1 week Ago
LSU offensive lineman Emery Jones (50) pushes back on Alabama defensive lineman Tim Keenan (96) in the first half, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, at Tiger Stadium. Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Brad Davis often talks to his players about what he calls “sniper school,” a term the LSU offensive line coach uses to emphasize the importance of capitalizing on chances.
LSU might call a play once during a game, he tells the offensive linemen, so they have to execute it properly the first time. “You don't get redos,” junior right tackle Emery Jones said, recalling Davis’ words. “You've got to aim, hit that first shot.
” Jones said Davis has reiterated that message throughout the season and again this week as No. 22 LSU continues to try to fix its running game, an ongoing issue that has contributed to two straight losses and a regression of the offense. Though LSU has focused on the run game for more than a month, trying to create balance around redshirt junior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier , it ranks 114th nationally in yards rushing per game (114) before it plays Florida at 2:30 p.
m. CT Saturday . “It's not just on the front,” Nussmeier said last week.
“It's not just on the backs. Receivers got to block on the perimeter. I've got to do a good job of making sure we're running the right play, making sure we've got numbers and things like that.
It's a whole entire unit when it comes to the run game. Everybody's got to do their job.” That has not happened consistently, and now LSU needs help to stay in contention for a spot in the Southeastern Conference championship.
The Tigers could still reach the SEC title game — and thus, possibly secure an automatic bid in the College Football Playoff — based on a series of tiebreakers heading into this weekend’s games. That will be irrelevant if the Tigers do not improve their offense over the next three weeks. While the defense has to stop quarterback runs, an equally important problem the past two games, LSU has been outscored 73-19 over the past six quarters.
It now ranks 48th nationally in scoring at 30.6 points per game. Some natural regression was expected after LSU lost Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jayden Daniels and two first-round wide receivers, Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas.
But the Tigers are currently averaging 15.5 fewer points per game than they did last year, when they had the top offense in the country. LSU has scored less than 30 points in three of the past four games under first-year coordinator Joe Sloan, and it only scored 13 points in a blowout loss to Alabama last weekend in Tiger Stadium.
That was tied for the fewest in a single game in three years under coach Brian Kelly. LSU also scored 13 points in a home loss to Tennessee during his first season in 2022. “Sequencing the run game with the passing game is absolutely crucial so we can take some of the pressure off of Nussmeier, so we don’t throw it 50 times,” Kelly said.
“We need more balance within the offense.” Kelly and his players have said multiple factors contribute to the run game, not just the offensive line. Receivers and tight ends need to block better on the perimeter.
Nussmeier has to make the correct run reads. Running backs must hit the holes and break tackles. Jones pointed out a lot has to click at once, but he also put the onus on the offensive line.
“I'm not putting the blame on anybody else,” Jones said. “That's our responsibility.” Even though LSU returned four starters on the offensive line , making redshirt freshman center DJ Chester the only new piece, Jones said the group has to work on staying on the same path and the same level in run blocking.
He thinks movement by defensive lines has given the Tigers trouble, affecting their ability to operate as a cohesive unit. “You have a gap, and there will be a guy in the gap and then he'll move gaps late so you don't know if you've got to stick him or keep going,” Jones said. “Just different things like that.
The movement part of it changes how you think about certain stuff and how you move. We're trying to get that part of the game to click for us.” Jones added “execution right now hasn't been as high as we want it to be,” and that’s where sniper school comes into play.
Davis has tried to make sure the offensive linemen understand they need to consistently execute every play because they may only get one shot. “These past couple of weeks, we've been really trying to bite down on getting this run game going,” Jones said. “No matter what the situation is, no matter what the read is for the back, we've got to make a hole and make sure that it's there for him and he can see it clearly and that he can burst through it and go get some yards for us.
” Kelly thought LSU had more schematic variety in the run game against Alabama. The Tigers rushed for 104 yards on 24 carries, but the score forced them to throw even more in the second half. Still, wide receiver Zavion Thomas took two handoffs for 18 yards, and Kelly liked seeing misdirection within the offense.
On the second play, freshman running back Caden Durham gained 45 yards on an outside zone. LSU used the playoften in its 34-10 win over Arkansas last month, a game in which the Tigers rushed for 158 yards, their most against an SEC opponent. They went away from the concept a week later against Texas A&M.
Kelly said this week he wanted “a little bit more with the outside zone” against Alabama. “We get to run off the ball and take a little bit of that thinking off,” Jones said. “Everybody has their gap, and we're just kind of running through and picking up whoever comes.
I feel like our running backs, who are really fast and electric, they like that play and it's a play that we like. It's one of our favorites.” The issues in the run game have affected other parts of the offense.
Kelly has repeatedly said a consistent rushing attack would help Nussmeier, who has committed multiple turnovers in four of the past five games. He has six turnovers in the past six quarters: five interceptions and one fumble. A missed protection by Chester led to the fumble.
“I take the blame for sure,” Nussmeier said last week after throwing three interceptions against Texas A&M. “I feel like I've got to be better with the football, and I've said that many times. Just learn from the mistakes.
I'll take those lessons with me for the rest of my career.” Nussmeier threw his first interception against Alabama in the red zone, an area where LSU has struggled to score touchdowns. The Tigers had the ninth-best red zone touchdown percentage in the country last season (75.
4), but they have dropped to 74th nationally after only scoring touchdowns 61.5% of the time so far this year, a symptom of their issues. “Red zone is about, at the end of the day, having a great running game where you chew people up in the running game or you’ve got a veteran quarterback that is smart, savvy, experienced,” Kelly said.
“Garrett is getting there. He’s a first-year starter. He’s learning the ropes.
We’ve been just OK running the ball, and that’s why we have our fits and starts in the short field areas.” Those problems have hovered around LSU all season, but history suggests the offense could still click over the next three games. When LSU scored 13 points against Tennessee in the middle of the season two years ago, it beat Florida on the road 45-35 a week later.
Daniels began to push the ball downfield, a recurring issue to that point, and much like the downfield passing game then, LSU will try to solve another problem now. “The mantra moving forward,” Kelly said, “and what we want to be is, there's got to be more consistency to the run game.”.
