LSU Struggles On Third-And-Longs

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Got an interesting email today from a Tennessee fan… and LSU fans might want to take note.

For years, there has been one big knock on new Tiger defensive coordinator John Chavis:

His teams have the reputation of giving up way too many third-and-longs.

Now, perhaps those third down struggles are more perception than reality.  After all, it stands to reason that fans would remember the ones that got away, so to speak.  A third and 15, when converted, isn’t easily forgotten.

But a quick look at the numbers from LSU’s game against Washington suggests that Chavis’ third-and-long struggles might be quite real… and might have followed him from Knoxville to Baton Rouge.

Let’s take a closer look at the third downs faced by the Huskies last Saturday night.

Down
& Distance                Play                                                                 Result

Washington faced 16 third downs of 5 yards or longer.  One resulted in a field goal attempt at the end of the first half.  Another was converted as the result of a roughing the passer penalty.

Of the other 14, 7 were converted for first downs.  I’m sure Chavis would prefer to see his defense bat better than 50/50 on third downs of 5 yards or longer.

However, the Tigers did get better — as you can see — as the game went on.  They were also playing against one of the nation’s better passers.

And, of course, Chavis has fielded a numbers of Top 10 nationally ranked defenses… including last year on a team that finished just 5-7.

It’s still a trend that LSU fans will want to keep an eye on as the season progresses.



Sidenote — notice a trend or have a question about a possible one?  Zip me an email at john@mrsec.com and I’ll see if I can get to the bottom of it.

Or post it yourself on our brand new, beautiful messageboard.