LSU Football: How Anthony Jennings Can Find Success vs. Alabama

LSU needs more production from quarterback Anthony Jennings to be victorious against Alabama.

The Tigers defeated Ole Miss in spite of Jennings, not because of him. He was 8-of-16 for 142 yards and two interceptions.

Bleh.

Sure, Jennings threw the game-winning touchdown pass to tight end Logan Stokes to cap off a 13-play, 95-yard drive, but the first 12 of those plays were runs and the simple, three-yard pitch to Stokes could have been completed by a blindfolded backup.

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The Rebels defense deserves its fair share of credit. Ole Miss has the best secondary in the SEC for a reason. Nevertheless, LSU's sophomore signal-caller should have played better.

Jennings now must face the Crimson Tide, who only rank behind Ole Miss in the SEC in scoring defense. Head coach Nick Saban is going to load the box and make the Jennings beat him. Alabama may not have the playmakers in the secondary that the Rebels have, but there is certainly not a shortage of talent.

Jennings can have a proficient game against Alabama. Here is what he needs to do to be successful.

Do Not Turn the Football Over

Jennings' top mission against Alabama is to not give the football to the other team.

Sure, it sounds simple, but the Tigers simply cannot turn the football over at the quarterback position and expect to win. They were minus-three in the turnover margin against Ole Miss, which usually equates to a loss.

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Jennings threw two interceptions against Ole Miss. He tossed none in his four SEC games prior to that. Expect him to be more careful with the football against the Crimson Tide.

There is no need for Jennings to force passes. Hitting running backs Terrence Magee and Leonard Fournette on easy checkdowns is rarely a poor option. Throwing the football away isn't either.

Be Unpredictable

Jennings locks on to his receiver far too often. His bad habit reared its ugly head in the fourth quarter against Ole Miss.

LSU is lined up in a three-receiver set, with true freshman Malachi Dupre (MD) out wide to the left and Trey Quinn in the slot (TQ).

Ole Miss has four defensive backs across the back of the formation in what looks to be quarters coverage. The Rebels give every Tiger receiver at least five yards of cushion:

ESPN Screenshot

After the ball is snapped, Jennings gives a quick play-action fake to the running back. This forces the Ole Miss strong safety (SS) to crash the line of scrimmage. This leaves three defensive backs to cover three LSU receivers who all appear to be running deep patterns.

Because Jennings saw the strong safety crash, he knows an opening will form in the direction of Quinn:

ESPN Screenshot

The gap for Quinn widens as he begins to make his break to the sideline on a corner route. Dupre is running a fly or go route in an effort to pull cornerback Mike Hilton (MH), who is covering the deep left third of the field, out of the play.

Despite what looks to be an advantageous position, there are two problems. Jennings recognized so quickly that the play would open that he immediately locked on to Quinn after the play-action fake:

ESPN Screenshot

This allowed Hilton, who knows he has safety help coming from Cody Prewitt (CP), to have the opportunity to sit on the route:

ESPN Screencap

Jennings delivers the football to what looks to be a wide-open Quinn, but Hilton is already making a break on the ball before it's even in the air. He is taking a calculated risk by leaving Dupre but knows there is an opportunity to make a big play:

ESPN Screenshot

Hilton makes an amazing interception right in front of the LSU bench. Instead of a Tiger first down in Ole Miss territory, the Rebels get the ball back in good field position.

The play design above by offensive coordinator Cam Cameron was wonderful. The execution was fine across the board, including superb pass protection. Jennings did a fine job of locating the open spot in the zone.

But if Jennings even looks in the direction of Dural—who was eventually open at the top of the formation—or acts for a second that he is letting one rip to Dupre deep, this is an easy completion to Quinn. The sophomore signal-caller could have also have pump-faked a pass to Quinn and gone elsewhere.

Well-coached, athletic defensive backs eat quarterbacks who lock on to receivers alive.

Saban may not have what the Rebels have this season, but the Crimson Tide are a talented group that can make plays such as these.

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Trust Pass Protection 

LSU's offensive line has been magnificent in the Tigers' three-game winning streak. Jennings must trust it to continue that trend on Saturday.

The group should be motivated after last year's poor performance against the Crimson Tide. It could not get a push in the running game and allowed quarterback Zach Mettenberger to be sacked four times—three times on the Tigers' final possession.

Alabama's pass rush has improved since then, as it's just under three sacks per game in conference play.

With that said, Jennings should trust his line to make the right calls and win battles despite Saban's unpredictability.

Conclusion

During a press conference, LSU head coach Les Miles said Jennings made the Tigers better, per The Times-Picayune. According to Bleacher Report's Barrett Sallee, Saban echoed similar sentiments on his weekly teleconference:

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Saban: "I do think Anthony Jennings has been playing really, really well. A good decision maker."

— Barrett Sallee (@BarrettSallee) November 5, 2014"

Sallee and B/R colleague Michael Felder both see Jennings struggling against Alabama in a losing effort:

Sallee and Felder both have good reason to be skeptical of Jennings. LSU's hot defense and running game have masked his deficiencies at quarterback during the Tigers' three-game winning streak. He must play better.

Avoiding turnovers, being unpredictable and trusting pass protection are just three of many things Jennings must do to have success against Alabama.

The major plus for Miles is that he does not need his quarterback to be spectacular to win.

Miles is going to shorten the game by pounding the football. He wants to make the game as ugly as possible offensively and trust his defense to slow down the Crimson Tide offense. The blueprint will be similar to what Arkansas did at home against Alabama earlier this year.

Jennings does have intangibles, evident by his other comeback victories against Florida and Wisconsin. He is beloved by his teammates and has fought through tidal waves of criticism. The Tigers will need his leadership on Saturday.

It does not need to be pretty from Jennings on Saturday, but the Tigers would be lucky to defeat Alabama if he were to play another mediocre game.

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.