Run attack now complements passing game
Published 6:00 pm Thursday, October 17, 2019
It can get lost in the glare of LSU’s glitzy passing game. So it’s easy to forget that in the Tigers’ conversion to the RPO-based spread offense, the acronym that is scorching big swaths of the LSU record book, stands for run-pass option.
More and more, the first option is becoming a legitimate choice.
LSU quarterback Joe Burrow was fresh off throwing three more touchdown passes against Florida on Saturday night, but that wasn’t what he wanted to talk about.
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“The biggest thing is how well we rushed the football,” he said after the Tigers ran for 218 yards to go along with his 293 yards passing. “That was unbelievable. I didn’t expect that. That just goes back to the offensive line that played their tails off for us and opened up the passing game for us.”
In fact, Burrow, who also wasn’t sacked against by far the best defensive front the Tigers’ new offense has faced, said it “was about as flawless as an offensive line has played that I have ever seen.”
LSU’s has been virtually unstoppable all season, leading the nation in scoring (53.5 points per game) and second in total offense (561 yards per game).
But most of the season, if anything, it was more a matter of Burrow’s passing setting up what looked like a token running game.
More and more, that’s not the case.
“We feel that we’ve gotten better,” head coach Ed Orgeron said. “Obviously there are some (RPO) choices that Joe can make at the line of scrimmage. He made some good choices.”
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That’s the way the RPO operates, Orgeron said.
“Not enough (defenders) in the box, we’re going to run the ball,” he said. “Too many people in the box, we’re going to throw the football. We’re doing a good job of doing it.”
Burrow might have summed up the RPOs’ most success best: “Whatever they did, we made them do wrong,” he said.
So with the run becoming more and more of an option, maybe the sky really is the limit for this offense.
Florida dominated time of possession, hence LSU ran 48 offensive plays. But the emergence of the running game allowed the perfect 50-50 split Orgeron has been looking for — 24 runs, 24 pass attempts.
Yet despite their fewest rushing attempts of the season, the Tigers’ 218 ground yards were their second most of the season.
The rushing numbers never were that bad. But sometimes it looked like fools’ gold, even against outmanned defenses. The running yards at times seemed to be the product of running backs bouncing off a crowded line of scrimmage and away from sloppy tackling more than holes to run through.
That wasn’t the case against Florida, when there were often gaping holes even though the Gators defense was allowing 9.5 points and 93 yards rushing per game. It allowed Clyde Edwards-Helaire to rush for 134 yards and two touchdowns.
The Tigers averaged 9.1 yards per carry — by far their best of the season — as Helaire had runs of 39 and 57 yards. Freshman Tyrion Davis-Price added a 33-yard touchdown run.
In the first five games, the Tigers had exactly one run longer than 30 yards. Against Texas, probably the second-best defense LSU has played, the Tigers averaged 3.5 yards per carry and barely cracked 100 yards.
“Excited about the play of the offensive line,” Orgeron said. “There were holes in there. Clyde Edwards had a great game, a great run by Tyrion Davis-Price. One out of every four offensive plays were explosive.”
“We knew that (Florida) last year got after us up front,” Burrow said. “Our offensive line took that personally. I was just so proud of those guys. They had a great week of practice. There was no pressure the entire night. I didn’t feel pressure a single time. Hats off to those guys.”
The offensive line has been bolstered by the return of Saahdiq Charles and Ed Ingram.
The biggest question mark has always been at the tackle spots. Austin Deculus has been solid at right tackle, but the left side has been a revolving door with nobody starting consecutive games.
Charles, who missed games as a “coach’s decision,” presumably disciplinary, should break that string this week against Mississippi State.
“I’m excited about the play of our tackles,” Orgeron said. “I thought Austin (Deculus) and Saahdiq Charles had their best game. After watching film, the interior was very solid.”
Ingram, who was arguably the Tigers’ best offensive lineman in 2017 before spending the interim sorting legal problems related to sexual assault charges (which were dismissed) back home in Dallas, has not started since returning to the team four games into the season.
But he’s splitting more and more playing time with Adrian Magee at left guard, which opens up other possibilities.
“Good one-two punch,” Orgeron said. “Ed is in good shape, learning his protections. Ed had some good physical plays. I’m glad we have him. It gives us some flexibility. If we have to play Adrian at tackle, we can play him at tackle.”
It could add a whole other element to the spread RPO.
“We have a lot more confidence in each other,” said center Lloyd Cushenberry, the unquestioned leader of the unit. “We kinda have a different swagger.”
Mississippi St. at LSU 2:30 p.m., CBS
LSU Clyde Edwards-Helaire leads the Southeastern Conference in rushing touchdowns with seven. He has run for 494 yards on 78 carries, including a season-high 134 yards last week against Florida. The offensive line has allowed the Tigers to make balanced play calls.
