LSU found itself leaving Oxford, MS, not only with a loss but also seeing the problems that were present in the first two weeks become more profound and seeing the defense play so poorly, considering the expectations and level of play that the Tigers were able to accomplish the previous two weeks.
The biggest surprise of the game was the defense. The defense was a tale of two halves. The first half was as bad as it could be, but the second half was the defense that was present during the first two weeks
of the season. And for as bad as this game feels, some of the player grade reports justify that feeling, while some players really stepped up and hopefully will get more opportunities in the future. We will review some of the PFF grades from this game.
Understand that when reviewing PFF grades, anything above a 90 is absolutely elite.
90+ is Elite
80-89.9 is High Quality/Great
70-79.9 is Above Average
60-69.9 is Average
50-59.9 is Below Average
0-49.9 is Bad
Let’s start with the defense.
Jhase Thomas, Deuce Geralds, and Whit Weeks were the three highest-graded players overall on defense.
Their grades were:
Jhase Thomas – 78.6
Deuce Geralds – 74.8
Whit Weeks – 74.6
When Thomas entered the game in the second half to replace CJ Jimcoily after Dashawn Spears was injured in the first half, the defense found its footing. Tamarcus Cooley was moved into the star role to replace Spears, Thomas was paired with Ty Benefield as the two safeties, and Blake Baker began to dial up more aggressive defensive schemes.
Deuce Geralds was able to create interior pressure and control the line of scrimmage, which helped LSU limit the Ole Miss rushing attack. Whit Weeks was able to play free due to the impact of Geralds and the defensive front. Weeks finished the game leading the team in total tackles with 8. He also had 5 solo tackles and 1 TFL.
Another grade that needs to be highlighted that ties into the overall grade would be the tackling grade. The highest-graded tacklers were:
Whit Weeks: 84.0
Jhase Thomas: 82.9
Tamarcus Cooley: 81.3
It’s no coincidence that two of the three top-graded tacklers were also the highest-graded players on the defense, and Cooley being here is no surprise because he flashed all over the field throughout the game.
The coverage grades were more of the same.
Jhase Thomas: 79.5
Whit Weeks: 70.5
Ja’Keem Jackson: 66.9
Honorable mention here is Princewill Umanmielen. His grade was a 71.3, but he only had one play in coverage.
Again, Whit Weeks and Jhase Thomas led the way, and Ja’Keem Jackson had the only interception Trinidad Chambliss threw in the game.
The defense may have had some issues, but it quickly found the answers and corrected them, and the grades show that.
The worst grades from the defensive side of the ball were:
CJ Jimcoily: 37.6
Dashawn Spears: 51.2
Ty Benefield: 52.7
Jimcoily being the lowest-graded player on defense is not surprising. There were times when he was in the game on Saturday where he looked a little out of place and was just a step slower than what he should have been. Maybe the atmosphere was a little too much for Jimcoily, but the staff made the adjustments and moved on for the remainder of the game.
Benefield and Spears being here is no shock. The offense that Ole Miss ran with Trinidad Chambliss puts a lot of stress on safeties to be right all of the time. Chambliss is the best QB in college football, and he did not disappoint. There were plays that he made, and throws specifically that he made, that no one but Chambliss could have made.
When you look at the past two opponents that Ole Miss faced, both Louisville and Charlotte had two members of their secondary with the lowest grades on their defense as well. Chambliss and Ole Miss did not attack the boundary of the defense as much, so the corners were not always exposed, but the safeties needed to have a better game, especially in the first half when Chambliss really had it going.
The second half was completely different. LSU started to change the coverage, roll safeties after the snap, simulate pressure, and make Chambliss slow his processing down. The good news is LSU will not have to see Chambliss for the remainder of the regular season.
Offense, on the other hand, was a different story for LSU.
On the defensive side of the ball, LSU had 5 players with grades above 70. On offense, they had one. The offense was very mid, and the grades definitely reflect that.
The highest-graded players on offense were:
Winston Watkins Jr.: 71.8
Trey’Dez Green: 68.9
Dilin Jones: 67.1
Winston Watkins played very well and has been developing as the second option behind Trey’Dez Green. Watkins had 3 receptions on 3 targets for 54 yards and a touchdown. He caught a beautiful fade route in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown and was the receiver that Leavitt found on a critical third-down conversion where he ran all over the field before finding him along the sideline.
Trey’Dez Green was Trey’Dez Green, and the best news from the weekend surrounding Green is that his season is not over.
Dilin Jones had another game where he ran for over 100 yards, and this time around, he really had to grind it out. Jones ran the ball 23 times for 106 yards and a touchdown. Jones having that kind of day showcases that he can be counted on even when it feels like the offense is sputtering. A steady hand at the running back position can pull an offense forward even when the passing game is off, and that is what happened on Saturday.
For as bad as the offensive line played, the worst-graded players were not led by the entire offensive line. Those players were:
Jackson Harris: 46.7
Zach Grace: 46.9
Weston Davis: 49.0
Probably a little bit of a shocker that Harris is the worst-graded player on offense. But when you look at how he performed, this grade is justified. Harris was targeted 7 times and only finished with 1 reception for 5 yards and 2 drops, and the interception came from a pass that he was targeted on.
Zach Grace was placed in the unenviable position of replacing Trey’Dez Green after his injury. Grace had an opportunity to make a catch on 3rd down that would have given LSU a chance to go for a 2-point conversion, which would have tied the game. However, the ball was thrown down and away, he was unable to adjust to the throw, and he dropped the ball.
Also, when Grace is in the game, he is primarily a blocking TE, but his blocking grades were not good either. He graded out as a 57.4 run blocker, which was the 5th-worst run-blocking grade on the team. The blocking on the team was abysmal at best.
Weston Davis finished with an overall grade of 49.0, and Davis has been struggling for a while now. Last week in the Good, Bad, and Ugly, it was mentioned how it may be time for Sean Thompkins to get some run at RT. Someone else besides Davis should be getting a look at this point. Davis is full of potential, but it’s just not showing up, and as games keep rolling into the season, Davis has to get better or someone else needs to be on the field.
Dishonorable mention here is Bo Bordelon. Bordelon played his worst possible game ever. Bordelon finished with an overall grade of 49.1, just one-tenth better than Davis, but what’s more surprising is that Bordelon finished with a 12.6 pass-blocking grade.
Bordelon allowed a sack, 3 hurries, and 4 pressures. No offense can move when one of the interior linemen cannot stand on his own and protect the QB from interior pressure. The offensive line as a unit played badly, but the interior of the unit really dragged it down.
Alou Bah was graded at 43.1 in pass blocking as well and gave up 3 pressures and 2 hurries in the interior. If this offense intends to make the necessary progress it wants to, they have to fix this offensive line and then pair it with the play calling that will give them confidence as the game goes along.
Of note, Sam Leavitt finished with a 66.5 overall grade and a 70.1 passing grade. While the offense did not look good, Leavitt did not play as badly as it felt. His mechanics are definitely too fast, and he is panicking in the pocket based on how the interior is protecting him. Play calling needs to step in and help him with that as well. Pair this with Trey’Dez Green not playing for a while now, and Lane Kiffin and Charlie Weis Jr. have some work to do to get this team moving forward as they prepare for Texas A&M this Saturday.
What are your thoughts on the grades, and who stood out to you from Saturday, good or bad?
