re: Keys to winning BCS: Last year Bama was 92nd in Passing Offense

great stat find!

Everybody knows teams that consistently run the ball and stop the run win championships.

I have been encouraged by how improved the Oline has been despite no real threat of a vertical passing game and defenses stuffing the box.

Problem is...we would be able to run that much better if teams had to at least respect our passing game.

We will not win an SEC title with such an anemic passing game...and it's a shame because we are a QB away from seriously challenging for one IMO.

furthermore...our 2010 team stats at this point most closely resembles 2002 (8-4 regular season)...only our passing game is even worse with JJ than it was with an injured Mauck/Randall/Clausen and a worse running game as well.

Improved passing game is a MUST unless you are content with 8 or possibly 9 wins.

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A great run game makes the QB's life a hell of lot easier. Which is why Bama went 14-0 last year.

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Truth!

And as I just said in another post, the comparisons to Alabama last year just need to stop. There are absolutely no comparisons. Alabama had one of the most dominant if not the most dominant running games in the country last year featuring the Heisman Trophy winner and an almost equally solid side kick in Trent Richardson. Like him or not McElroy was effective when the tide chose to throw the ball and they did it just enough to force defenses to stay honest and not load the box to try to stop the run.

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bama had a really, really high rushing ranking and they did it without an option offense

think about that

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This went way way over the OP head

1) Bama had a much much better running game last year than LSU

2) They weren't giving up tons of sacks (LSU was).

3) Their defense last year is better than LSU's will be this year.

It's pretty simple.

What's more important in run defense and MSU rushed for 150

Bama had a dominant defense and dominant running game, so all they needed was a serviceable passing attack, which they got. Their QB, much like Matt Mauck, Matt Flynn, etc... just had to manage the game and distribute the ball to the playmakers.

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Alabama averaged over 400 yards per game last season. LSU last season? 300. Even if we up our rushing yards by 75 yards, we are actually passing for less as of now by 60+ yards, so our offense is a net 15 yards better.

So now we are at 320 ypg, a whopping 20% less than Bama's offense from last year. So yeah, not even close.

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I was talking about the rushing game. Poster stated that we don't have a championship caliber rushing attack. I showed that it was on par with Bama's from last season.

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We average 200+ yards per game on the ground.

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We'll see how long that lasts. 200 yards against Vandy and a UNC defense missing multiple starters is one thing. In the red zone against State, our run game left a lot to be desired. Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot.. passing is the only way to win! It's all JJ's fault! Well, except for the TD he ran in on his own and the 50+ yard completion for a TD. Other than that, every FG in the red zone was JJ's fault. Had nothing to do with our lack of a great run game. Nope, not at all.

Against Florida last year, LSU rushed for 66 yards. The Gators rushed for 193. We lost.

Against Bama, we rushed for 95 yards. Bama rushed for 176. We lost.

Against Georgia, we rushed for 156 and held UGA to 45 on the ground. We won.

Against Ole Miss we rushed for 40 yards and Ole Miss rushed for 193. We lost.

We rushed for 147 against Arkansas and they rushed for 148. We won.

When LSU doesn't rush for 100 yards, it's highly likely we'll lose. And I haven't seen enough this season to convince me that the run game is that much improved from last year. I hope I'm wrong. But I think we should be far more concerned about that than whether or not we have can throw the ball downfield.