LSU coach Ed Orgeron Talks Alabama and Loss of Michael Divinity During Monday's Press Conference
When the clock strikes zero in the fourth quarter on Saturday night in Tuscaloosa, the fate of the 2019 LSU season may be defined by the outcome on the scoreboard.
Whether it's a win or a loss for the Tigers against No. 2 Alabama, coach Ed Orgeron and the rest of the staff are making sure the LSU players are well equipped to handle whatever Nick Saban and company throw their way.
On Monday, Orgeron talked about the challenges a game of this magnitude presents while also revealing what the defense must now do with the loss of leader Michael Divinity at outside linebacker.
Orgeron has maintained his statement since last week that this LSU team will not be approaching the Alabama game any differently than any other game on the schedule.
"It's the biggest game on our schedule but there'll be bigger games down the road for us," Orgeron said. "We understand, we have respect for Alabama, we understand what they do well, what we do well and it's going to be a great game."
The fourth year Tiger coach says he learned many lessons from facing Alabama in the past, with the most important being not to overhype the game.
"There's going to be enough hype out there, just stick to the fundamentals," Orgeron said. "Although there's great wide receivers, great quarterbacks, you still battle with the line of scrimmage. We have to play well in every area and it goes back to fundamentals and this week, tackling is going to be a premium. They're very dangerous in yards after contact."
One of the areas Alabama excels in is getting its speedy receivers the ball on short routes and allowing them to make plays with their legs. Orgeron said a big goal for the secondary is to limit those slant routes Alabama is so proficient at, to three and four yard gains instead of 10-15 yard gains.
That all starts with open field tackling, an area that LSU has struggled with in 2019.
"We were talking about that at six this morning," Orgeron said. "I do believe if you're playing man coverage, they're probably going to catch the slant but it should be for a three or four yard gain. The tackles we make in the open field are going to be critical. We'll try to take those things away. It's going to be a chess match."
It goes without saying that this matchup will feature two of the country's elite offenses, a far cry from that 2011 battle dominated by the defense. As a result, the matchup of Tua Tagovailoa vs Joe Burrow will be a major topic of conversation all week.
Both are considered frontrunners for the Heisman trophy, and a winning performance from either could be the knockout punch on the 2019 award for the most valuable college football player.
Orgeron said he's looking forward to that battle, once again calling Burrow a top-five recruit in LSU history.
"I'm glad that we have a great quarterback and the championship teams that I've been on have always had a great quarterback," Orgeron said. "I think our quarterback has it all. I think the one thing you'll find about both [Joe and Tua] is that they're about the team.and are unselfish."
Early Monday morning, news broke that senior outside linebacker Michael Divinity Jr. would be leaving the program for "personal reasons." During Monday's press conference, Orgeron confirmed the news about the player that in 2018 led the team in sacks.
Later in the conference, Orgeron revealed the team would "not close the door" on a potential return to the team and would evaluate the situation as time goes on. Brody Miller of the Athletic reported that Divinity's namecard had already been removed in the locker room.
Divinity was seen as one of the leaders of the defense, leading the team in sacks in 2018, collecting three more in five appearances in 2019. The senior sat in three games this season due to "coaches decisions" and Miller reported that another incident may have led to his removal from the team.
Divinity posted the following message on Twitter Monday afternoon.
Sophomore K'Lavon Chaisson takes most of the reps at outside linebacker anyway so the loss of Divinity is a hit in the depth department. Orgeron said Andre Anthony, Ray Thornton and Marcel Brooks are likely candidates to see extended run with Divinity now away from the program.
In injury news, Orgeron said safety Grant Delpit is still dealing with a minor injury but that he will practice Monday with the hope he will be ready for Saturday's game against the Crimson Tide.
"He'll be totally healthy for the game Saturday," Orgeron said.
In a game of this magnitude, Orgeron says it will take the team's best player's at their best in order to end that nasty eight year losing streak to the Crimson Tide.
"I do believe that they don't have to play any different than they've played in any other game this year," Orgeron said. "They just need to play their best. I don't want a player to go in there and think 'I have to do something I'm not capable of doing.' If we go in there and play our best in all three phases of the game, we're going to be fine."
