After an interception, three fumbles and 14 penalties the Tigers managed to pull out a victory over Vanderbilt this past weekend in Nashville, Tenn.
LSU gave the Commodores 133 yards in the 14 penalties committed, which was only five yards less than Vandy’s total yardage. Correcting the errors that came against an unranked team are on the practice schedule for this week as the team prepares for No. 11 Florida. Mistakes on offense not only give the opposing offense an opportunity, but also wear down the LSU defense earlier in the game.
“It’s hard on us,” said senior Kyle Williams. “It’s hard to give teams so many yards, and their offense the opportunity to have the ball over and over again. We have to hold on to it a little bit better.”
Two fumbles and the interception added to Vanderbilt’s favorable field advantage giving the opposition the ball on the LSU 20-yard line twice and the LSU 12-yard line. Fortunately for the Tigers, the LSU defense halted the Commodores to only six points.
“We have constantly reviewed [the turnover] situation,” Miles said. “It’s something on the forefront for our team. In respect to who we are playing, we can’t turn the football over.”
Although the effects of penalties can be detrimental, Miles said he does not want players to limit their aggressiveness because he sees great effort on tackles and blocks.
“There’s a lot of positive there,” Miles said. “In reference to changing technique, we need to change where they put their hands – small things. Certainly that is going to be something that is looked at.”
Along with penalties, coaches plan on correcting the mistakes made with wide receivers as well. While Miles would not pin point certain techniques, junior receiver Skyler Green said receivers have been focusing on fundamentals each week.
“Every week we do ball security drills. Guys have to focus more when they are in the predicament to where you feel a guy is right behind you, or you feel a guy coming you have to hold that ball high and tight,” Green said. “We do our passing drills with our quarterbacks. Then we do our seven-on-sevens. At the end of practice we catch 50 passes a day. All the wide receivers get in a line and coaches just start drilling the ball to us.”
The challenges are being approached this week at practice. Miles said he has confidence his team will clear up all mistakes while preparing for Florida.
“We will handle it internally,” Miles said. “They have to see it, understand it and its attention to detail. It just needs to be made. We’ll look at it on film and talk about it and get it squared away.”
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