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Lane Kiffin on 4th Down
Posted on 9/10/26 at 9:42 am
Posted on 9/10/26 at 9:42 am
Before the current situation occupied every thread started on this board, some of the discussion around the Rant was about Kiffin's fourth-down tendencies. After one game, we obviously have an unreliably small sample size. There isn't much we can draw from it yet, but it's still a better football discussion than "We sHoULd rEmOvE tHe SEC LoGo fRoM tHe FiELd!" and "We sHoULd rEmOvE tHe SEC sTiCkEr fRoM oUr HeLmEtS!"
LSU faced five meaningful fourth downs against Clemson. Kiffin elected to attempt a field goal twice, punt twice, and go for it once.
The first came in the first quarter with LSU facing 4th & 7 at the Clemson 31. Starzyk knocked through a 49-yarder to tie the game 3-3. Nothing particularly interesting about that decision.
The one that confused me came early in the second quarter. LSU faced 4th & 3 around the Clemson 30 and Starzyk missed the 48-yard FG attempt. This was LSU's possession immediately after the Jordan Ross pick-six and Clemson's ensuing three-and-out and punt. LSU had all the momentum, was already up 17-3, and only needed three yards. I think this is the one where a lot of fans expected Kiffin to go for it. Hindsight being what it is, I think we convert and keep the drive alive with a good chance of turning it into a TD.
The other second-quarter decision was 4th & 8 at the Clemson 39. That's well outside comfortable FG range and a little long to go for it, so Kiffin punted. Again, not much controversy there.
The last two came during fourth-quarter trash time, so not much information can be obtained from them about tendencies.
The first was 4th & 13 at the Clemson 39. LSU punted and pinned Clemson inside the 15.
The last fourth down of the night was 4th & 6 at the Clemson 36 with only seconds remaining. Husan Longstreet (QB3) took the snap and handed it to Stacy Gage, who picked up 12 yards and a first down. The clock expired on the play, ending the game.
So, officially, Kiffin was 1-for-1 going for it on fourth down. But that one attempt was a handoff with the backups on the field in a 51-10 game.
Just wanted to read/ talk about something other than the drama...
LSU faced five meaningful fourth downs against Clemson. Kiffin elected to attempt a field goal twice, punt twice, and go for it once.
The first came in the first quarter with LSU facing 4th & 7 at the Clemson 31. Starzyk knocked through a 49-yarder to tie the game 3-3. Nothing particularly interesting about that decision.
The one that confused me came early in the second quarter. LSU faced 4th & 3 around the Clemson 30 and Starzyk missed the 48-yard FG attempt. This was LSU's possession immediately after the Jordan Ross pick-six and Clemson's ensuing three-and-out and punt. LSU had all the momentum, was already up 17-3, and only needed three yards. I think this is the one where a lot of fans expected Kiffin to go for it. Hindsight being what it is, I think we convert and keep the drive alive with a good chance of turning it into a TD.
The other second-quarter decision was 4th & 8 at the Clemson 39. That's well outside comfortable FG range and a little long to go for it, so Kiffin punted. Again, not much controversy there.
The last two came during fourth-quarter trash time, so not much information can be obtained from them about tendencies.
The first was 4th & 13 at the Clemson 39. LSU punted and pinned Clemson inside the 15.
The last fourth down of the night was 4th & 6 at the Clemson 36 with only seconds remaining. Husan Longstreet (QB3) took the snap and handed it to Stacy Gage, who picked up 12 yards and a first down. The clock expired on the play, ending the game.
So, officially, Kiffin was 1-for-1 going for it on fourth down. But that one attempt was a handoff with the backups on the field in a 51-10 game.
Just wanted to read/ talk about something other than the drama...
Posted on 9/10/26 at 9:44 am to BigDropper
I think it had a lot to do with the fact that clemson couldn't move the ball.
Posted on 9/10/26 at 9:49 am to BigDropper
I may be mistaken but he takes the points a lot in field goal range. Defensive mindset like his dad.
Posted on 9/10/26 at 9:50 am to BigDropper
I think if our defense wasn't so stout, we would go for it on 4th more often. At least that's the way it felt against Clemson.
We will probably see it more often moving forward, honestly.
We will probably see it more often moving forward, honestly.
