Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
By Matt Flynn and Jacob Hester
From Mansoor Delane’s lockdown defense to Garrett Nussmeier’s costly interception, here’s a break down of the good, bad and the ugly from LSU’s win over South Carolina.
THE GOOD
Mansoor 3rd down stop
4th Quarter, LSU 17, South Carolina 10
4th & 4
Ball on LSU 31
Late in the game, fourth down at the opponent’s 31, down by seven, Shane Beamer made the right call to go for it. The problem? His quarterback made the decision to throw in the direction of Mansoor Delane. One of the best true lockdown corners in the country this season, Delane did not disappoint.
South Carolina lined up in a 3×1 formation, and LSU responded with zero coverage, straight man-to-man with zero safeties deep. Typically, that means the defense is “bringing the house,” blitzing one more than the offense can block. However, LSU used its two extra defenders to spy LaNorris Sellers with Harold Perkins Jr. and Whit Weeks.
Aggressive call. Smart execution. Blanket coverage. Incomplete pass. LSU football.
Trey’Dez touchdown
2nd quarter, LSU 3, South Carolina 7
1st and goal
Ball on South Carolina 6
Excellent use of 14 personnel plus a little window-dressing to manipulate the defense into giving them exactly what they wanted. For context, 14 personnel means one running back and four tight ends. Yes, you read that right, four tight ends.
LSU breaks the huddle showing a heavy run formation, and then executes a quick-shift into a 4X1 empty shotgun set. The speed of that shift is crucial, it prevents the defense from adjusting. The result? The LSU design got their big red zone “cheat code,” Trey’Dez Green, in a one-on-one matchup with a South Carolina defender.
Imagine being South Carolina’s defensive coordinator watching that madness unfold. All that motion, only to realize you’ve got a 6-foot-7 receiver lined up one-on-one. SIX SEVEN.
Touchdown, Tigers. Time to dance with your team.
THE BAD
South Carolina screen for a 1st down
1st Quarter, LSU 3, South Carolina 0
3rd & 8
Ball on South Carolina 27
Perfectly timed screen plays are beautiful. South Carolina dialed up a great play call against an aggressive LSU defensive play call.
LSU sent a corner blitz from the boundary, the cornerback on the short side of the field. LSU has had a lot of success with this play throughout the season because it is tough for college players to see pre-snap. South Carolina called the perfect play for this and ran a HB screen away from the blitzing corner.
When a corner blitzes, safeties have to protect the vacancy that corner leaves in coverage. You see both of LSU’s safeties turn their shoulders and run towards that vacancy, and in doing so, ran directly away from the developing screen. This sets up a great opportunity for South Carolina to get three blockers out in front of their ball carrier with only three defenders left to make the play.
Advantage, South Carolina.
LSU actually did a really nice job only allowing 13 yards, but it is still enough for South Carolina to convert a 3rd down.
LSU 3rd down throwaway
1st Quarter, LSU 3, South Carolina 0
1st & 10
Ball on South Carolina 40
Sometimes, the difference between a great play and a bad play is smaller than you think. This play is a great example of how one small pre-snap decision can make the difference between an explosive play and a throwaway.
LSU lined up in a two-by-two formation: two receivers right and two receivers left. The running back is next to the quarterback and offset to the right, which is important.
LSU is running a ‘scat’ protection, which is a five-man protection with the running back immediately releasing into his route. The offensive line’s responsibility is the four down lineman, plus the most dangerous linebacker.
LSU misidentifies the linebacker alignment, sliding the offensive line to pick up the Mike (middle) linebacker on the right instead of the Will (weak-side) linebacker on the left.
There is absolutely no reason to declare the Mike linebacker in this situation. Pass protection is a numbers game, and you can see that LSU has three potential pass catches to the right (RB, TE, WR). There are three defenders to cover those three LSU players, and that includes the Mike linebacker. This means the protection declaration should be the Will linebacker.
What happened next? Of course, the Will linebacker blitzes, triggering Nussmeier to be “hot.” He has no choice but to drift to the right and throw it away. This one small, seemingly insignificant, decision forces a throwaway and does not allow for Nussmeier to sit in a clean pocket and hit a wide open Barion Brown on the shallow cross.
THE UGLY
South Carolina long touchdown run
1st quarter, LSU 3, South Carolina 0
3rd & 2
Ball on the South Carolina 28
If you have ever played NCAA Football or Madden, you have definitely heard of a “split zone” running play. This is exactly what South Carolina dialed up on 3rd and short early in the game.
Unfortunately for LSU, they were running a cross-dog blitz with the Weeks brothers. Whit Weeks got washed down with his aggressive blitz and LSU was undisciplined with their eyes and assignments.
The zone run is to the left, but South Carolina ran their tight end to the right, which created the “split” look. LSU got confused and three defenders chased the tight end, taking them completely out of the play.
South Carolina executed all of their blocks perfectly at the point of contact, which springs their running back untouched to the secondary. Make one guy miss and touchdown, Game Cocks.
Nuss interception
2nd quarter, LSU 10, South Carolina 7
3rd & 12
Ball on LSU 48
Remember when I mentioned how small details can make a big difference? This is a perfect example, one pre-snap decision turns an LSU explosive into a brutal interception.
LSU lines up in a two-by-two formation with the running back positioned to the quarterback’s right. They call a six-man protection, the five offensive linemen handle the four down linemen plus the most dangerous linebacker, while the running back serves as the sixth protector, responsible for the next most threatening linebacker or defensive back.
South Carolina aligns the Mike linebacker directly over the center on the line of scrimmage, giving LSU’s offensive line the four down linemen and the Mike as their assignments. That makes the Sam linebacker on the left the next most dangerous defender.
Instead of keeping the back where he is, Nussmeier decided to move the RB to his left to potentially help him in protection if that backer blitzes. My opinion is that you should never do this. If the backer comes, the back should simply perform a cross-key blitz.
Why does this matter? The back’s route in this route concept should be a check down to the right side of the play. When Nussmeier moved him to the left side, he ran his check down to the left side of the play. This decision is the nail in the coffin.
The Mike linebacker’s job is to open up and work towards the direction of the running back, and since the running back went left, the Mike went left. Nussmeier had to try and get the ball over that backer’s head, which is an impossible throw that turned into an interception.
Kyle Parker should have been wide open if the running back was where he should have been.
No excuses for Nussmeier on this one. Mistakes happen all the time pre-snap, but it is the quarterback’s job to ensure that one mistake does not turn into two.
