The High-Five
October 4, 2016
October mailbag scans the sports world
October 4, 2016
Larose native, South Lafourche High School graduate and new LSU interim head football coach Ed Orgeron’s Gatorade-soaked shirt was still dripping wet as he walked from midfield to the LSU tunnel to sing the Tigers’ alma mater.
About halfway to his destination, an athletic administrator stopped the coach, shook his hand and patted his wet, sticky shoulder.
“Great win, coach,” he said.
Orgeron smiled, nodded, then offered his thanks. He then added a caveat – one which is likely sweet music to a lot of LSU fans’ ears.
“We’re just getting started,” Orgeron said with a wink, before jogging to begin the postgame festivities.
The Orgeron Era in Baton Rouge got started with a bang on Saturday night, as the Tigers romped Missouri 42-7 – a game that was lopsided from the start.
LSU gained 634 total yards in the win – the most the school has ever earned in any Southeastern Conference game.
The Tigers also dominated defensively, limting a Missouri that scored 79 points a week earlier to just a late garbage-time touchdown – the icing on the cake of LSU’s most complete win in quite some time.
“The thing I liked about this game is that we played for 60 minutes,” Orgeron said. “We put the pedal to the metal and there was not going to be any let up by our football team. … Our team wants to win. They want to be great. We just need to put it together.”
On Saturday, just about everything was “put together” for an LSU team that looked every, single bit as dominant as any team has this season.
Offensively, the Tigers were balanced – especially early, rotating run and pass with ease against Missouri’s defense.
They opened the game with four-straight passing plays — something the Tigers never did under Les Miles in the Cam Cameron Era.
Orgeron said the early passes were strategic, and were intended to loosen the middle of Missouri’s defense to create running lanes.
It worked.
The Tigers had 418 yards on the ground in 52 carries.
Without Leonard Fournette in the lineup, some of LSU’s lesser-known backs dominated the game. Sophomore Derrius Guice was the main culprit, rushing 17 times for 163 yards and three touchdowns. Darrel Williams was just as good, carrying 21 times for 130 yards and three scores.
Guice said Saturday’s game was as fun as any he’s had in Baton Rouge. The rushing success, he said, was a testament to how fresh the team was in Orgeron’s new practice routine, which heavily cut down on LSU’s live reps during the week and focuses more on fundamental work and film study.
“Everyone did their jobs tonight,” Guice said. “Everything was faster for us. We were a lot fresher. We were a lot quicker. We want to be one team with one heartbeat, and we just had a clearer mind and more focused goals. It was a great week.”
With Guice and Williams opening gaping holes, quarterback Danny Etling was able to be efficient, completing 19-of-30 passes for 216 yards.
Etling hit nine receivers in the game, including six completions to either a halfback, fullback or tight end – a facet of the offense that was virtually non-existent in the Miles/Cameron Era.
Orgeron said the balance was a credit to new offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger and the rest of LSU’s coaches – all of whom pitched into the team’s offensive game plan for the week.
“There were a lot of ideas there,” Orgeron said of the offensive efficiency. “A lot of guys worked hard and implemented the new system within the (old) system we had. Those guys did a tremendous job. I thought our game calling was excellent.”
Defensively, the Tigers weren’t too shabby, either, heavily restricting Missouri’s high-powered, no-huddle attack, and limiting them to virtually nothing throughout the night.
Just one week after getting 698 yards of offense, 33 first downs and 79 points against Delaware State, Missouri’s offense was halted to a crawl by LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda’s group, which played its best game of the season.
LSU limited Missouri to just 265 yards in 60 snaps – most of that yardage coming late in the game with the outcome already decided.
Orgeron said Aranda’s scheme for Missouri was flawless, calling the first-year LSU defensive coordinator one of the top defensive minds in the country.
Orgeron said the Tigers tackled better than they have in previous games, and dominated both lines of scrimmage – a huge factor in the win.
“We have a great system,” Orgeron said. “Dave is an excellent play caller. He knows exactly what to do. Missouri gave him this, and he’s going to take it away. He’s a tremendous coach.”
Now, the challenge is to keep it rolling.
Orgeron said he’s aware that the “first-game” excitement around his taking over the program is now over, and the challenge will be to find ways to keep the players hyped for the rest of the season.
After the win, the team had a dancing contest in the locker room, and even Orgeron shook a leg a little to lighten the mood.
He said it’s important the LSU football team keeps having fun while continuing to get better.
So far, so good, as that recipe delivered the team a 35-point win on Saturday night.
But the challenges are just getting started for the interim coach.
This Saturday, LSU makes a road trip to the Swamp to take on Florida in an awkward 11 a.m. kickoff time.
After that, LSU will have dates with Ole Miss, Alabama, Arkansas and Texas A&M – all schools that are more than capable of beating anyone on a given day.
But Orgeron said he’s not worried. He’s taking ‘em one day at a time.
“We ain’t getting a big head,” Orgeron said. “We’re going to stay hungry. We’re going to get better and we’re going to challenge ourselves. There’s going to be bigger and better opponents down the road. But we’re going to take them one at a time.” •
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