No. 5 LSU faces heart of SEC schedule
The opener against Miami was a good gauge.
The SEC opener at Auburn was a significant challenge.
The games against Southeastern Louisiana and Louisiana Tech were useful tune-ups in front of the home fans.
Now the heart of the LSU football season has arrived. The No. 5-ranked Tigers are 4-0 and 1-0 in the SEC. Now come six consecutive games against SEC opponents, beginning with the game against Ole Miss on Saturday in Tiger Stadium.
The Rebels (3-1, 0-1) don’t represent quite the challenge that No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Georgia will represent down the road, but they are the start of a stretch that will go a long way in determining if LSU remains one of the biggest surprises in college football or the SEC also-ran that most projected.
The biggest challenge the Rebels present is their passing game, featuring one of the best receiving tandems in the SEC in A.J. Brown and D.K. Metcalf.
“It’s hard to double them because you open up a can of worms for the other one,” LSU coach Ed Orgeron said Monday at his weekly news conference. “We played a lot of man coverage against them (last year). We’re going to have to mix things up. It all starts with pass rush.
“We can’t allow the deep ball. They live on the deep ball. They’ll run four verticals. They’re like the Oakland Raiders: Just score, baby. We have to make them throw it in front of us and tackle.”
Jordan Ta’amu passed for 442 yards and two touchdowns, including a 41-yarder to Metcalf, in a 38-17 victory against Kent State last Saturday. Ta’amu (shoulder) and Brown (hamstring) were both nicked up in the game, but both are expected to be fine by Saturday.
Orgeron wasn’t pleased with the Tigers pass defense as they gave up 330 passing yards to Louisiana Tech in a 38-21 victory last Saturday. The Bulldogs scored 21 straight points to pull within three points early in the fourth quarter before LSU pulled away.
“This is going to test (our secondary),” Orgeron said. “Louisiana Tech had some very good receivers, and their quarterback was better than we planned. It all starts with the pressure up front.”
The pressure up front hasn’t been as strong the last two games as the Tigers have gotten just three sacks after having nine in their first two games.
“(Defensive coordinator) Dave (Aranda) is a man of few words, but obviously, he’s not pleased,” Orgeron said. “We need to work hard to do better. I’ve seen his demeanor today and I really like his demeanor.”