LSU Relishes First Win Against Alabama since 2011

LSU head coach Ed Orgeron and quarterback Joe Burrow discussed their victory over No. 3 Alabama Saturday night

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — In a crowded press room, LSU head coach Ed Orgeron and redshirt-senior quarterback Joe Burrow had a lot to say about their No. 2 LSU Tigers after the 46-41 victory in Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday.

“A great win for our team obviously,” Orgeron said. “We’re very happy ... "We felt all week that we were the better football team. We said it to our team on Monday, ‘We’re the better football team but we’re gonna have to go ahead and prove it.' We proved it today. 

"There’s some things that we did very well today. There’s some things that we obviously could get better, and obviously will get up ahead. We have to have that killer instinct, but give them some credit. They know how to play football.”

During the press conference, the room was filled with the constant thud of a loud bass speaker that was situated in the LSU locker room, where players and coaches celebrated to their favorite upbeat music.

“I told them on Monday ‘you’re the better football team’,” Orgeron said. “I’ve never told this team that going into Alabama. I said ‘We are gonna win the football game. We gotta take care of our business and we have to take care of practice so that we will block out the noise. When we get in there on that play, and we gonna beat Alabama.' And I told them ‘I do believe you are the best football team’ and that’s the first time I’ve told ‘em.”

The Tigers dominated the Crimson Tide on offense, with 559 total yards. Burrow added to his Heisman Trophy resume, going 31-for-39 for 393 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions.

The quarterback also had 14 carries on the ground for a net total of 64 yards.

Orgeron didn’t mince any words when asked about if tonight was a Heisman performance for Burrow.

“I think it is,” Orgeron said. “You know I don’t vote but if I get a vote I’ll give it to him, I promise you that.”

At SEC Media Days in July, Burrow excited the LSU fan base by saying that he expected the LSU offense to score 40, 50 or even 60 points per game. In their first nine games of the season, the Tigers are averaging 46.6 points per game, with Burrow leading one of the most dynamic offenses in the country.

Saturday night in Tuscaloosa, he reiterated his July statement.

“I told you,” Burrow said. “Nobody believed me, but I told you.”

LSU improved to 9-0, 5-0 in the SEC. It snapped an eight-game losing streak to Alabama, and Orgeron notched his first win in seven attempts as a head coach against the Crimson Tide. 

The Tigers have a relatively laid-back remaining schedule, facing off against Ole Miss, Arkansas, and Texas A&M before potentially heading to the SEC Championship game in Atlanta.

Over the incredibly raucous noises erupting from the locker room, Burrow made it clear that while Saturday’s win over the Crimson Tide is a big one for the program, he and his team are far from done.

“This wasn’t our goal this year,” Burrow said. “We got more goals ahead of us. We didn’t go into this season saying ‘we’re gonna go beat Alabama’. We got more things ahead of us.”

Before heading off to celebrate with Burrow and the rest of the team, Orgeron offered some final words regarding his Tigers’ victory.

“This won’t be the first and this won’t be the last,” Orgeron said. “We comin’. We comin’. This won’t be the last of us. We there and we gonna continue to ride. We’re gonna continue to make progress in this program. We’ll bring a championship back to Louisiana. We’re gonna continue to recruit, continue to get great players. It’s not the first time we’re going to beat them, I promise you that.”