Clemson Football: LSU offensive line is immensely overrated
The Clemson football team will take on the LSU Tigers Monday night, but there’s one area that needs to be addressed with that LSU offense.
The Clemson football team will take on the LSU Tigers Monday night for the National Championship.
The Tigers are looking to win their second-straight National Title and continue the longest active winning streak in the nation.
When looking at LSU, it’s clear that the SEC Tigers have the most prolific offense in the nation. LSU has NFL talent all over the field. The Tigers are led by Heisman winner Joe Burrow at quarterback and have a deep group of wide receivers.
There’s nothing overrated about that group.
However, there is an aspect of the LSU offense that is extremely overrated and it’s where it all starts: The offensive line.
Don’t get me wrong, the LSU offensive line is good. The Tigers are physical up-front and they do a pretty good job at giving Burrow time to pass, as well as opening up holes in the running game.
That being said, they aren’t the best offensive line in the nation. LSU’s offensive line was given the Joe Morrison Award, but anyone that watches film can tell that honor wasn’t deserved.
Pro Football Focus ranked the CFB offensive lines and had a very different narrative than what we heard from the media. The LSU offensive line was ranked No. 30 in the nation. For those wondering, Clemson’s offensive line came in at No. 7 and the Tigers’ previous opponent Ohio State came in at No. 4.
When looking at the LSU unit, you can see that the Tigers have a strong interior line – led by OG Damien Lewis- but that they struggle in pass protection and the tackles aren’t near as strong as they are made out to be. That offensive line has given up 30 sacks, which ranks as No. 71 in the nation.
Again, it’s not to say that the LSU offensive line isn’t good, it’s to say that the unit isn’t elite or the best in the nation.
Next. The Epic QB Battle: Trevor Lawrence vs. Joe Burrow. dark
One of the keys for Clemson’s defense in stopping that offensive attack will be creating pressure and the film shows that the Tigers should be able to do just that Monday night with exotic blitzes and strong pass-rush.