Here’s what Brian Kelly said about fixing LSU’s issues in the red zone

LSU has struggled in the red zone this year. Here’s what Brian Kelly had to say after the loss to Alabama.

LSU’s offense ran into countless problems in the loss to Alabama. Among them: trouble in the red zone. It’s something that’s plagued LSU all season long.

After the game, [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] was asked about LSU’s struggles to turn red zone chances into points.

“You know, the red zone, is about, at the end of the day, having a great running game,” Kelly said, “Where you just chew people up in the running game or you’ve got a veteran QB that is smart, savvy, experienced, and I’ve had both.”

Kelly said [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] is getting there, but he’s still learning.

With a struggling run game and a first-year starter at QB, LSU ranks 82nd nationally in red zone scoring.

Inability in the red area killed LSU’s momentum early against Alabama. The Tigers were driving with a chance to tie the game after Bama’s opening score, but LSU settled for a field goal after it couldn’t convert on third and goal. After that, Alabama went up 14-3 and LSU couldn’t keep up.

When you’re rebuilding a defense like LSU is, you can’t have an offense that fails to cash in on these chances.

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Where Jayden Daniels ranks on LSU’s all-time QB leader boards

Here’s where Jayden Daniels sits on LSU’s all-time passing lists with three regular season games to go.

From [autotag]Joe Burrow[/autotag] to [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag], LSU has witnessed some good QB play over the last six years.

In the midst of a stellar 2023, Daniels is on his way to joining Burrow near the top of LSU’s record books. With a few games to go, Daniels still has room to climb, but he is already top three in several key categories.

Daniels’ ability to account for yardage through the air and on the ground has made him one of the sport’s most productive players over the last two years.

Here’s where Daniels sits among LSU quarterbacks as he prepares for Florida this weekend.

Five stats that defined LSU’s loss at Ole Miss

Here are five stats that defined LSU’s loss at Ole Miss.

After entering the year ranked No. 5 in the AP Top 25, LSU lost two games before the calendar flipped to October.

It was a disappointing start for a team that was hoping to win the SEC and compete for a playoff spot.

The offense did its job, but the defense is another story.

LSU defenders couldn’t do anything to stop Ole Miss. Blown coverages and missed tackles allowed the Rebel offense to do whatever it wanted, despite only scoring 10 points against Alabama the week prior.

LSU will be on the road again this week as it turns its attention to Missouri.

Here are five stats that defined LSU’s thrilling loss in Oxford.

LSU Splits: How much better was the Tigers offense at home?

What can a look at LSU’s splits tell us about their offensive performance?

Numbers never lie.

That phrase gets thrown around a lot when analyzing the output of a team.

It might be true, but there’s a catch. Though numbers may never lie, they don’t always tell the full story. Looking at a stat over the course of a season gives a general idea of how good a team was but doesn’t always illuminate the performance in certain situations.

Here, we’ll be digging into some of LSU’s 2022 splits. We’ll look at how LSU performed at home versus on the road, how the Tigers played against winning teams as opposed to sub-.500 teams, and some other key splits too.

Projecting the stats for LSU receivers in 2023

Here’s what to expect from LSU’s receivers in 2023.

Despite losing [autotag]Kayshon Boutte[/autotag] and [autotag]Jaray Jenkins[/autotag], LSU returns a talented wide receiver room in 2023.

[autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag] enters his junior year after leading the SEC in catches last year. Behind Nabers, there’s [autotag]Brian Thomas Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Kyren Lacy[/autotag], both of which earned praise from offensive coordinator [autotag]Mike Denbrock[/autotag] this spring.

There’s also [autotag]Mason Taylor[/autotag], one of the sport’s most impressive freshmen in 2022.

When I did this last year, I got a bit too eager with the projections. This year, I’ve taken more of a conservative approach. With that out of the way, lets jump right in and take a look at what we might see from LSU’s receivers this fall.

5 statistical marks LSU must hit for success in 2023

Here’s what the Tigers need to do to reach their goals in 2023.

[autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] debuted at LSU with a 10-win season in 2022.

Kelly isn’t rebuilding anymore. LSU’s play in 2022 has many thinking the Tigers are ready to compete at a higher level in 2023.

For that to happen, this group needs to take a few steps.

There was too much inconsistency last year on both sides of the ball. That makes sense given the youth of the team and the volume of transfers. You can only do so much in Year 1.

In Year 2 under Kelly, the expectations have been raised. That comes with the territory of coaching at LSU. We’ll look at five statistical marks LSU needs to hit to find that desired level of success this fall.

From explosive plays to creating more pressure on defense, these are the specific areas that will lead to LSU winning games.

This 1 stat explains much of LSU’s offensive success in 2022

Success on first downs was a major factor for LSU last fall.

Third down has always been known as the “money down”.

How a team performs on third down is thought to go a long way toward determining the outcome of the game — and for the most part, that’s true.

What leads to success on third down? You need a good offense and a play-caller dialing up the right thing at the right moment. You need the players to execute it, too.

But the easiest way to be good on third down is to not get there. The best offenses take care of business before late downs even arrive. When they do arrive, they’re manageable. Third and three is a lot easier than third and nine.

LSU’s offense was efficient last year. It wasn’t explosive, but it was efficient. The main culprit leading to that success was LSU’s performance on first down.

LSU’s offense ran 997 plays in 2022. Only 201 of those came on third or fourth down. A percentage around 20%.

The only offenses who ran late down players at a lower clip were Georgia, USC, Alabama and Syracuse. Three of those units were some of the sports best. Other offenses in the top 10 include UCLA, UTSA and Oregon.

According to CollegeFootballData, LSU was eighth in first down PPA/EPA. On second and third down, LSU was just 30th and 42nd. Not terrible, but not elite and far from the top 10.

The conversion rate tells a bit of a different story, where LSU was one of the sport’s best on late downs. LSU was one of just seven FBS teams to rank in the top 15 in avoiding late downs, but also top 15 when it came to converting them.

Despite all the consistency issues LSU had on offense, the numbers still suggest this was a good unit across the board, capable of handling every situation.

That bodes well for Mike Denbrock’s unit this fall.

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An advanced stats look at Jayden Daniels

Here’s an advanced stats look at Jayden Daniels in 2021

We still don’t know much about who will start at quarterback for LSU when the season begins in less than a month.

We do know that it is a three-horse race between Myles Brennan, Garrett Nussmeier, and [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag].

Of those three, Daniels has the most experience. Brennan has made a few starts and Nussmeier has seen some action, but neither has given us a huge sample size.

Daniels started three years at Arizona State, which means we have a wealth of information.

The situation Daniels is in now is different than the one at Arizona State. He has better wide receivers and the coaching staff isn’t in complete turmoil.

That doesn’t mean we can’t learn anything about who Daniels was as a Sun Devil. Let’s jump right in and see what the advanced stats tell us about his last three years.

How Georgia, LSU stack up ahead of SECCG: Statistical breakdown

How Georgia and LSU stack up statistically ahead of the SEC Championship Game, which is college football’s biggest of the weekend.

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The big one is here.

On Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on CBS, Georgia and LSU will square off in the SEC Championship Game in what will be a College Football Playoff play-in game for Georgia.

Flor LSU, the Tigers can probably afford to drop this one given their undefeated record and body of work to date.

But for the Dawgs, this is it. It’s win or go home. We suffered defeat in the exact same scenario last season and Kirby Smart will put out all the tricks to make sure that does not happen.

Georgia and LSU are two very different football teams.

LSU’s offense is incredible. Georgia’s, well, is not.

Georgia’s defense is equally as good as LSU’s offense. LSU’s defense is nothing special.

How this game plays out will be fun to watch. LSU will score points, less points than usual I would assume. Can Georgia hang in there and match them?

Here are how these two teams match up statistically.

OFFENSE:

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