Ed Orgeron talked a big game, but the results when LSU played Alabama were the same lackluster ones his predecessor, Les Miles produced.
Every year, LSU makes an awesome hype video, College GameDay is in attendance and the fans think this is the year that the Tigers beat Alabama.
And for the eighth straight year, that pre-game feeling has quickly disappeared moments after kick-off. Alabama clinched the SEC West with Saturday’s win at LSU that also knocked the Tigers out of consideration for a berth in the College Football Playoff.
LSU would have had a chance against Alabama if only they could find some offense. Stop me if you’ve heard that same refrain out of LSU for the better part of the last decade.
Meanwhile, Alabama got all the offense they’d need in this game in the first half that saw Heisman front-runner, Tua Tagovailoa, throw a pair of touchdowns as the Crimson Tide took a 16-0 lead to halftime.
But there was no hope of a second-half comeback. Not with this personnel and not with Ed Orgeron on the sidelines.
As great as Orgeron is as a motivator, recruiter and commands the love and respect of his players, he’s not the kind of coach who can match wits with Nick Saban. Then again, no coach is. Having said that, what Orgeron has done in his limited time as the LSU head coach is no different from the end of the Les Miles era.
Even at the peak of the Miles era at LSU when they could beat Alabama in the regular season because of their great defense, the offense was severely lacking. That was the case tonight as Joe Burrow couldn’t find any windows to fit his passes and the once-proud LSU running game was nowhere to be found. Alabama outgained LSU 281-12 on the ground and 576-196 overall.
That’s not LSU football. But it is when they play Alabama.
LSU has been held to 17 or fewer points in eight straight games against Alabama, the lone win being a 9-6 overtime win in 2011.
This game felt reminiscent of the 2012 BCS National Championship Game when LSU lost 21-0. That game was over early when it was clear they couldn’t generate any sort of offense. The defense has to play perfectly to have a chance against Alabama. That’s especially true with Tagovailoa under center leading Alabama to a No. 1 scoring offense of more than 54 points per game. It got late early in Tiger Stadium on Saturday and it brought back that all-too-familiar feeling of helplessness under Miles.
Orgeron is great in front of a camera. He’s got the great gravelly voice with his Cajun accent. His players love and respect him. But the results are the same as Miles, who was run out-of-town because of his inability to adapt his offensive philosophy and beat Alabama.
More proof that he’s not a championship head coach is settling for a field goal while trailing 22-0 in the fourth quarter. You play to win the game, not settle for field goals to avoid a shutout. The football gods were looking down and the kick was missed to preserve the shutout.
Orgeron won’t be run out-of-town after this loss, but he will have to do what Miles couldn’t if he’s going to avoid the same fate as his predecessor in the next few years.