LSU football’s Week 5 performance against Ole Miss didn’t have many bright spots, especially along the offensive line. The Tigers managed just 256 yards of total offense and scored only two touchdowns in their loss to the Rebels. LSU’s offense has struggled all year, and that trend continued vs. Ole Miss.
LSU now sits at 4-1 on the year and 1-1 in conference play. The Tigers remain in the playoff hunt, but Brian Kelly and company must fight an uphill battle.
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However, there were still some individual efforts that deserve recognition. Here’s a look at the top five offensive performances, according to Pro Football Focus, from a game LSU will look to put behind them quickly.
5. Barion Brown – 64.6
Brown saw the most targets of any Tiger on Saturday afternoon, with eight. However, those weren’t exactly chances to make chunk gains, with three of his catches coming from behind the line of scrimmage. The other five targets resulted in two catches for 23 yards.
Some of this was due to inaccuracy and poor decision-making from quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, but overall, this wasn’t the dynamic performance many had hoped to see from Brown.
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4. Harlem Berry – 65.3
With starting running back Caden Durham out, a lot of pressure was placed on the shoulders of Berry, Ju’Juan Johnson, and Kaleb Jackson. Berry, a true freshman and the No. 1 running back in the 2025 recruiting class, made the most of his opportunities Saturday afternoon.
On his seven carries, Berry rushed for 22 yards and a touchdown, with the score linked below. While it wasn’t the offensive explosion fans hoped to see from the young back, poor blocking up front limited his opportunities to do much more.
3. Zavion Thomas – 68.7
Thomas had his most productive game of the season against Ole Miss from a receiving standpoint, with three catches for 63 yards. Similar to the other Tigers receiver featured earlier on this list, Barion Brown, only one of those catches occurred more than 10 yards downfield. Thomas’s deep reception was a key play, however, as it set up one of LSU’s two offensive touchdowns.
2. Kyle Parker – 69.6
Parker saw five targets for four catches and 23 yards against Ole Miss. Only one of those targets came 10+ yards downfield, and it was incomplete. However, Parker was a reliable underneath option for Nussmeier, catching all four of his targets in that area.
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Parker stepped in when LSU lost Aaron Anderson for the game.
1. Nic Anderson – 70.2
Anderson caught the Tigers’ only receiving touchdown of the day, which played a big role in him earning the top offensive grade for Saturday’s game. That touchdown was an impressive play by Anderson, diving for a tipped pass on a throw to LSU tight end Trey’Dez Green.
Anderson only saw one true target on the day, but he made the most of it, hauling in a critical 21-yard reception.
This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: LSU football’s top five graded offensive players from Week 5 loss
