LSU football's Week 10 meeting vs. Alabama carries massive College Football Playoff stakes. Both teams enter at 6-2 and hope to avoid a critical third loss. On the flip side, the winner will be catapulted to the front of the SEC race and control their own destiny to the CFP.
Both teams are loaded with talent, but the quarterbacks deserve a spotlight. LSU's Sam Leavitt and Alabama's Keelon Russell are two of the SEC's best. Both are good enough to put their respective offenses on their back. Both have arm talent and the athleticism to move the chains with their legs.
Leavitt and Russell have each had off days, too. There's more to like than not like with each of these players, but it only takes one bad play to lose a close game. In games like this,
the margins are slim. Today, we'll look at how Leavitt and Russell stack up on the stat sheet entering Week 10.
LSU's Sam Leavitt vs Alabama's Keelon Russell -- PFF stats comparison
Sam Leavitt has the edge on paper. With a 91.1 PFF offensive grade, Leavitt is one of the country's top-graded passers. Russell is up there, too, with an 87.6 grade. Leavitt has Russell beat in passing grade, completion rate, adjusted accuracy, yards, and big-time throw rate.
Russell has the edge in yards per attempt and has thrown fewer picks than Leavitt. The two are about the same in passing first downs per attempt, but Russell has a slight edge.
Average time to throw is worth highlighting. Leavitt gets the ball out much quicker than Russell, and the Alabama QB tends to take sacks.
Sixteen of Leavitt's passes have been dropped, too. Only six of Russell's throws have been dropped. That's not a QB stat, but it indicates that Alabama's pass catchers are more sure-handed than LSU's.
Overall, I'd say Leavitt has the edge in this contest. The LSU QB is playing the best football of his career right now, and Leavitt will get the support of his home crowd. Last time we saw Russell and the Alabama offense in a hostile road environment, at Tennessee, things didn't go well for the unit.
This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: Sam Leavitt vs. Keelon Russell: PFF stats comparison for LSU-Alabama
