BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -Les Miles likes the new wrinkles he’s added to LSU’s physical running attack, which dominated the crucial late stages of a 24-17 victory at South Carolina.
LSU had 74 yards rushing during its final two drives. The first series produced a touchdown on Charles Scott’s 2-yard run to put the 11th-ranked Tigers in the lead. The last drive ran out the final four minutes and could have produced another score if LSU hadn’t taken a 5-yard loss to run off the final seconds rather than punch it in from the 1-yard line.
“I liked our running backs,” Miles said Monday after reviewing game film with his players. “Keiland Williams, Charles Scott and for that matter, Richard Murphy, gave us fresh legs and great carries and I think that will continue.”
nference) had been riding Scott’s 100-plus-yard average until the running game stalled two weekends ago in Florida. Scott gained only 35 yards against the Gators and LSU had only 80 yards rushing as a team.
At South Carolina, Keiland Williams got most of the carries, sometimes with Charles Scott blocking as the fullback.
Williams finished with 72 yards on 15 carries, his best performance of the season, while Scott ran for 61 yards on 16 carries.
“We went a little bit more with Keiland Williams because it appeared to us he had the hot hand,” Miles said. “I don’t think there’ll be any question that Charles Scott is still our starter and still has the opportunity to go in there and get the lion’s share of the work.”
LSU had 164 net yards rushing as a team against the Gamecocks, and now averages 165.8 yards on the ground, despite getting less that half of that against the Gators a couple weeks ago.
When LSU hosts No. 9 Georgia (6-1, 3-1 SEC) this Saturday, the Tigers cannot afford to see their running game stall as it did against No. 5 Florida. Miles, however, believes his experienced offensive line won’t let that happen in what will be LSU’s toughest home game so far this season.
y positively at this point.”
Miles added that he intends to give his I-formation set with Scott at fullback another look. That package gives the Tigers a lot of options to keep defenses off balance, especially when they’re not sure if Scott will get the ball on a quick handoff up the middle or be the lead blocker.
“I like what we did with Charles Scott at the fullback spot,” Miles said. “We’ll throw it. We’ll run it. He’ll block from there, and he’ll carry the football from fullback. It gives (defenses) another personnel group that they have to prepare for and it brings quality characteristics to our football team.”
Scott, a powerful inside runner who prides himself on punishing tacklers and gaining yards after contact, said the adjustment to fullback is a natural one for him and that he enjoys mixing roles between blocking and running.
“It’s not really a different approach I would take; I’m a physical style runner and a physical blocker,” Scott said. “There’s just not really a difference between the two. … I actually love playing fullback.”
The key for LSU is to keep Georgia close. If the Tigers do that, Miles said, the physical nature of LSU’s running game can give it an edge down the stretch, especially with the energy the team draws from the home crowd in Death Valley.
“There’s a point in time in the back end of games where the rush wears on a defense, period,” Miles said. “If you look at us over time, the ability to come on the field and take the game over in the back end of the game is an advantage for us. Certainly, it’s a characteristic our team has. We have a big, powerful offensive line, blocking tight ends, fullbacks. The opportunity to do that in the back end of the game is certainly something we look forward to doing.”
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