Coach O prepares No. 5 Tigers for toughest game to date
LSU football coach Ed Orgeron didn’t have to do much to know what to expect Saturday night in Tiger Stadium in a battle of Southeastern Conference unbeatens between the No. 5 Tigers and No. 7 Florida.
He just flipped on the film of then-No. 5 LSU’s 27-19 loss at Florida last season.
“It was a physical football game,” Orgeron said at his weekly Monday press conference. "It's going to be a battle. We're going to have to win our blocks up front, we have to win our gaps, and we're going to have to tackle.
“Florida has run the ball on us the last two years, very, very well. We have to stop the run. I think that's my biggest concern right now is stopping the run.”
It’s clear Orgeron wants the Tigers (5-0 overall, 1-0 SEC West) to force Florida (6-0, 3-0 SEC East) to put the game in the hands of quarterback Kyle Trask, who has just two career starts. Those have been in the Gators’ last two games after Trask replaced starter Feleipe Franks when he sustained a season-ending injury in the fourth quarter against Kentucky.
Since then, Trask has completed 66-of-92 passes for 841 yards and six TDS, all fairly solid stats.
“It's going to come down to blocking and tackling,” Orgeron said. “They ran the speed option on us (in last year’s game), we were out of position. They ran the quarterback throwback, we were out of position. We just got to be in position and we got to make plays when we need to make plays.”
Offensively, Florida is posting pedestrian numbers. The Gators are ninth in the SEC in total offense (424.3 ypg), seventh in scoring (32.3 ppg), 11th in rushing (139.8 ypg) and fifth in passing (284.5 ypg).
Yet, they are unbeaten because of a defense that leads the league in scoring defense (9.5 ppg allowed), sacks (26), interceptions (12) and turnovers gained (17).
Thanks to defensive coordinator Todd Grantham blitzing schemes, Florida is the only SEC team with more than five players with at least two sacks led by Jonathan Greenard (4) and Jabari Zuniga (3).
“We have to go back in his history, we have to look at the things that he's done, we have to be prepared for line stunts, be prepared for four-man rush, be prepared for blitzes,” Oregron said of Grantham. “We have a lot of work to do this week. There will be a lot of walk-throughs, there will be a lot of film study. We have to be prepared for everything that he comes after.
“The biggest thing that we have to do in practice is simulate the speed of their defensive line. So, we're going to put our fastest guys on the rush team and rush our guys all week.”
Orgeron said he’s hoping to get back injured defensive starters linebacker Michael Divinity and end Rashard Lawrence. Both will practice this week, as will end Glen Logan, who Orgeron said will be limited.
Also, offensive tackle Saahdiq Charles is back. He didn’t play in last Saturday’s 42-6 win over Utah State because of “a coaching decision” according to Orgeron.
Here’s Orgeron on other subjects:
On defensive end Neil Ferrell Jr.: “He's very instinctive. Neil's tougher than an old alligator, man. He's a tough young man, love him to death, from Alabama, great parents, great character. Has stuck with it. Now his opportunity has come. I told Coach Johnson, I said, once Neil becomes a first-teamer he's going to be hard to sit down, and he is. And right now he's still on first team. I don't know if Glen's going to play, but I expect Neil to start in this game.”
On freshmen running backs Tyrian Davis-Price and John Emery: “They're two different backs, they're two good backs. John can put his foot in the grass and make a cut about as good as most people I've been with. Still needs to hold on to the football. He was trying to give extra effort and all it is is putting two hands on the ball when he gets in traffic. Tyrion is a bull, he's going to go north and south and he can run you over and he runs with an attitude. So I think that we kind have a thunder and lightning deal right there going on. The more snaps they get the better they're going to be. I was really impressed with Chris Curry I thought he played his best game and showed that he's worthy and willing to play with significant snaps.”
On cutting back on the social media trash talk between the Tigers and the Gators: “I’m going to talk to them about it today, see what happens. But I know this, that I think it was several years back we had as tussle before the game. I don't want that. That distracts from the football team, that distracts from the task at hand, so we're going to make sure that our guys understand that. For some reason this is a heated battle, emotions are flying high, we want to use those emotions in the right way, I don't think there's anything I can say today or this week or anything our players can say today or this week that will make us win the game, besides work hard, keep our mouth shut and be ready to play Saturday night.”
On why he finally changed the offense: “All the SEC teams, I knew that they were scoring points and we weren't. I knew that we had the athletes, I knew we had the coaches, we just had to change our system. But it just took awhile. And finally we hit it right. I think that I couldn't ask for a better coordinator for right now, for Coach (Steve) Ensminger and what he's doing, he's the general. And then have a young guy like Joe Brady come along to teach the offense, and Steve just kind of monitor everything and call it. I think it's the perfect scenario for right now.
“And I think Joe Burrow is the perfect quarterback for us at this point in time. He's smart, he's a champ, he's going to stay in the pocket, he's going to take a hit. And we got outstanding receivers.”