In every offensive system, balance between the run game and the passing attack is crucial to establishing a dynamic and efficient rhythm to keep opposing defenses honest and constantly guessing.
Within each scheme, the perfect ratio of run to pass varies greatly depends on a team’s strengths, a specific game plan targeting an opponent’s weaknesses and the personnel available to execute each play.
In its 45-24 victory against the University of South Carolina, the then-No. 7 LSU football team epitomized its own version of balance, using its deep threat wide receivers to open up the run game.
“It’s what we are going to do,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “[LSU Offensive Coordinator] Cam [Cameron] did a great job. [LSU Offensive Line Coach] Jeff Grimes did a really good job with our offensive line and the suggestions he makes for the running game. It’s what we do. It’s who we are.”
Since arriving at LSU in 2005, Miles has run the ball a little more than 60 percent of the time, so it’s no surprise that his teams’ offensive identities center around their ability to power run, especially the Tigers’ 2015 version.
With the NCAA’s rushing leader LSU sophomore running back Leonard Fournette spearheading the nation’s third-best rushing offense averaging 346.4 yards per game on the ground, sophomore quarterback Brandon Harris was content to play his role as the master of the hand-off through LSU’s first four games.
“When you’ve got four great running backs on top of [sophomore fullback John David] Moore and [freshman fullback] Bry’Kiethon [Mouton], who did a great job tonight, it’s not much I can argue with,” Harris said. “I like the production. I like what Cam is doing. Everybody around here knows I can throw the football. Nobody around here is questioning that.”
But with the Tigers trailing for the first time this season, Harris demonstrated his command of the offense during LSU’s first series against the Gamecocks (2-4, 0-4 SEC).
Harris completed three of five attempts on the drive for 27 yards, including converting a third down with a 17-yard pass to junior wide receiver Travin Dural. Harris also kept the drive alive with a five-yard run on a third and short.
Although sophomore running back Darrel Williams tallied the Tigers’ first touchdown with a four-yard dive and put LSU ahead, 7-3, with 5:15 left in the opening quarter, LSU was not done relying on Harris’ arm.
After sophomore safety John Battle nabbed his first career interception with 1:19 remaining in the half, the Tigers looked to gain momentum with a score before the break, and Harris answered.
For the first time in 2015, Harris showed his composure under the pressure of running a two-minute offense, driving down the field with a 15-yard completion to Fournette and a 28-yard pitch and catch with sophomore wide receiver Malachi Dupre.
Throughout the first half, Harris and company opened up the passing game with four passing plays of 15 or more yards a piece and the Tigers’ wideouts rebounded from their drop-filled performance against Eastern Michigan University on Oct. 3.
“Last week, we weren’t focused as we needed to be,” Dural said. “We came out today very focused and took advantage of every ball that was thrown to us.”
While Harris showcased his duo of deep threats in Dupre and Dural, who combined for 10 catches for 183 yards and two touchdowns, freshman running back Derrius Guice shined in the backfield when Fournette was pulled in the third quarter.
Guice’s refusal be tackled turned losses or short gains into highlight reels of grit and determination.
In the third quarter, Guice cut back and plowed through would-be tacklers to make a 25-gain out of what appeared to be a guaranteed loss a split second after the snap.
“He’s a man,” Fournette said. “He’s wild. He never likes going down. He’s a beast though.”
Although Guice notched three more yards than Fournette against South Carolina, Fournette broke what has become what Miles describes as his “home run” play just 59 seconds into the second half.
After cutting through a hole opened by the center of the Tigers’ offensive line, Fournette accelerated to out-run the Gamecocks’ secondary for a 87-yard yard touchdown run, sparking the Tigers to 28 points in the second half.
Although LSU’s offensive balance relies heavily on the run and it may not fit into the pass-dependent schemes many schools lean toward, one thing is certain – if it works, the Tigers won’t be changing it any time soon.
“We don’t go over there to the coach, and say, ‘Look, we need to pass the ball more,’” Harris said. “It’s been a winning formula. We’re 5-0. We’ve done everything we’ve had to do.”