Three Weeks Of LSU Football: The Highs and Lows
By Scotty Nola
High: Brandon Harris is throwing the ball downfield
Sep 5, 2015; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU Tigers quarterback Brandon Harris (6) before a game against the McNeese State Cowboys at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Brandon Harris isn’t throwing a ton pf passes, but he is throwing the deep ball as well as any QB in the country right now in that limited sample.
Each game has featured multiple 20+ yard strikes thrown right down the middle to LSU’s fast receiving corps. These big plays take advantage of the attention Leonard Fournette draws from safeties and linebackers and they often jump start drives and lead to points.
With teams keying in on the LSU rushing attack throwing the ball into open space will be key for LSU moving forward.
You can’t expect Fournette to shoulder the entire load 100% of the time and Brandon Harris has the ability to create enough pffense with his arm to turn LSU into a complete team.
Low: Brandon Harris is only throwing the deep ball
LSU has great deep threats like Travin Dural, Malachi Dupre and DeSean Smith. They all have that perfect combination of speed, height and hands to make plays down the field. The Tigers are starting to utilize the trio to great effect.
The Tigers also have players like John Diarse Colin Jeter and Trey Quinn whose talents are beter suited to quick underneath throws. They are not being utilized as well, and this could come back to haunt LSU.
Deep pasing is well and good, but it’s inefficent, especially when it breaks down a bit. Against Syracuse Brandon Harris had a 50% completion rate, about what you expect from a good deep ball passer.
50% isn’t enough to get a team out of tight spots when the running game isn’t cruising. LSU fans will all remember the 2012 National Championship game. The run game sputtered, the deep passes weren’t there, and with no short passing game built into the offense the team was held scoreless.
LSU needs to develop a short passing game as a fallback position. Sooner or later they will need it.
Next: Run, Leonard --- Run!