LSU Football: What Tigers Must Do to Fix Their Third-Down Problems
Nobody knows what to make of the LSU Tigers.
LSU has lost its last two games against Alabama and Arkansas in different capacities. The Tigers were narrowly defeated by the Crimson Tide in overtime; the next week, the Razorbacks shut them out in a dominating performance.
Though LSU looked formidable in one game but awful in the other, the losses had one thing in common: The Tigers struggled to make plays offensively and defensively on third down.
Games are won and lost on third downs. And the Tigers simply need to get better on the game's most critical plays.
Offensive Woes
LSU is 11th in the SEC in converting third downs into first downs on offense. The Tigers have been mediocre in their past two games. They were 9-of-22 on third down against Alabama and 6-of-14 against Arkansas.
Third-down conversion statistics are heavily reliant on the quarterback. And there has been no signal-caller worse in the SEC over the past two weeks than Anthony Jennings, who has thrown for under 100 yards in each of the past two games.
With that said, Jennings has not been put in the best spots. Receivers dropped multiple passes that would have moved the chains against the Crimson Tide.
LSU's struggles against Arkansas were rooted in poor play on first and second down. None of the Tigers' six third-down conversions were over nine yards. The failed third-down attempts included yardage distances of 37, 21, seven, nine, six, 10, 25 and 16.
The Tigers' offensive line was dominated at the point of attack against Arkansas. For the offense to get better at moving the chains, they need to give Jennings more manageable distances on third down.
Defensive Woes
LSU's defense held Arkansas to a season-low 254 yards. While it sounds impressive, the Tigers could not get off the field when it mattered the most.
Arkansas was an impressive 10-of-17 on third down. Brandon Allen was 6-of-11 through the air, with all six of those completions going for first downs. The Razorbacks are content with holding the ball and shortening the game, especially with the Tigers' brutal offense. Extending those drives played right into what they wanted to do.
Most of Allen's completions were easy, underneath throws that resulted in easy first downs. The lack of a pass rush did not help either.
Alabama was a paltry 8-of-20 on third down against LSU. The Tigers' front played a fantastic game, as did the secondary. But the Crimson Tide saved their best for last, as they finished a perfect three-of-three as they scored the final 10 points of the game.
Film Study
LSU was up 13-10 with 50 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter against Alabama. Quarterback Blake Sims had no timeouts, so he needed to work quickly.
Sims not only led his Tide to the game-tying field goal, he did so in impressive fashion. All of his passes were accurate, and his scrambling was efficient. Every play on the drive resulted in an immediate stoppage of the clock.
But Sims was helped by undisciplined defense from the Tigers. LSU had two opportunities on third down to stop Alabama and failed.
The first conversion came on a Sims scramble where an unblocked, blitzing Jalen Mills allowed him to break contain to the left. Then he eluded an open field tackle from Rickey Jefferson to get the first down and get out of bounds.
The Tigers would get another opportunity for a third-down stop on the next series of downs. Then again, LSU lost contain. This time, though, the culprit was its best defensive player.
Here is how the play broke down:
LSU is lined up in a four-man front with speedy personnel. Linebacker Kwon Alexander (KA) slides up as an edge rusher. Defensive end Jermauria Rasco (JR) slides down to defensive tackle. Backup defensive end Sione Teuhema (ST) is lined up at the other defensive tackle, and the Tigers' best pass-rusher, Danielle Hunter (Dan), is at the right defensive end.
The Tigers have no pure defensive tackles on the field in an effort to get explosive pass-rushers on the field. The problem is that if they do not get to the quarterback, they are not powerful enough to get push against a double team.
Alabama is in shotgun formation with two receivers to the left. Sims can read that the Tigers are in a two-deep shell because of the depth of the safeties and the positioning of the linebackers.
It is highly unlikely Mills is to blitz again on third down because of LSU's pre-snap positioning. The lone Alabama player highlighted is running back and personal protector Derrick Henry (DH).
After the ball is snapped, LSU, as expected, drops back in Cover-2 with man coverage underneath. Middle linebacker Kendell Beckwith stays two yards behind the line of scrimmage to spy on Henry and Sims.
The key thing to watch as the play breaks down is the pass rush and protection. Tight end O.J. Howard releases into a route and right tackle Austin Shepherd blocked down to help right guard Leon Brown against Rasco. This leaves Henry one-on-one against Alexander, a matchup defensive coordinator John Chavis probably loves to see.
Great coverage by LSU forces Sims to sit in the pocket longer in hopes a receiver is able to get open. He has time because Alabama's offensive line is dominating. Rasco and Teuhema are getting manhandled by double teams, while Hunter gets caught spinning.
