LSU has major ground game issues on both sides of the ball

Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Nick Brossette, Derrius Guice, Leonard Fournette, Jeremy Hill, and Stevan Ridley were all LSU tailbacks who have rushed for over 1,000 yards in a season since 2010. The Tigers have consistently had a consistent and efficient rushing attack.

Meanwhile, the SEC West powerhouse has consistently had a big and athletic front seven that has been able to bow up and be stout against their run. This effectiveness at the line of scrimmage has allowed this program to win three national championships in the last 18 seasons.

That has all gone out the window in 2021. The Tigers cannot establish the run and have been sliced on defense when Power Five opponents commit to the ground game.

Offensive issues

Tyrion Davis-Price entered his junior season with all the prerequisites to be the next RB1 at LSU. The former top-150 recruit from Louisiana rushed for 446 yards and three touchdowns last year against an All-SEC schedule and was going to be leaned on to provide efficiency and balance to the offense.

That has not happened.

Davis-Price leads the team with 45 rush attempts but is only averaging 3.11 yards per attempt. The 223-pound tailback has a rushing success rate of just 31.11 percent and only three rushes over 10-plus yards. This is putting LSU severely behind the chains.

Due to a rushing success rate ranking 123rd nationally, the Tigers have become extremely pass-heavy. The LSU Tigers have a pass play rate of 62.17 percent which ranks sixth nationally. Mississippi State and Virginia are the only Power Five programs with a higher pass rate. The Tigers could not run the ball to protect late second-half leads against both Mississippi State and Auburn. Head coach Ed Orgeron knows that his offense must get this fixed.

“We need to be committed to it,” Orgeron said about the ground game on Monday. “I think we need to make a recommitment to calling the run plays that we practice, and sometimes we are, sometimes we’re not. We need to make a couple of adjustments on the things that we’re doing — maybe some different sets, some different formations — to help us be more aggressive and attack the line of scrimmage.

“We’re not doing that well. Hopefully, we can get that done this week.”

In recent weeks, true freshman Corey Kiner has received some reps and has a 50 percent success rate on 32 rushes. Don’t be surprised if the Cincinnati native is more involved in the offense when the Tigers travel to Kroger Field.

Defense is getting sliced

Against FCS McNeese State and Central Michigan, the Tigers held up well in the ground game. A defensive line loaded with former blue-chip recruits owned the point of attack allowing linebackers to run downhill and make tackles.

That changed against the three Power Five opponents that LSU has faced.

UCLA collected 259 non-sack rushing yards averaging 6.64 yards per rush and posting a success rate of 56.41 percent with 11 snaps going over 10-plus yards. Pass-heavy Mississippi State accumulated 115 non-sack rushing yards averaging 4.60 yards per rush with a 60 percent success rate. Auburn rushed for 181 non-sack yards averaging 6.70 yards per pop with a success rate of 62.5 percent.

Overall, LSU is allowing a 59.09 percent rushing success rate to their three Power Five opponents with 22.73 percent of those attempts going for over 10-plus yards. The Tigers are consistently getting gutted on the ground.

When taking a closer look at the personnel, this is a unit that is built to rush the passer. Both BJ Ojulari and Ali Gaye are skinny defensive ends recruited to use their speed on the edge. Inside, the Tigers are not getting enough disruption from the middle. At the next level, the linebackers have had some issues diagnosing and fitting the run which has led to some ugly numbers.

Against both Auburn and Mississippi State, the Tigers were able to build an early lead. This led to Bo Nix throwing the ball a ton instead of pounding away with the ground game.

Expect Kentucky to hammer the ball early and often with Chris Rodriguez Jr. who enters the game as the SEC’s leading rusher with a 53.85 percent success rate.

If the Wildcats can get the run game going and secure an early lead, it could be a long day for an LSU defense that is built to rush the passer and use their uber-talented cornerbacks in man coverage on the perimeter.

Kentucky enters this week’s matchup with a better situation on the line of scrimmage on both offense and defense. Meanwhile, the Wildcats have a tailback that looks like the ones we’ve seen at LSU for over a decade.

If this becomes an old-school SEC fistfight at the point of attack, the Wildcats appear to have a significant advantage.