By Peter Finney Jr.
BATON ROUGE, La. — Fullbacks and tight ends split out wide. The middle of the field became something other than a no-fly zone. A stable of talented benchwarmers produced, with the grass stains to prove it.
Interim LSU coach Ed Orgeron’s debut performance — a 42-7 rout of Missouri on Saturday night in Tiger Stadium — showcased a freshly minted, spread-them-out offense and a suffocating defense, which each played about as fast and furious as the Tigers’ bayou-bred coach talks.
After the game, Orgeron, who assumed the head coaching duties on Sunday after Les Miles was fired following an 18-13 road loss to Auburn, was still soaking in the magic of his team ringing up 634 yards in total offense — the most in LSU history against an SEC opponent.
“This is Tiger Stadium — this is what it’s supposed to be,” Orgeron said.
It is just one game, but this was more than a simple tweak of a dormant offense that had produced just one offensive touchdown each in a 16-14 season-opening loss to Wisconsin and last week’s defeat at Auburn.
Even without Leonard Fournette, whose ankle injury could linger the rest of the season, LSU rolled up 418 yards on the ground behind tailbacks Derrius Guice (163 yards and TD runs of 42, 4 and 37 yards), Darrel Williams (131 yards and three TDs) and little-used Nick Brossette (67 yards on four carries).
Quarterback Danny Etling (19-of-30 for 216 yards) completed passes to nine different receivers, including six to his tight ends and running backs. Newly promoted offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger, taking over for the fired Cam Cameron, had seen enough of opponents crowding the line of scrimmage and decided to move his chess pieces across the board.
“We spread them out a little bit, and we started throwing the football to loosen them up on the run,” Orgeron said.
What a concept.
The one constant in LSU’s early 3-2 record has been the sterling play of Dave Aranda’s defense, which entered the game third in the SEC and figures to climb after holding an offense averaging 569.5 yards in total offense and 48.5 points per game to 265 yards and a lone fourth-quarter score on a double reverse, wide receiver throwback to quarterback Drew Lock.
LSU also scored in the fourth quarter for the first time this season, getting a pair of touchdowns.
“The thing I liked about this game is 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.”
Wide receiver D.J. Chark said the players appreciated Orgeron’s cutting back on live practice drills during the week and emphasizing more videotape study.
“I remember coming in at halftime, and some of the guys were saying, ‘Man, my legs feel fresh,’” Chark said. “The most creative thing we did was just getting a lot of people involved, guys you wouldn’t expect. That was a big thing for us, because we have a lot of talent, and you’ve got to utilize the talent that we have. It’s only going to get better.”
While Etling said the most “creative” thing LSU did on offense was dominate the line of scrimmage with the running game, wide receiver Malachi Dupre, who used his 6-foot-4 body effectively on slant routes over the middle, said he liked the game plan that used the entire field and got more players involved.
“We put up 42 points, and I think that’s just the beginning,” Dupre said. “Coach O did a great job this week getting us energized and excited.”
Next up is Saturday’s game in The Swamp against Florida, and Orgeron said his team will be ready.
“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 to get better. There’s going to be bigger and better opponents down the road.”