Alexander stops bringing heavy pressure and gets caught in a hand fight with Henry. This passive approach is due to Henry possibly leaking out of the backfield for a reception, but Alexander should have known he has help from Beckwith over the middle.
Sims looks left to Heisman hopeful receiver Amari Cooper, but he is getting smothered by cornerback Tre'Davious White. There are no other receivers open, but at least Sims still has time to throw. Hunter finally begins to get out of the block of left tackle Cam Robinson. But the others three rushers are still getting crushed.
The fatal mistake on this play is made by Alexander. He decided to take an inside route against Henry, which is the last thing he should have done. Losing contain to the quarterback's right against a right-handed mobile quarterback is a horrendous error.
Sims sees nobody is open, so he now must improvise. The first thing he does when he reads the rush is see Henry flushing Alexander to the inside, which opens up a massive lane to the outside. But also notice Hunter finally breaking free. If Alexander chose to keep contain, it would have given Hunter a chance to track down Sims and possibly sack him.
Henry continues his fantastic block of Alexander by flushing him completely out of the play. Now Hunter, who thought he was getting a free shot on the quarterback, must now pursue from behind. Sims is now in his element, running to his right while looking to make a play.
Hunter, Rasco and linebacker Beckwith tried to attack Sims, but it was too late.
Sims throws a difficult dart that travels 30 yards in the air to Christion Jones. Because he broke the pocket, the straight-line throw to Jones makes it a difficult ball for Mills, who was playing fantastic coverage, to deflect.
This throw put Alabama in field-goal range. Another completion to on the next play made it a chip-shot field-goal for Adam Griffith to send the game into the overtime. Alabama would score on the first possession of overtime, which was good enough for a 20-13 road victory.
The mistake by Alexander cost dearly. If he had just stayed to the outside, Hunter in pursuit would have: A) sacked Sims B) forced him to throw it away C) heave the ball into heavy traffic or D) complete a miraculous throw. Either way, it would have likely created a fourth down or a turnover.
The Tigers had two third-down opportunities to stop Alabama but didn't. The defensive calling by Chavis was fine on both occasions, but the execution was not. If LSU had kept contain, the College Football Playoff picture could look quite different.
Tigers linebacker Lamar Louis also lost contain against Arkansas' Allen, who rolled out to his left on 3rd-and-11 to complete a 14-yard pass to Keon Hatcher. The Hogs would go on to score a touchdown on the drive to make it a three-possession game in the fourth quarter.
Conclusion
The difference between winning and losing are often the clutch plays needed to stay on the field for drives on offense or getting off the field on defense.
LSU has not been clutch in the past two weeks. That was not the case against Florida, Kentucky and Ole Miss, where they won the battle in third down efficiency.
| Tigers | Opponents | |
| @Florida | 7-of-16 | 2-of-12 |
| Kentucky | 7-of-13 | 5-of-17 |
| Ole Miss | 5-of-13 | 5-of-17 |
| Alabama | 9-of-22 | 8-of-20 |
| @Arkansas | 6-of-14 | 10-of-17 |
The Wildcats, Rebels and Gators completed under a third of their third downs against the Tigers and all lost. Getting off the field pays huge dividends during the course of the game.
LSU still has one more game to go against Texas A&M. LSU head coach Les Miles is 2-0 against Aggies head coach Kevin Sumlin, who has struggled to crack Chavis' defensive scheme.
Sumlin will be led by quarterback Kyle Allen, who is the complete package. LSU must play disciplined defense and keep Allen in third-and-long situations.
It starts by keeping contain when Allen drops back to pass. There is nothing wrong with an occasional inside move. But if the rusher does not get there, it could create huge issues.
Even with Jennings' struggles, LSU should have success moving the ball. The Aggies have allowed over 255 rushing yards per game in conference play, which is the worst in the SEC. They are 13th in the SEC in opponents third-down conversions as well.
Gaining positive yardage on first and second down in the running game is critical for Jennings and true freshman Brandon Harris' success. It opens up the play-action passing game on manageable second- and third- down plays.
The Tigers may not have much to play for compared to their usual standard of success in Baton Rouge. They have no chance of reaching 10 wins and their chances of playing in a New Years Bowl are slim.
With that said, where the Tigers go bowling heavily depends on their performance against Texas A&M. For them to win in College Station, Texas, they have to get better on the game's most important down.
Stats, rankings and additional information provided by cfbstats.com, ESPN.com and LSU Sports Information. Recruiting information provided by 247Sports.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow me on Twitter @CarterthePower.
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