Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
By Hunt Palmer
When the defense doesn’t allow a touchdown, the offense does and only produces one of its own, it’s no surprise that the better grades fall on defense.
It’s fitting that all five highest grades are on defense this week, and all five lowest grades are on offense.
This Tiger offense will go down as one of the school’s worst. LSU failed to score more than 25 points against an FBS opponent for the first time since the Division I split in 1978. Hat tip to Scott Rabalais of the The Advocate for that one.
Saturday night’s offensive effort was putrid. The grades back that up. The defense was stout.
HIGHEST GRADES
- Ja’Keem Jackson, CB – 80.5
- Dashawn Spears, S – 77.9
- DJ Pickett, CB – 75.1
- Harold Perkins Jr., LB – 74.9
- Jimari Butler, EDGE – 73.5
Jackson hasn’t seen much playing time this season. With Mansoor Delane out, he got 21 snaps and graded an 80 in coverage. PFF credited him with a pair of tackles, and he forced an incompletion.
Spears has tended to make plays when called upon. He played 27 snaps and made two tackles. In coverage, he was targeted five times and only allowed one catch. His coverage grade was 78.4.
DJ Pickett continues to blossom into a great player. He had in interception, a sack on a blitz and only allowed four of his eight targets to be caught. Pickett will absolutely be a priority for the next coaching staff.
In his final game in Tiger Stadium, Harold Perkins Jr. graded out well despite playing through an injury. He made three tackles and allowed a total of 12 yards on four targets in coverage. His tackling grade was 78.6.
And Jimari Butler probably had his most productive game. He had a pair of sacks in 20 pass rush snaps.
LOWEST GRADES
- Chris Hilton, WR – 50.1
- Michael Van Buren, QB – 50.7
- Ory Williams, OT – 55.6
- Barion Brown, WR – 56.7
- Kyle Parker, WR – 57.4
Hilton made a great play to down a Grant Chadwick punt inside the five yard line. He was only targeted once in the game. To this point in the season, Hilton has a total of 51 receiving yards.
This was a spot for Van Buren to really settle in and play a low-stress, high quality game. It didn’t happen. He completed just 60% of his throws for 202 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He graded 53.0 in the passing game and was not credited with a single “Big Time Throw.”
Ory Williams left the game with an ankle injury and was in a walking boot for the second half. He only played 18 snaps. His eight pass blocking reps graded a 31.8 though he didn’t allow a pressure or a hit.
Barion Brown had five catches for 35 yards, but the 15-yard penalty for offensive pass interference really dinged him. Kyle Parker also made two catches for 33 yards including 15 yards after the catch, but his pass game grade was 57.9, and his run blocking grade was just 56.9.
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