Loss to Arkansas Shows Fraudulent LSU Needs Massive Offensive Overhaul in 2016

Another year, another season of offensive frustration in Baton Rouge.

LSU fell 31-14 at home to Arkansas on Saturday night, with an old and familiar demon haunting head coach Les Miles and his Tigers.

The passing game.

Or, more specifically, the lack thereof.

Sure, quarterback Brandon Harris threw for 271 yards, but he was not a deep threat aside from a couple of jump balls that talented receivers Travin Dural and Malachi Dupre came down with. The Razorbacks stacked the box all night to slow down former Heisman Trophy front-runner Leonard Fournette—who finished with 91 yards—and dared Harris to beat them.

He couldn't.

Miles recognized after the game that Harris' slow start put LSU in a hole that it simply couldn't dig out of:

By the time Arkansas had jumped out to a 21-0 lead and Harris calmed down, it was too late for Miles and the Tigers.

LSU got exposed as a one-trick pony again, which is becoming a disturbing trend for Miles' offenses.

Before the inevitable response about the "Alabama hangover" arises, give credit where credit is due—as T-Bob Hebert, former Tiger offensive lineman and current host on WWL 870 in New Orleans, did on Twitter:

This isn't a case of LSU letting Alabama "beat it twice." This is a case of Arkansas forcing LSU into a game that it's simply not equipped to play—a shootout.

The Hogs slowed down Fournette early, built a lead and forced LSU off Plan A. 

There's no Plan B.

There's never a Plan B for LSU.

This is year three of offensive coordinator Cam Cameron's three-year deal, and that has placed LSU at a crossroads. If it wants to utilize a pro-style offense, it needs to find a quarterback who can actually operate within one.

You know, like former Tiger Zach Mettenberger—one of only three pro-style quarterbacks in program history—did in 2013?

Unfortunately, Miles has been infatuated with dual-threat quarterbacks ever since he signed Ryan Perrilloux prior to the 2005 season. Since then, players such as Russell Shepard, Jordan Jefferson and Harris have all had shots to operate within the system while using their legs as insurance, and none has succeeded.

Why?

Because Miles wants to play "LSU football" the way it has always been played.

That won't cut it. At least, not anymore—especially with LSU's defensive inconsistencies over the last couple of years.

That's the problem.

"What's expected" is what LSU has always done, and that has become stale, predictable and ineffective. 

Something has to change.

Gerald Herbert/Associated Press

Miles has to find a way to be more flexible and let his quarterback become more of a running threat, or he has to hope 4-star pro-style passer Feleipe Franks can step right in and be the second coming of Mettenberger. The quarterbacks on the roster simply can't be pro-style passers the way Miles and Cameron want them to be, despite the best efforts of the coaching staff.

Fournette is a once-in-a-generation running back that any coach who can figure out a way to provide even the threat of a downfield passing attack should be able to ride to championships—plural.

There likely will only be one more shot with Fournette in 2016, before he moves on to the NFL.

If the beatdown by Arkansas is what forces offensive change in Baton Rouge—either philosophically or with Cameron's contract expiring and LSU moving on—it will be a blessing in disguise for the LSU football program.

LSU is stuck in an offensive rut, and a massive overhaul this offseason is the only way to get out.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics are courtesy of cfbstats.com.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.