSU can send coach Ed Orgeron out with a victory and become bowl eligible next Saturday against Texas A&M.

Here are the grades from a late night in Death Valley.

FINAL:LSU football leans on big plays in underwhelming win over Louisiana-Monroe

REDSHIRT:LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier to redshirt, will not play again this season

COACHING:LSU football coaching hot board 2.0: 5 big names who fit Scott Woodward's big vision

Offense

It was hard to tell if LSU’s play calling had improved following the tongue-lashing offensive coordinator Jake Peetz received on Monday. The Tigers still struggled to stain drive, and if not for big plays, the final score would have been closer.

Johnson finished 22-of-33 for 319 yards and two touchdowns. He ran for a three-yard score in the first quarter. LSU had no semblance of a running game. Tyrion Davis-Price led the Tigers with 82 yards on 21 carries. 

Malik Nabers caught four passes for a career-high 143 yards and a touchdown. 

Grade: C

Defense

ULM scored more points against LSU than it had in the previous three meetings combined. Still, the Tigers only surrendered 311 total yards and collected three sacks. 

Jay Ward was off to the end zone for an interception returned for a touchdown, but was ruled out of bounds after an officials review. 

Grade: B

CHECKS:Why Scott Woodward needs more than blank checks to fix LSU football

Special teams

LSU attempted a fake punt in the second quarter that ended in an Avery Adkins interception. The turnover led to a touchdown, which was only the second time ULM has scored against the Tigers in the four meetings.

Cade York was 2-for-3 on field-goal attempts with a long of 50 yards. He missed from 44 in the first quarter. 

Grade: B

Coaching

Orgeron just can’t help himself on fourth down. Adkins was intercepted by ULM's Josh Newton on a fourth-and-4 at the LSU 39-yard line. The Warhawks scored on the next drive. 

LSU drove to the ULM 16 on the first possession of the third quarter. After stalling at the 14, Orgeron called for the offense on fourth-and-3. Johnson was sacked for a 10-yard loss.  

Grade: D

Adam Hunsucker covers LSU for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at ahunsucker@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @adam_hunsucker. Enjoy Adam’s work?  Consider a digital subscription for unlimited access.