CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2011 LSU

13–⁠1 (8–⁠0 Southeastern Conference), coached by Les Miles, finished No. 2 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

LSU in 2011, game by game: won vs. No. 3 Oregon 40–27; won vs. Northwestern State 49–3; won at No. 25 Mississippi State 19–6; won at No. 16 West Virginia 47–21; won vs. Kentucky 35–7; won vs. No. 17 Florida 41–11; won at Tennessee 38–7; won vs. No. 19 Auburn 45–10; won at No. 2 Alabama 9–6; won vs. Western Kentucky 42–9; won at Ole Miss 52–3; won vs. No. 3 Arkansas 41–17; won vs. No. 12 Georgia 42–10; lost vs. No. 2 Alabama 0–21+49−21Won 40–27 vs. No. 3 Oregon+13No. 3 OregonWon 49–3 vs. Northwestern State+46Northwestern St…Won 19–6 at No. 25 Mississippi State+13No. 25 Mississippi Sta…Won 47–21 at No. 16 West Virginia+26No. 16 West VirginiaWon 35–7 vs. Kentucky+28KentuckyWon 41–11 vs. No. 17 Florida+30No. 17 FloridaWon 38–7 at Tennessee+31TennesseeWon 45–10 vs. No. 19 Auburn+35No. 19 AuburnWon 9–6 at No. 2 Alabama+3No. 2 AlabamaWon 42–9 vs. Western Kentucky+33Western KentuckyWon 52–3 at Ole Miss+49Ole MissWon 41–17 vs. No. 3 Arkansas+24No. 3 ArkansasWon 42–10 vs. No. 12 Georgia+32No. 12 GeorgiaLost 0–21 vs. No. 2 Alabama-21No. 2 Alabama
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vs3OregonW 40–⁠2743%
Sep 10vsNorthwestern StateW 49–⁠395%
Sep 15at25Mississippi StateW 19–⁠655%
Sep 24at16West VirginiaW 47–⁠2152%
Oct 1vsKentuckyW 35–⁠786%
Oct 8vs17FloridaW 41–⁠1170%
Oct 15atTennesseeW 38–⁠772%
Oct 22vs19AuburnW 45–⁠1071%
Nov 5at2AlabamaW 9–⁠640%
Nov 12vsWestern KentuckyW 42–⁠994%
Nov 19atOle MissW 52–⁠390%
Nov 25vs3ArkansasW 41–⁠1768%
Dec 3vs12GeorgiaSEC Championship GameW 42–⁠1069%
Jan 9Bowls & playoffvs2AlabamaBCS National ChampionshipL 0–⁠2154%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Alabama 21–⁠0 in the BCS National Championship; No. 2 in the final AP poll; Southeastern Conference champions.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 4
  2. Wk 2: 2
  3. Wk 3: 3
  4. Wk 4: 2
  5. Wk 5: 1
  6. Wk 6: 1
  7. Wk 7: 1
  8. Wk 8: 1
  9. Wk 9: 1
  10. Wk 10: 1
  11. Wk 11: 1
  12. Wk 12: 1
  13. Wk 13: 1
  14. Wk 14: 1
  15. Wk 15: 1
  16. Final: 2

Southeastern Conference champions8–⁠0 in the conference, won the SEC Championship Game

Heisman voteTyrann Mathieu, fifth

Jim Thorpe AwardMorris Claiborne, CB

Chuck Bednarik AwardTyrann Mathieu, CB

2 consensus All-AmericansMorris Claiborne, CB; Tyrann Mathieu, CB

Walter Camp Coach of the YearLes Miles, coach

Broyles AwardJohn Chavis, coach

Record
13–⁠1
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 2 peak No. 1
Points
500–⁠158
Coach
Les Miles
Elo
1835 +187 this season
SP+ rating
31.9 No. 2 of 120; offense No. 18, defense No. 2, special teams No. 3
SRS
25.9 No. 2 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 8
Offensive coordinator
Greg Studrawa
Defensive coordinator
John Chavis
Captains
Will Blackwell, Morris Claiborne, Jordan Jefferson and Brandon Taylor
Most valuable player
Tyrann Mathieu
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense63rd of 120
  • Defense23rd of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted44th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted20th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0443%0.8063rd of 120
Defense0.0034%1.1123rd of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.07 off
0.01 def		45% off
35% def		—44th off
20th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 332% allowed
Defense-0.7own 273% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsJarrett Lee QB1,306 yds
Passing touchdownsJarrett Lee QB14 TD
Rushing yardsMichael Ford RB756 yds
Rushing touchdownsKenny Hilliard RB8 TD
Receiving yardsRueben Randle WR917 yds
Receiving touchdownsRueben Randle WR8 TD
InterceptionsMorris Claiborne CB6 INT

Top recruits in the 2011 class

La’el Collins OT★★★★★No. 3
Anthony Johnson DT★★★★★No. 5
Jarvis Landry WR★★★★★No. 15
Jermauria Rasco WDE★★★★No. 90
Kenny Hilliard RB★★★★No. 116
Odell Beckham Jr. WR★★★★No. 134
David Jenkins CB★★★★No. 155
Mickey Johnson DT★★★★No. 158

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2011 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.918
Running backs14.00.943
Receivers24.50.965
Offensive line43.50.907
Defensive line34.30.962
Linebackers14.00.903
Defensive backs23.50.905
Athletes and specialists23.00.837
Whole class163.80.918

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2012

The 2012 draft
Rd 1Morris Claiborne CBDallas Cowboys
Rd 1Michael Brockers DTSt. Louis Rams
Rd 2Rueben Randle WRNew York Giants
Rd 3Brandon Taylor SSan Diego Chargers
Rd 4Ron Brooks CBBuffalo Bills

Roster 122

The 2011 roster

122 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2011 line; 32 have a stat line. See the roster

All-SEC

7 first team, 7 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2011 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2011 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
LSU8–⁠013–⁠12
Alabama7–⁠112–⁠11
Georgia7–⁠110–⁠419
Arkansas6–⁠211–⁠25
South Carolina6–⁠211–⁠29
Auburn4–⁠48–⁠5
Florida3–⁠57–⁠6
Mississippi State2–⁠67–⁠6
Vanderbilt2–⁠66–⁠7
Kentucky2–⁠65–⁠7
Tennessee1–⁠75–⁠7
Ole Miss0–⁠82–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.