LSU prepares for UGA two-by-two

Apparently LSU likes doing things in twos this season — and that’s not a reference to repeating as national champions.

The No. 13-ranked Tigers (6-1, 3-1 SEC) are using the buddy system as they prepare for Saturday’s visit from No. 7 Georgia (6-1, 3-1) in Baton Rouge. When the Bulldogs arrive in Tiger Stadium, they will face two quarterbacks, two tailbacks and a defense coached by two coordinators.

Duplicity certainly worked well for LSU this past weekend. The Tigers got better-than-usual production in all three areas en route to a hard-fought 24-17 win at South Carolina.

LSU coach Les Miles held his weekly press conference on Monday and here’s what he said regarding the Tigers’ two-pronged approach.

Two quarterbacks

The Tigers, who dismissed incumbent starter Ryan Perriloux this summer, are utilizing two quarterbacks. One, Jarrett Lee, is considered the passing quarterback. The other, Andrew Hatch, is considered the running quarterback.

What made them particularly effective against the Gamecocks is they swapped roles a few times in the game.

Lee is considered the starter and plays the majority of the downs. He has been erratic this season — 68 of 115 for 852 yards with 8 touchdowns and 5 interceptions —and was again last Saturday with a few poorly-thrown passes and an interception that led to a South Carolina touchdown. But overall he was more effective than he has been. He completed 16 of 26 passes for 189 yards and engineered another game-winning touchdown drive at an away SEC stadium.

Meanwhile, Hatch, a junior walk-on and transfer from Harvard, rushed five times for 19 yards and completed 2-of-3 passes for another 10. He’s known for having a calming influence on the Tigers.

“I like what we’re doing with our quarterbacks,” Miles said Monday. “I think we need to continue doing that. I think both guys bring different characteristics and qualities to our offense and that’s something we need. I like the way Lee throws it and I certainly like the way Hatch handles certain situations allowing us to gut it out. That will continue. I think it’s positive up.”

Two tailbacks

Before Saturday, LSU has been all about junior tailback Charles Scott, who was getting early Heisman Trophy mention as the SEC’s leading rusher and the undisputed primary weapon for the Tigers.

But that changed against the Gamecocks. Scott, who was held to 35 yards on 12 carries against Florida, split his carries with junior Keiland Williams. Williams had 15 carries for 72 yards and Scottt had 16 for 61 and scored two touchdowns.

More notable was the fact that the 5-11, 221-pound Scott lined up at fullback several times. It’s a look Miles likes.

“I think Keiland gave us fresh legs and great carries,” he said. “We went a little bit more with Keiland Williams because it appeared to us like he had the hot hand and was freshest. I think that’s what we need to do, to put the most-ready back on the field. Charles Scott will still be our starter and will still get the lion’s share of the work. But I like what he do with Charles at the fullback spot. We’ll throw it, we’ll run it, he’ll block from there and he’ll carry the football from there. It gives them another personnel group they’ve got to prepare for.”

Two coordinators

The Tigers went with two men —Doug Mallory and Bradley Dale — as co-defensive coordinators to replace Bo Pelini, who left to become Nebraska’s head coach. Before this past Saturday, that duo had absorbed double the criticism for the LSU defense.

Normally one of the SEC’s most dominant units, the Tigers’ defense gave up 51 points at Florida two weeks ago and went into the South Carolina game ranked ninth in the league in total defense (303.6 ypg).

But LSU unveiled some new wrinkles against the Gamecocks. They went with four defensive ends on the line and employed a third defensive back on passing downs. It worked wonders in Columbia as the Tigers recorded six sacks and limited South Carolina to 42 yards in the second half.

“That’s something that the defensive staff came up with and looked for the opportunity to get our best rushers on the field,” said Miles of the ends-only front of Kirston Pittman and Rahim Alem on the outside and Tyson Jackson and Tremaine Johnson on the inside. And boy it paid some dividends.”

It’s not clear how much of that the Bulldogs will see. Due to injuries, Georgia will be facing LSU’s fabled defensive front with an offensive line comprised of three freshmen and two sophomores. And after missing the last two games with a groin injury, defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois — MVP of the BCS Championship Game — is supposed to return against the Bulldogs.

“Getting pressure with four [rushers] is what we all like but we’ll look to out-number their blockers when we can,” Miles said.