The LSU offensive line rose to the challenge against the talented front four of South Carolina.

The guy who received the most credit on the line was Josh Dworaczyk and his assignment of blocking super sophomore Jadeveon Clowney. Dworaczyk was starting at left tackle in place of Alex Hurst. Les Miles said of Hurst, " I do not know the chances of him returning."

The good news for LSU fans is that, without the struggling Hurst, the offensive line put together their best performance of the season. The Tigers raked in 258 yards on 53 rushing attempts ending with a 50-yard touchdown run by Jeremy Hill.

But did Dworaczyk really win the battle versus Clowney?

Podkatt gave me the assignment of seeing how the matchup actually broke down. Rushing statistics don’t necessarily tell the story. The best thing about film is that it never lies.

After my study, the masses are right. Dworaczyk borderline manhandled Clowney. Dworaczyk was not only more physical, he also outsmarted and outhusteled him in every facet of the game. This is how the 67 plays broke down between Dworaczyk:

Plays Dworaczyk won: 29

Plays Clowney won: 15

Plays that neither won aka "Push": 23

The high number of "Push" plays is because there are often times defensive ends are not part of the play. LSU ran the football to the right often (away from Clowney’s side) and used very quick dropbacks on passes. If the play went to the right, I usually gave it a "push" grade. There will also some snaps that ended in a tie.

Before we get into some actual film, a couple of important tidbits must be stated:

A high number of plays Clowney won happened because Dworaczyk’s wasn’t assigned to block him. In straight, head-to-head run and pass blocks, Dworaczyk won over 75 percent of the time.

Matt Zemek of College Football News pointed out offensive coordinator Greg Studrawa was far more creative in his play calling versus the Gamecocks compared to the Gators. I think it’s partially because South Carolina runs a 4-3 where Florida runs a 3-4. The Tigers struggle versus 3-4 defenses.

ATVS' own Billy Gomila brought up the point that Dworaczyk adds leadership and communication skills to the offensive line. Former LSU left tackle Ciron Black came on my radio program earlier this week and confirmed that was true. He said he his former teammate give out calls from left tackle which helped out with assignments as the game came along.

Clowney lined up on the right for every snap of this game. I am surprised South Carolina never game him a shot versus freshman right tackle Vidal Alexander.

Clowney talked a lot of trash for the game. But it was clear he got frustrated and tired as the game went along.

Dworaczyk told me after the game the key to blocking Clowney was "knowing your opponent." He said he watched a lot of film to prepare to block Clowney.He also said his adjustments to his game came because he had to change his approach.

"It comes down to knowing yourself. I really started to focus on what my strengths were," said Dwoarczyk. "Mine is getting my hands on my opponent as fast as I can."

In my study, Dworaczyk did exactly that. He got his hands on Clowney as fast as possible on pass blocking. This is opposed to other tackles that take the traditional route of giving ground to Clowney.

LSU is in the I-formation with one receiver over to the right of the formation. With Josh's hand staying on the ground, it doesn't blatantly give away it's a pass especially after a great run on first down. But Clowney is a smart player who is great at picking up reads. It is clear Josh doesn't have much pressure on his hand as he did the play before, which tipped away this play being a pass.





Dworaczyk doesn't give ground like most tackle would do versus Clowney. Right when the ball is snapped, Dworaczyk is looking for the center of Clowney's body to open up so he could get a clean hit on him. This isn't the best get-off from Clowney, but he already had a tough start in this particular series. Where Clowney makes the mistake is not attacking. This is rather tentative from an athlete of his caliber.





Dworaczyk gets his right hand on Clowney early and then takes a more fundamental approach to playing tackle by giving a little ground and running his opponent up field. Clowney does a great job of finally getting low to try and get some push, but it's too late. Dworaczyk's positioning is flawless, which helps create a clean pocket for Mettenberger. Because the protection was so good across the board for the LSU offensive line, left guard La'el Collins is able to peel off the defensive tackle to help Dworaczyk on Clowney. All Clowney can do now is try to bat down a pass, which he did successfully twice in this game. Still, this is a win for Dworaczyk.