Posted on 9/10/26 at 9:50 am to BigDropper
I was a little disappointed with that 4th and 3 call but he just over thought it IMO. Hopefully he stays aggressive with those sort of playcalls as even my mom said before they kicked the ball, " there is a better probability of making 3 yards to kicking a 48 yard field goal." That said, that is really my only complaint the entire game, playcalling, execution on both sides of the ball was a masterclass IMO.
Posted on 9/10/26 at 9:51 am to BigDropper
When you're coaching at a shitty school, you have to take risks you might not ordinarily take. He doesn't have to do that here like he did at Ole Miss.
Posted on 9/10/26 at 9:53 am to BigDropper
He's a gambler, but mostly a calculated gambler. If he feels that he can't rely on his defense and can't afford punts and field goals, he's going to go for it. I think he knew from the jump that we were the better team, and then as the game went on, that became abundantly clear. So there never really was any reason to push it on 4th down. I was slightly surprised by the 4th and 3 from the 30 decision, but again, LSU was obviously controlling the game, and so he apparently didn't think it was necessary to be aggressive there.
I have no doubt that he'll adjust his decisions if the game situation calls for it. And also when we are playing teams that have talked crap about us (Ole Miss, Tennessee, A&M), we might see a little rubbing it in, if he gets the opportunity.
I have no doubt that he'll adjust his decisions if the game situation calls for it. And also when we are playing teams that have talked crap about us (Ole Miss, Tennessee, A&M), we might see a little rubbing it in, if he gets the opportunity.
This post was edited on 9/10/26 at 9:56 am
Posted on 9/10/26 at 10:05 am to BigDropper
Maybe he just wanted to give the kicker another rep in a live game and also see how reliable he was for further along in the season. There may come a time where he needs to kick a FG under more pressure in SEC play
I would have personally gone for it and I was also kinda surprised he elected for the FG, but I wasn't mad at the decision even after he missed it. This is also the best defense Kiffin has ever had as a CFB HC so maybe he thinks taking 3s is a bigger win with this team than with his previous teams where they needed 7s to win shootouts. But you need to know how reliable your kicker is in game situations, kind of circling around to my first point.
I would have personally gone for it and I was also kinda surprised he elected for the FG, but I wasn't mad at the decision even after he missed it. This is also the best defense Kiffin has ever had as a CFB HC so maybe he thinks taking 3s is a bigger win with this team than with his previous teams where they needed 7s to win shootouts. But you need to know how reliable your kicker is in game situations, kind of circling around to my first point.
Posted on 9/10/26 at 10:06 am to BigDropper
A lot of Kiffin's 4th down reputation was built years ago, he's calmed down in recent years.
But he'll do something stupid every now and again, for sure. He had a dumb one last year against OU.
But he'll do something stupid every now and again, for sure. He had a dumb one last year against OU.
This post was edited on 9/10/26 at 10:07 am
Posted on 9/10/26 at 10:08 am to BigDropper
I’m of the belief that he HAD to go for it a lot when he was at ole Miss. if you don’t trust your defense to make a stop, you’ve gotta get points to keep the pressure on the opposition.
This is the best defense he has had talent wise maybe ever, at least since ‘23 or ‘24 (whatever defense they had Walter Nolen on, they were pretty good up front. Secondary still sucked)
This is the best defense he has had talent wise maybe ever, at least since ‘23 or ‘24 (whatever defense they had Walter Nolen on, they were pretty good up front. Secondary still sucked)
Posted on 9/10/26 at 10:08 am to Metaloctopus
Agreed. I thought the 4th and 3 decision to kick made sense. You arent in a tied game, you are up 14 in a game where your defense is shutting down the opponent. From that point on, any points lsu scores severely limits clemsons chances of winning. Right call. Now, if we are in a 28-27 game in the 3rd quarter, game feel probably tells you that a 60% 3 point attempt is probably not worth the risk. Instead, attempt the 60% shot of continuing to try to get 7 points
Kiffin went for it a ton early on at ole miss because he had shitty defenses. That was the right decision.
Kiffin went for it a ton early on at ole miss because he had shitty defenses. That was the right decision.
