Chomp On This

Cade York boots a school record 57 yard FG

This is why we watch.

This is why we cheer.

This why we keep the faith.

LSU defeated the #6 Florida Gators 37-34 in another memorable game in the Swamp.  Florida's playoff hopes are dashed while LSU can finish the season 5-5 with a win this weekend at home versus Ole Miss.

This was a huge win for LSU and Coach O. The talking heads on TV and social media were all insinuating there are locker room problems and players will be bailing on the program left and right.  This win, and the effort shown by the players should temper down that talk. A coach that has "lost" the locker room doesn't win that game.

Offense

* Max Johnson played extremely well.  True freshman, first start, in the Swamp, it doesn't get much tougher than that.  Stat line: 21 for 36, 239 yards, 3 TD's and zero turnovers.  He was named SEC Offensive player of the week.

* No Arik Gilbert? No problem.  Kayshon Boutte went off for 108 yards on 5 catches with one TD.

* LSU ran the ball 50 times for 179 yards.  Not a great per carry average, but it kept the sticks moving. 

Defense

* For all of the gritty effort, the defense still gave up 34 points and over 600 yards.  The Gators made it into the redzone eight times. 

* At one point I wondered if we had run out for cornerbacks.  Stingley was out for the game, Flott was ejected for targeting and Ricks looked like he injured his shoulder.

* The Tigers defense did force three critical turnovers and sacked Trask four times Saturday night.

Special Teams

* Cade York may have kicked himself in position to be a finalist for the Lou Groza award given to the best kicker in college football.  

* Old Man Von Rosenberg delivered again booting 8 punts and keeping LSU in favorable field position.

Season Finale

Next up for the Tigers is Ole Miss. LSU is favored by 1 point in what should be a high scoring affair.  LSU ranks 121st nationally in total defense.  Not to be outdone, Ole Miss ranks dead last in the nation, 127th, giving up 528 yards per game.  LSU would do well to run the ball and keep the Rebel's offense off the field.  Turnovers will be key as additional possessions for each offense will be decisive.  Look for a wild shoot out.

LSU 48- Ole Miss 45

Rally Round the Family

It's easy to cheer when your team is winning.

It's hard to cheer when your team is losing.

It's easy to stay the course when everything is going right.

It's hard to stay the course when everything is going wrong.

It's easy to criticize.

It's hard to find solutions.

It's easy to go on social media and rip people while hiding behind anonymity.

It's hard to publicly support people when they are struggling.

Ed Orgeron is at a crossroads at LSU.  After overseeing the greatest team in LSU history in 2019, 2020 has been a disaster.  Some of the problems are self inflicted, many are not.  I'm not going to rehash all that has gone wrong this year.  If you are reading this you are well aware of all of the disfunction.  What I will do is offer my thoughts on LSU going forward.

*Orgeron failed epically in the hiring of Pelini.  Be it scheme or Pelini's inability to interact positively with players, the defense has been historically bad.  Aranda and Pelini could not be further apart in their demeanors.  The change was possibly too dramatic for a locker room full of young guys to overcome.  Pelini has to go.  His replacement will be the key to Orgeron continuing at LSU.  Fix the defense and LSU will win games in 2021.

*Linehan was another retread that has not paid dividends.  Orgeron needs a young offensive mind to assist and eventually take over for Ensminger.  Coach E has done a very good job and should be commended.  But he is not the future of LSU football.  

*LSU has the #3 recruiting class in the country right now.  LSU has to restock the talent that left after 2019.  Offensive linemen must be a priority for this team.  Signing day is less than 10 days away.  Keeping this class together is vital.

*For the fans...just stop with the whining, complaining and bitching.  I'm as disappointed as everyone else, but people act like the program is imploding.  Nick Saban had LSU fans pegged after three or four games as Tigers head coach, when he said that a "the sky is falling" mentality permeates the LSU fan base.  The "Never Orgeron" crowd is on social media crowing "I told you so" while the morons and wingnuts on Tiger Droppings want to burn down everything while hatching a plan to try and steal Nick Saban's DNA in an attempt to clone his body.  

ZERO self awareness and ZERO perspective.  

Below are the Top 10 winningest programs in college football history:

1. Michigan
2. Ohio State
3. Alabama
4. Texas
5. Notre Dame
6. Oklahoma
7. Nebraska
8. Penn State
9. USC
10. Tennessee

*Michigan last won the BIG 10 in 2004!  They have never made the BIG 10 title game.  Would you swap Orgeron for Harbaugh?

*Texas last won the BIG 12 in 2009!  Would you swap Orgeron for Herman?

*Nebraska's last conference title was 1999! Would you swap Orgeron for Frost?

*Penn State started the season 0-5. They haven't won a national title since 1986.  Would you swap Orgeron for Franklin?

*USC has 1 Pac-12 title in 11 years! Are you kidding? Would you swap Orgeron for Helton?

*Tennessee has been lost in the wilderness since firing Fulmer in 2008.  Their last SEC title was over two decades ago.  Would you swap Orgeron for Pruitt?

Yes, this season is terrible, but Orgeron is in a small group consisting of Saban, Dabo, Jimbo, Mack Brown and Lesticles.  Everyone needs to calm down and give Coach O a chance to fix this mess.  Will he get it done? I think so.  But he could also flame out and become another Gene Chizik.  Regardless, he needs the opportunity to right the ship and fans need to be realistic about 2021.

Oh...and LSU plays Florida this weekend.  If the Gators are looking ahead to the SEC Title game, LSU could hang around for a while.  UF can't run the ball so the defense needs to focus on Kyle Pitts (the best TE in CFB) and WR Kadarius Toney.  Expect the defense to give up 40 points.  We can only hope the offense can score early and try and keep it competitive.  LSU is a 3-5 football team, don't look for anything different on Saturday.

UF 45- LSU 24