Based upon the game on November 5, LSU decided to try and create space for the Bamma LBs to have to run around. Because of their size, we thought we could create match-up problems on the turf with our speed advantage over their LBs(didn't happen) and we thought we could tire them out from making them run around (we didn't have the ball nearly long enough for this to have a chance).

Witness the multiple usage of the standard I formation 2 WR and a TE personel (or similar pro-set) morphed into the spread formation. Since Bama does a lot of situational substitution, the hope would be when they see our players come out for the huddle, they would stay in base 3-4 and we would then spread them out.

Deangelo Peterson was split very wide a number of time as the only WR on his side creating a three WR set. Interestingly, LSU would put Randle in the slot on this play to try and get him matched up against a Safety at worst and possibly a LB.

Our 280 FB Copeland had almost as many plays lined up as a WR as our leading wide receiver from the first Bama game, Russell Shep.

We even tried a little no huddle to prevent Bama from substituting (they may not have even done that since they were doing just fine) and to try and tire them out more.

In simple terms, I believe Jefferson had inside and outside run possibilities (including the read option and sprint option) he could audible to depending upon how spread out the Bama D was. Our blocking was so piss-poor and the decisions by Jefferson to keep were so poor that these never had a real shot. We were in second and long all night. Jefferson reverted to his 2009 and 2010 option form and the number of times the "optioned" defender made the tackle on the RB was sickening. Dropped snaps and 5 yard penalties killed us too.

When it came to passing, we would do a lot of quick throws using the space open to us (Slants to the WR as the Bama LBs were spread out, to the backs out of the backfield when the Bama player had vacated the flat following the slanting WR or other pattern). Jefferson was actually 6 for 7 in the first half, but it netted him only 26 yards. Of course, two of his throws were so close to being pick-6s the crowd reacted to the possible pick ( I sat in a mixed Bama/LSU section). We got what we wanted here match-up wise (no one lined up over Randle, a Bama CB lined up on Peterson and even Copeland (when they were in a zone)) and it still didn't work.

My problems with this game plan -

1. LSU, with Jefferson under center, has problems executing the offensive plays they've been running since spring practice. Why they thought they could put players in unfamiliar circumstances and execute plays like that is beyond me. In the end, the throws were averaging 4 yards a pop and the runs less than that. So we needed every play to work just enough to have a chance for a first down. Dropped snaps, false-starts, etc. killed us here. Second and third and longs were impossible to convert, especially when the pass routes for these downs were run well short of any first down marker.

Contrast that with Bama - no newplays really, they just broke tendencies and threw Play Action rollouts constantly. Easy throws which got Mccaron confident and into the game. Bama had second and five so often that converting first downs and sustaining drives was made easy.

2. With Bama jumping the short slants, etc., i never once saw us try a slant and go or a pump fake to a slant and then hit the crossing TE (or WR) behind the Bama LBs that had jumped the slant. They were taking away something we were doing, but it left space for us to try things. Its beyond me that we don't try and take advantage of what they were giving us. This may have been difficult because Jefferson is not a guy who can anticipate someone being open very often. (as a side note - we did have WRs open during the game at times, but either the pass rush was onto us or Jefferson was not looking at that WR at the time).

3. Our best play call of the night was the 3rd and 18 pass to Landry. With a good throw (or longer protection) he could have scored. It was one of the few times I saw multiple LSU WRs running routes downfield on the same play. At some point, I would have just spread it out to four Wide, have all four run a seam route, and tell Jordan he has 2.5 seconds to pick the best match-up and throw it or pull it down and run - don't wait a damn second longer. At least it would have made bama adjust to longer routes and would have been aggressive offensive football instead of whatever it is we did.

4. Individual players were having trouble executing and we let multiple 5th year seniors with a good amount of SEC experience sit on the bench. Shaw and Hebert are not our best OL (or close to it), but clearly Hurst, Blackwell, etc were not getting it done - to not even see if these guys could get it done for a series was stupid. Could Shaw whiff on the BAma DE? Sure, but would that have let the De get to the QB any faster than Hurst's whiffs? The Lee part of things has been discussed ad naseum so I won't get into that much other than to wonder why Miles continues to base it on Jeffersons legs, which only resulted in ONE positive play/scramble for a first down the entire night ( so we got four quarters of sub-par executing and leadership for the benefit of one first down). If you're worried about Lee and the pass rush, max protect with 2 and 3 man routes and see what you can hit. Tell Lee to throw it away the second he knows no one is open.

5. There was no back-up plan. We later tried some of our power plays, which had "some" success. A three yard or seven yard Hillard run (the seven yarder coming with Bama probably confused as to why we were running in the fourth quarter). Had we run these earlier, 2nd and 7 would have been much better than 2nd and 11 plus our executing may have been better as we continued it. Play-action will also work better, though Jefferson's PA fakes are laughable.

6. FB dive on third and four in the fourth quarter. I fully believe each of the offensive coaches (and Miles) should have to donate their BCS bowl bonuses to charity (or the LSU Forever thing) for this play alone. I don't even care that it looks like Jefferson audibled to this. It should not have been an option with Copeland lined up at the spot and on one of the biggest downs of the year.