LSU coach Orgeron’s defense prediction falls flat
The comment from LSU coach Ed Orgeron understandably drew a fair amount of attention.
A little more than a week before the start of the Southeastern Conference season, Orgeron was talking about his new defensive coordinator, former Nebraska coach Bo Pelini.
“We are so much better on defense right now than any part of the season last year,” Orgeron said then.
Three weeks into this season, results suggest otherwise. It has become abundantly clear LSU won’t be defending its national championship and Orgeron’s star-turn might be short lived.
The 17th-ranked Tigers fell to 1-2, upset for the second time this season by an SEC underling. First it was Mississippi State. On Saturday, it was Missouri, playing with a freshman quarterback and missing both its starting receivers, that tore up the Bayou Bengals.
“We couldn’t stop anybody. Really poor showing on defense,” Orgeron said.
A goal-line stand by Mizzou sealed the thrilling upset and first victory for new coach Eli Drinkwitz. But the story was LSU’s collapse.
The defense that opened the season by allowing an SEC-record 623 passing to Mississippi State in coach Mike Leach’s debut, permitted 586 total yards to Missouri. Those Tigers came in averaging 333 per game.
And it wasn’t just the passing of Connor Bazelak (29 for 34 for 406 yards and four TDs) that flummoxed LSU. Missouri also ran for 180 and 5.5 yards per carry.
“We have to coach better, No. 1. It starts with me,” said Orgeron, who defended Pelini. “Players have to make plays. We couldn’t stop the run, receivers wide open down the field. It was embarrassing. We have to get it fixed.”
The irascible Pelini had been the head coach at Youngstown State for five years after getting fired by Nebraska. He was hired by Orgeron to replace Dave Aranda, who left to become head coach at Baylor.
Aranda was both highly paid (more than $2 million per year) and well-respected, but Orgeron had inherited him and LSU’s defense had ups and downs last year.
Pelini previously did a stint as DC at LSU under Les Miles, helping the Tigers win a national title in 2007. His defenses have also been on the receiving end of both the SEC single-game passing record and the Big Ten single-game rushing record of 408 yards by Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon in 2014.
But this is about Orgeron, who clearly wasn’t broken up about the departure of Aranda.
The barrel-chested, growling Cajun has overcome personal demons and professional failures to land his dream job. He became the architect and leader of a team that had one of the greatest seasons in college football history.
You could write a book about. In fact, there is one coming out this month.
Orgeron deserves praise for his work at LSU and turning his life around. He also caught a lot of lightning in 2019, most notably Joe Burrow’s rocket-ship rise from fringe NFL prospect to Heisman Trophy winner and first overall draft pick.
LSU had a once-in-a-lifetime season and then the band basically broke up, leaving Orgeron behind to prove if he could be more than a one-hit wonder.
His first big move was to bring in Pelini. His defense has given up more points through three games than any in LSU history.
A year after beating Nick Saban and Dabo Swinney on the way to a national championship, Orgeron is conjuring up memories of a far less successful season at LSU.
Heading to Florida next week to face the potent Gators offense, the Tigers are 1-2 for the first time since 1994, Curly Hallman’s last season as coach.
Ready for ’Bama
No. 3 Georgia messed around with No. 14 Tennessee long enough to trail at the half. The Volunteers did not score in the second half and the Bulldogs will go into their showdown at No. 2 Alabama next week with a perfect record.
“We know we’re a second-half team,” Bulldogs linebacker Azeez Ojulari said.
College football is no longer about defense winning championships. The best teams have spectacular offenses and dynamic quarterbacks. That is not Georgia.
The Bulldogs have plenty of talent on the offensive side of the ball, but through three games they are still dealing with the same shortcomings they had last year. They are a methodical bunch, led by former walk-on quarterback Stetson Bennett. They don’t create a lot of big plays. Georgia has 11 plays of at least 20 yards in three games. Alabama had 13 in its first two games.
Efficient offense and suffocating defense is a winning combination for Georgia almost every weekend. The question is can it work against an Alabama team that won multiple championships with that formula, but now overwhelms its opposition with maybe the most explosive offense in college football?
AROUND THE COUNTRY
No. 21 Texas A&M beat a top-five team for the first time under coach Jimbo Fisher, an impressive comeback against No. 4 Florida. The Aggies are clearly not ready to challenge Alabama, but a quick glance at the rest of the SEC West screams opportunity for A&M to be the second-best team in the toughest division in college football . ... Texas coach Tom Herman should have gone for 2 and the win in the second overtime against Oklahoma in a wild Red River Shootout.