LSU coach Ed Orgeron addressed media on Tuesday as the team enters into a bye-week following three straight Southeastern Conference wins.
“From the Ole Miss game team positives: Our guys fought very hard,” Orgeron said. “I thought our guys went in there and fought for 60 minutes. We knew we had to come out with a sense of urgency.”
Facing No.1 Alabama.
LSU’s biggest challenge of the season comes when they travel to No.1 Alabama following the bye-week.
“It’s a dominant football team,” Orgeron said. “You have to stop the run. You have to be physical and win the line of scrimmage. You’ve got to battle. Last year we did, and we’re going to battle them again this year.”
The offensive line struggled on one-on-ones and pass protection during the Ole Miss game. Orgeron emphasized the awareness of where the protection should be and double teaming if necessary.
“It’s going to be hard to drop back and pass,” Orgeron said. “Not a lot of people can do that against Alabama.”
Orgeron spent more time so far focusing of “self scouting” and the things the team could fix themselves.
“Tomorrow we will really dig into Alabama,” Orgeron said. “The coordinators will stay in all week working on Alabama. Physicality sticks out. They’re bigger, stronger and faster.”
Injuries and resting in the bye week
Juniors offensive tackle Toby Weathersby, running back Derrius Guice, center Will Clapp and senior offensive tackle K.J. Malone were all absent at practice on Tuesday.
All have been battling injuries this season, and have been in and out of lineups.
Malone specifically has been “questionable” since since tweaking his knee against Florida and has not appeared in a game since. Weathersby, Guice and Clapp all played in LSU’s win over Ole Miss.
“A lot of guys will get rest this week,” Orgeron said. “We had a nice practice today, but [Wednesday] going to be a get after day. It’ll be a heavy day. Some guys will be rested.”
One guy who will not be rested is junior linebacker Arden Key. After missing fall camp with a shoulder injury, Key has been in the starting lineup since the SEC opener at Mississippi State and is just now getting to peak performance.
“He’s got to go and play,” Orgeron said. “He rested for eight months. He’s just getting to where he needs to be.”
Fixing Kickoffs
The Tigers struggled particularly on kickoff coverage during the 40-24 win over Ole Miss. The Rebels totaled 194 kickoff return yards, with an average of 32.2 per return.
“We have to fix our kickoff and our kickoff coverage,” Orgeron said. “The placement of the ball was in the middle of the field. We had bad technique and lost leverage on the ball. They has a good scheme and a good returner.”
Second Annual Tiger Bowl
The second annual Tiger Bowl will take place on Thursday, where LSU’s walk-ons will face the freshman in a scrimmage game.
“It’s huge,” Orgeron said. “Some of the older guys will be coaching them up. There was a lot of enthusiasm last year. They want to show out. A lot of these guys like Jacob Phillips, Tyler Taylor, Kary Vincent, the young guys that have started, they’ll be playing.”
The Tiger Bowl is an opportunity for the younger guys to get some much need scrimmage reps. Orgeron looks for tackling, blocks toughness and competition from the younger guys.
