Louisiana’s state capitol building was lit up, and the adjacent Port Allen Bridge the same, as the backdrop for Saturday night in Baton Rouge. Inside Death Valley, thousands of heckling fans formed loud purple and gold walls.
It was Cody Orgeron’s dream come true.
The stage was set. His father and pair of his brothers, Tyler and Parker, stalked the opposing sideline, garbed in matching khakis and purple polos, a place Cody was not used to seeing them. With the lights of Death Valley shining down, Cody could not bolster the manpower to show up his father, Ed, in a 34-7 defeat.
Cody, the starting quarterback for McNeese State, only completed 10 of his passes, with negative 60 net rushing yards against LSU. He was sacked eight times.
“In high school I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do, and I remember I had a very vivid dream,” Cody said before the game. “I was playing in Tiger Stadium in a sold-out crowd, and it was a different dream man, I knew it was from God, and I have ever since stuck with that dream throughout my college career, and it all came true.”
Several years later, including an extra year of eligibility, helped make that dream come true. On Saturday, Cody was at the helm of the opposing McNeese State’s offense. The stadium was packed with 94,221 fans, checking off another item on his bucket list.
“It is such a blessing to be able to play against them, in such a cool venue like that,” he said before the game. “Being out there to compete with my teammates, its going to be a really special night.”
Though, unluckily for him, his dream did not include winning—His two older brothers and father walked away with the victory.
“This is my first time going against my dad,” Cody said. “He is usually there supporting me at every game, in high school when I played tennis, he would come support me.”
Cody opened the game with a six-yard keep, not a scramble. Could this have been more than a simple quarterback keep? Or is it a statement from Ed’s son, that he would give this game his all?
As game clock dissipated into the humidity of the Baton Rouge night, the latter was evident. Cody would get eaten up, but get up and give his best effort each time, play after play.
The Cowboys are now 0-2, with their first loss coming from West Florida last week. Against the Argonauts, Cody completed 31 competitions on 47 attempts for 367 yards. In their 42-36 loss to West Florida, he threw two touchdowns, and his longest completion was 30 yards.
Compared to this week, Cody suffered against a banged-up LSU defensive unit. A defensive line that was missing impact players, Jay Ward, Ali Gaye and Glen Logan, allowed Cody to complete just half of his passes and only throw for one touchdown.
The turning point for the Cowboys’ offense came late in the first quarter when defensive lineman Maason Smith came flying through a gap in the middle of McNeese’s front line barrier for a seven-yard sack. Not only did Cowboys lose a possession and yards on the play, but the blue and yellow No. 8 jersey lay on the Tiger Eye in the middle of Death Valley for a second longer, with the crown of the helmet directed to the Tigers coaching staff sideline.
“Looking back and thinking about [the game], it was all kind of a blur, it happened so quick, but I was just blessed to be a part of that a great storyline in my life,” Cody said after the game. “It was a great experience, it was fun.”
Earlier in the week, Cody and his twin brother Parker, offensive analyst for LSU, mentioned to The Reveille, in unison that this is a special coincidence that they are lucky to share in together, and both teams wish the best from each other.
“Stuff like this doesn’t really come around often, so we are going to take advantage of it,” the twins said.
Capping the first half, Ed, Parker and Tyler took the advantage over the lone Cowboy, as the scoreboard reflected 17 for LSU and zero for McNeese State. Cody, while in the pocket and on the playing field, converted only 50% of his first half passes, as he was six for 12, with a sack and a net loss of 33 yards.
Then to begin the second half, a near identical scene from the first quarter happened, Cody was once again lying upon the Tiger Eye for a failed third down conversion. The Tigers came into this game with an offensive line that lacked production against the UCLA Bruins, but the Cowboys were simply worse; the front five did not provide any protection for plays to develop as the graduate student got dropped eight times in the matchup.
Without a doubt, Ed was impressed with the improvement in production of the defensive line on Saturday night, being able to intrude enemy lines and sack the quarterback for a loss. But while clapping on the sideline, he must have had an ounce of worry considering his son was getting the brunt of the Tigers’ harm.
“I knew Cody could handle it,” Ed said with a smile. “I’ve watched all his games. There have been games where he’s been sacked a bunch too. He can handle it. He’s a big man. I’m just glad he didn’t get hurt.”
Late into the fourth quarter, Cody connected with receiver Carlos Williams for a 44-yard touchdown, erasing Tigers’ hopes of a home opener shutout (last shutout was in 2018, against Southeastern, 31-0). Cody ended his Death Valley debut with a total of 91 passing yards, and one touchdown.
All dreams end with the same result; We wake up and a new day begins. Cody woke up when the game was finished, tallying 10 completions on 20 attempts with one touchdown. His dad and brothers got the best of this match up.
“We could not get shut out,” Cody said. “It was definitely great getting a touchdown in Death Valley.”
After the score was settled, the father embraced his son before they parted ways for the night. He departed with a message.
“I am proud of you son,” he said, “on to the next one.”
“I told him that I love him,” Cody said about his fathers embrace after the game. “Put it in the past and keep moving, but I’m happy for them. They get back on track, and its our opportunity to get back on track next week.”