The LSU offense has been a tale of two quarterbacks, both in their first year as a starter and each having to prove his worth on the playing field.
In the beginning, sophomores Matt Mauck and Marcus Randall battled for the quarterback job, with Mauck eventually winning when Randall tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the spring game in April.
Mauck started the first six games of the year, his first as a starter, completing 63-of-130 passes for 782 yards and nine touchdowns. LSU’s record was 5-1, 3-0 in the Southeastern Conference, when he started.
Mauck injured his foot late in the Florida game when UF defensive tackle Ian Scott rolled over his ankle, causing Mauck to miss the rest of the season.
Head coach Nick Saban took some heat for Mauck’s injury. Some fans were angry that the team’s top signal caller was still in the game with the team comfortably ahead.
“We felt like it wasn’t time to put the second-team guys in or take anybody out,” Saban said after the Florida game, “and if I knew he was going to hurt his foot, I’d have taken him out. If I knew he was going to get hurt in the first quarter, I’d have taken him out then so that he wouldn’t have gotten hurt, then I’d have put him back in.”
The injury forced Randall to take the reins against South Carolina, leading a come-from-behind 38-14 victory against the Gamecocks in his first career start. He completed 12-of-23 passes for 183 yards in the win.
“The game turned out just like I figured it would. We came out and moved the ball well,” Randall said after the game.
Things went downhill in Randall’s next start against Auburn, throwing four interceptions en route to a 31-7 blowout. In two games, Randall is 25-of-51 for 295 yards.
The passing game overall has been lackluster. The team is dead last in the SEC in pass offense, averaging 134.6 passing yards per game. LSU also ranks 11th in the conference in pass efficiency and total offense.
The throwing struggles are perhaps because of inexperience. The 23-year old Mauck got more playing time last year than the 19-year-old Randall. Mauck also had time to mature playing professional baseball.
In the Tigers’ first few games, the passing attack was out of sync, but Mauck adjusted and passed for a career-high 215 yards against Miami (Ohio) and 153 yards against Florida.
Whether or not the quarterback position gets better will depend on how Randall, or possibly backups Rick Clausen or Michael Harrison, can throw the football down the field and get it into the receivers’ hands.
Contact Jason Martin at [email protected]