Three stats that tell the story of LSU’s 37-17 win over Oklahoma

Nov 30, 2024; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; LSU Tigers wide receiver Kyren Lacy (2) runs after a catch and scores a touchdown against Oklahoma Sooners defensive back Billy Bowman Jr. (2) during the first quarter at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

LSU football finished the regular season strong on Saturday night with a 37-17 win over Oklahoma.

Brian Kelly said he was proud of how LSU responded after a mid-season losing streak cut the Tigers’ record to 6-4. After back-to-back wins to close the year, LSU heads into the bowl game at 8-4.

“They put consistent performances together over the last two weeks,” Kelly said.

“We had five freshmen and two sophomores on defense today playing their tails off, so you know, again, we’re taking receipts and, you know, we’ll see you at the national championship. This team’s building,” Kelly said.

But that’s enough talk about intangibles. Now, we’ll take a look at how the game played out on paper. What do the numbers say about LSU’s 20-point win?

LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier played his cleanest game of the year and for the most part, the defense shut down the Sooners’ passing attack. That was the recipe we talked about heading into the game.

Here are three stats that tell the story of LSU’s win.

Oklahoma: -0.73 EPA/dropback

The Sooners averaged -0.73 EPA/dropback, a performance that ranked in the first percentile according to GameOnPaper. 

It doesn’t get better than that for the LSU passing defense. It was a group effort with the front seven making it difficult for Jackson Arnold and the secondary clamping down in the second half.

LSU senior defensive ends Bradyn Swinson and Sai’vion Jones combined for 11 pressures. Whit Weeks added four more and recorded a sack.

It was a strong night for the true freshman too. Dominick McKinley sacked Arnold twice and Gabe Reliford had two…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/three-stats-tell-story-lsus-162138696.html

Author : LSU Tigers Wire

Publish date : 2024-12-01 16:21:00

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