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LSU must win turnover battle against No. 1 Alabama, which is no easy task
By Les East
Published:
The most consistent aspect of the LSU offense has been its ball security.
The Tigers have turned the ball over just six times through eight games, tied for third fewest in the SEC. In five of their games, they have not turned the ball over at all.
The one aberration was a 24-21 loss to Troy in which LSU threw two interceptions and lost two fumbles. Those turnovers yielded two touchdowns, one of which came after a fumble on the Tigers’ first possession and set the tone for the low point of the season.
Otherwise, LSU has just two turnovers. An interception led to a touchdown that created stress during a 35-26 victory against Syracuse, and a fumble led to a touchdown that helped dig a 20-0 hole that LSU overcame in a 27-23 victory against Auburn.
So even as the running game has had its ups and downs and the passing game has been limited, the ball security has mostly been very good. It will have to be near perfect if the No. 23 Tigers are going to have a chance when they return from their open date to visit No. 1 Alabama on Nov. 4.
In addition to being stingy with the ball against the Crimson Tide, LSU is going to have to find a way to take it away — perhaps multiple times.
Fortunately for the Tigers, they’ve been pretty good at that as well. And they’re coming off a season-high three takeaways in a 40-24 victory against Ole Miss on Oct 21. Overall, LSU has taken the ball away nine times.
Most of the takeaways have come from interceptions. Greedy Williams has led the way with three and John Battle, Grant Delpit, Kevin Toliver II and Kary Vincent Jr. each have one.
The Tigers haven’t been nearly as effective in taking the ball away via fumbles. They’ve forced five and recovered two — one each by Devin White and Michael Divinity Jr.
Both fumble recoveries happened against Troy and both led to LSU touchdowns, but neither made a difference.
The interceptions have not only occurred more frequently, they have had a bigger impact on the Tigers’ success. LSU is 6-2 and 3-1 in the SEC after winning three straight games since the loss to Troy.
Williams got the first takeaway of the season on the redshirt freshman’s second defensive possession as a Tiger. His pickoff led to a touchdown that extended LSU’s lead to 14-0 in the second quarter of a 27-0 victory over BYU.
A week later against Chattanooga, Williams made another interception that led to another touchdown. Vincent’s interception led to a missed field goal.
The Tigers didn’t give the ball away or take it away against Mississippi State, and it would have taken a bunch of takeaways to turn around that 37-7 defeat.
After Troy, neither team turned the ball over in LSU’s 17-16 victory against Florida.
Last week against Ole Miss, interceptions by Battle, Delpit and Toliver led to a mere six points, but that was more than enough thanks to a season-high 593 yards from the offense.
There’s no reason to think the Tigers will produce a yardage total anywhere near that against Alabama, but turnovers are the biggest equalizer in football. A disparity in them in LSU’s favor is the most likely way for the Tigers to have a chance to pull off an upset.
But there’s a problem with envisioning that scenario. The Crimson Tide have turned the ball over fewer times than LSU (5) and taken it away more (15).
Les East is a New Orleans-based football writer who covers LSU for SaturdayDownSouth.com. Follow him on Twitter @Les_East.
