Offensive line, run game step up in redemption game against Gators
Senior quarterback Joe Burrow called Saturday night's performance by the LSU offensive line, the best he's ever seen, let alone been a part of.
Let's think about what this unit had to overcome. Last year in Gainesville, the o-line allowed the Florida defense to sack Burrow five times, accumulate 11 tackles for a loss and eight hurries. Those were the stats center Lloyd Cushenberry printed out and posted on every offensive lineman's locker at the beginning of the week.
This week, Cushenberry answered countless questions about that performance a year ago and what the Tigers needed to do Saturday to have a different outcome.
Cushenberry's response was simple, prove the doubters wrong. LSU didn't allow a sack, provided Burrow ample time to complete 21-of-24 passes while also opening up holes for the running backs to have their best outing of the season.
"It felt great, I thought we had a point to prove," Cushenberry said. "We wanted to set the tone early and just believe in ourselves."
"That was about as flawless of a performance that I've ever seen," Burrow said of the offensive line. "They knew last year that they kind of got after us up front. I was so proud of those guys, they had a great week of practice. I mean there was no pressure the entire night."
LSU coach Ed Orgeron particularly commended the performance from the offensive tackles, Saahdiq Charles and Austin Deculus, for their efforts against an elite Florida defense. A defense that came into the game tied for third in the nation in sacks at 26.
Cushenberry agreed with his head coach, saying the two played an outstanding game.
"They played great, played with confidence," Cushenberry said. "Everything we talked about from the first day of camp, they stepped up to the challenge and I look forward to them continuing to get better."
With the offensive line's success, comes success in the running game. One of the keys to the Tiger's success heading into Saturday was to establish a run game early in the game and needless to say, mission accomplished.
The Tigers rushed for 293 yards on 21 carries, good for an average of 9.1 yards per rush. Junior running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire had a career night, rushing for 134 yards and two touchdowns. Yet Edwards-Helaire was also first to point out the performance from the offensive line.
"I give all those yards to them," Edwards-Helaire said. "It was an emphasis on point of attack this week and they pretty much cleared everything out. I had simple reads, every running back had simple reads so o-line all day long."
"Clyde is a workhorse," Cushenberry said. "Every day he's working, continuing to get better, continuing to lead his guys and we know we can depend on him every down."
Even freshman back Tyrion Davis-Price got in on the action with a 33-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that would prove to be the winning touchdown of the game.
Edwards-Helaire said he was giving feedback to the running backs on every drive he was in, to give them some guidance as to what the Gator defensive linemen and safeties were doing against certain looks.
"Any keys really that I could give them that would help slow the game down for them when they were on the field," Edwards-Helaire said. "So being able to see Ty go in, read the right keys, be patient to the hole and then to get through it like I know he can, it's a good feeling."
With a performance that the offense as a whole displayed on Saturday night, racking up 511 total yards on a defense allowing half that, it proved to be one of the best the nation has to provide.