This post was edited on 9/10/26 at 10:09 am
Posted on 9/10/26 at 10:12 am to BigDropper
quote:This one shocked me, too. Felt like Kiffin overthought that one, not that I'm in any place to give advice to Lane Kiffin. I thought that was a good moment to establish that aggressive mentality without too much risk with the score where it was.
LSU faced 4th & 3 around the Clemson 30 and Starzyk missed the 48-yard FG attempt. This was LSU's possession immediately after the Jordan Ross pick-six and Clemson's ensuing three-and-out and punt.
Posted on 9/10/26 at 10:15 am to BigDropper
He was asked that question during the halftime interview and he explained his reasoning perfectly. When you have a defense playing like ours was, you trust them and pin the opponent deep.
Posted on 9/10/26 at 10:15 am to BigDropper
Didn't Kiffin answer the question at halftime? Seems like I remember him saying something like "when your defense is playing like that, you trust them".
Posted on 9/10/26 at 10:15 am to BigDropper
The only series that made no sense to me was Clemson's last possession before halftime-- LSU had all three timeouts, there was nearly 2 minutes left in the half when Clemson started the possession, bottled up inside their own 10, and they proceeded to go 3 and out! But LSU never called timeout during the Clemson possession and squandered a golden opportunity to get more points late in the half up 31-3. The Tigers just let the clock run out.
That... was the time for Lane and LSU to put the hammer down, esp since Clemson received the 2nd half kickoff
That... was the time for Lane and LSU to put the hammer down, esp since Clemson received the 2nd half kickoff
This post was edited on 9/10/26 at 10:18 am
Posted on 9/10/26 at 10:17 am to BigDropper
He doesn't have to deal with the stress of Pete Golding's defense taking the field, so of course he doesn't need to gamble as much on offense.
Posted on 9/10/26 at 10:18 am to BigDropper
Winnie Watkins already said a couple of days ago that in fall camp he could see that our defense was on par with Miami whom he played at ole Miss last year which Miami finished 5th nationally in total defense. So there probably isn’t a need to go for it as much on 4th down knowing your defense can generate a stop
This post was edited on 9/10/26 at 10:19 am
Posted on 9/10/26 at 10:21 am to tarzana
quote:
SU had all three timeouts, there was nearly 2 minutes left in the half when Clemson started the possession, bottled up inside their own 10, and they proceeded to go 3 and out! But LSU never called timeout during the Clemson possession and squandered a golden opportunity to get more points late
quote:
up 31-3
It was an extremely one sided half and LSU was up 4 scores. The very last thing you want to do is have a turnover and give them any kind of hope going into halftime.
Posted on 9/10/26 at 10:49 am to BigDropper
quote:
Before the current situation occupied every thread started on this board, some of the discussion around the Rant was about Kiffin's fourth-down tendencies. After one game, we obviously have an unreliably small sample size. There isn't much we can draw from it yet, but it's still a better football discussion than "We sHoULd rEmOvE tHe SEC LoGo fRoM tHe FiELd!" and "We sHoULd rEmOvE tHe SEC sTiCkEr fRoM oUr HeLmEtS!"
Amen brother!
As you and others have mentioned, I think you can't really take too much away from the Clemson game in regards to his 4th down tendencies. They couldn't move the ball, so why even risk it. I did think he'd go for it when it was 4th and short and Starzyk missed the field goal. I actually think it was the right move to try and get the 3, but it came as a surprise that he didn't go for it.
Personally, I hope he doesn't go for it as often as he did at Ole Miss. We watched him give a game away a couple of years ago in Tiger Stadium by doing that. He also did it a few other times at Ole Miss and it was something the fans there were always frustrated with him about.
This defense is nasty. It'll be interesting to see how that may affect his 4th down decisions throughout the season. Taking a FG and getting 3 points with this defense can make a whole lot of difference. It also wouldn't surprise me if he thinks to himself that he's got a great defense and if he goes for it and they stop us, they may have a short field, but they still have to score on this defense.
It's certainly something to keep an eye on throughout the season.
Posted on 9/10/26 at 10:52 am to BigDropper
Kiffin has never had a defense like this LSU defense. With other teams, he had to go for it on 4th down probably more than he really wanted to. With this LSU defense, and depending on the flow of the game, he is in a much better position to take the points with a FG when he can rather than go for it.
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