SBNation's SEC Preview: "LSU football's 10 things to know"

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For just the second time in the Les Miles era, LSU is looking at a preseason ranking worse than 11th. It'll still be ranked, but elite play is not expected of the Tigers this time around. But with a strong-as-ever running game, a strangely underrated secondary, and a good-as-always special teams unit, Miles' Bayou Bengals might make us feel pretty silly for doubting them. For more Tigers

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3. "I'll take 'Questions I Never Thought I'd Ask' for $500, Alex"


Did LSU pass too much?

No, seriously. Did LSU, a team that leaned on the run as far as it could take it in 2011 (and the run took it pretty far), throw too much for its own good in 2012? The Tigers were a top-10 rushing team last year, with a strong line opening holes against great run defenses and with a true freshman showing serious moxie.

Jeremy Hill entered an incredibly crowded backfield that already had four proven (or at least semi-proven) options, and over the last half of the season, he was the No. 1 guy. In three weeks against South Carolina, Texas A&M, and Alabama, he rushed 64 times for 358 yards and four touchdowns. He scored three times against Ole Miss and gained 124 yards in the bowl game versus Clemson. He overtook a completely underwhelming Spencer Ware on the totem pole, and he and the other four backs gave LSU a reason to lean even more heavily on the run in 2012 than it did in 2011.

But LSU didn't. Instead, LSU ran and passed an almost completely normal amount; the Tigers were five percent above the national average running on standard downs but passed more than average on passing downs. They put a lot of trust in quarterback Zach Mettenberger and the aforementioned raw receiving corps, and it didn't necessarily pay off. LSU was slightly below average with the forward pass, showing big-play ability on passing downs but little efficiency. As good as the passing game looked during LSU's second-half comeback against Alabama, that wasn't the norm.

The passing game did improve, however. Starting with the Alabama game, Mettenberger and the receiving corps did seem to improve their rapport.

Zach Mettenberger, first eight games: 112-for-198 (57%), 1,419 yards (7.2 per pass), 7 TD, 4 INT
Zach Mettenberger, last five games: 95-for-154 (62%), 1,190 yards (7.7 per pass), 5 TD, 3 INT

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