Defending Coach O
Nick Saban sees LSU as undefeated. It’s technically not, but the University of Alabama coach believes otherwise.
Ever since Ed Orgeron grabbed hold of the Tigers’ reins after former coach Les Miles was fired in September, LSU has not lost a game. The Tigers are 3-0 under Orgeron, but 5-2 overall.
“Ed took over this team and they have played extremely well the last three games in all phases of the game on offense, defense and special teams,” Saban said on Monday.
Orgeron has specifically transformed LSU’s offense. Saban sees a new energy and enthusiasm within the team. There have been explosive plays in both the running and passing games.
In just three games with their new coach, the Tigers have accumulated more offensive yards than they had with Miles in four outings. With Orgeron, they’ve notched 1,608 yards. With Miles, they had 1,358 yards.
“They’re a little more open, I would say, in terms of what they’re doing,” Saban said. “It’s paid some dividends in the balance they’ve able to create by doing that.”
As a result, LSU is scoring more. It shakes out to almost double, as the Tigers have tallied 17 offensive touchdowns compared to the nine prior to the coaching change.
“I think they kind of consider it a whole different season after Coach O got there,” defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick said.
The spark in LSU’s offense doesn’t worry some Alabama players. Defensive lineman Jonathan Allen believes it won’t be an issue at all. The senior knows the Tigers are going to be physical, but the Crimson Tide is ready for it. In fact, it’s looking forward to it.
“It’s what we live for,” Allen said. “It’s nothing too fancy about what they do, so we’re just going to line up and play football.”
Alabama’s defense will reunite with LSU running back Leonard Fournette, who leads the Tigers and is ranked seventh in the SEC in rushing yards with 670. Fournette now has a partner, too. Teammate Derrius Guice is right behind him at 10th in the conference with 621 yards on the ground. The Tigers as a whole are fifth in the SEC at 1,679 rushing yards, averaging 239.86 yards per game.
That’s not a concern for Alabama, which has only allowed opponents an average of 70.1 rushing yards per game for a total of 561.
“As a defense, we’re going to try to stick to our principles – dominate the line of scrimmage, affect the quarterback,” Allen said. “If we can do those things, we feel like we’ll be OK.”
The Tigers’ passing game isn’t in the conference’s Top 10. It’s 13th with 1,287 total yards, which averages out to 183.86 per game. LSU started the season with Brandon Harris at quarterback, then switched to Danny Etling. Together, they’ve completed 102 of 172 passes for 1,268 yards, most of which have come from Etling.
Saban has seen a difference on the field because of Orgeron, but he won’t compare the two coaches directly. Neither will his players.
“It doesn’t really matter who the coach is,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s LSU.”