By KACE KIESCHNICK, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter
LSU emphatically answered one of its biggest questions of the young season against Texas A&M, at least for now.
After the Ole Miss pass rush terrorized quarterback Sam Leavitt, the Tigers’ offensive line held up much better in the 35-6 win over Texas A&M, even with Leavitt’s mobility limited by a hamstring injury.
After the 32-24 loss to the Rebels, Lane Kiffin said there could be changes coming to the personnel and schematics of the line. Those changes came in the form of a new starting left guard, a position Kiffin was critical of throughout the first three games.
Fifth-year senior Bo Bordelon was replaced by Tennessee transfer William Satterwhite II. The redshirt sophomore did not grade out well, receiving a Pro Football Focus pass blocking grade of 46.7 and a run blocking mark of 52.7, but it was still a step up from the 0.5 pass blocking grade Bordelon earned against Ole Miss that was downgraded from an initial 12.6.
Satterwhite, a redshirt sophomore, did only allow one pressure, but he was flagged for a holding penalty and an illegal man downfield flag in his 59 snaps. He also served as the center with the second team, and he helped the starting unit look much better as a whole.
The starters allowed hurries on just three of Leavitt’s 25 drop backs and did not give up a sack despite being blitzed 12 times, according to PFF. As he was forced to stand in the pocket by a hamstring injury, Leavitt completed 17 of 23 passes for 312 yards and two touchdowns.
It looked like a different unit from the one that took the field against Ole Miss. Versus the Rebels, Leavitt was hurried 12 times and sacked twice. He was under pressure on 47.4 percent of his drop backs and scrambled seven times.
The biggest change in an individual performance between the two games came at the other guard spot. Maryland transfer Aliou Bah retained his starting role ahead of Ole Miss transfer Devin Harper and repaid Kiffin’s faith by not allowing a single sack, hurry or pressure. He graded out as LSU’s top pass blocker with an 86.1. In the week prior, Bah received a 39.6 pass-blocking grade after giving up one sack and three hurries.
The Tigers were also extremely efficient on play action against the Aggies, which also helped take some of the pass blocking burden off of the offensive line. LSU ran play action concepts on 64 percent of Leavitt’s drop backs, and he completed 13 of his 15 play-action passes for 247 yards and both scores.
The criticism of the LSU offensive line was loud following the loss to Ole Miss. The praise after its display against Texas A&M may be just as thunderous, but that does not necessarily mean LSU’s pass protection problems are solved.
Texas A&M’s defensive front has faced questions this season as the Aggies have tried to replace three NFL Draft picks there. A&M is tied for No. 120 out of 138 FBS teams with just four sacks in as many games.
The Tigers will face bigger challenges with seven Southeastern Conference games still on the schedule.
None of LSU’s next three SEC opponents, No. 24 Kentucky (Oct. 10) on the road, No. 16 Mississippi State (Oct. 17) at home and Auburn (Oct. 24) awy, have pass rushes significantly more intimidating than does Texas A&M. But Ole Miss’ pass rush was not feared before the LSU game. Two ranked opponents and road trips to Kentucky and Auburn will provide important tests to determine whether LSU can sustain this success on the offensive front.
And if there are still questions at the end of October, then Kiffin and Co. can spend their Halloween bye week fearing the impending haunts of No. 7 Alabama, No. 1 Texas and No. 17 Tennessee in November.
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