Why Postponement of Florida Game is a Blessing in Disguise for LSU Football
Any Saturday in October with no LSU football is a bummer. But with the news trickling down that the Tigers’ week four matchup with Florida is postponed, it might be a blessing in disguise for the purple and gold.
The start of the 2020 season for the Tigers has been on par with what this year as a whole has brought. The defending champs limped their way to a 1-2 start, picking up plenty of questions and not finding many answers along the way.
Maybe this is what LSU and coach Ed Orgeron need. An extra week to further evaluate and start to correct just what has gone wrong this season because it’s quite a long list.
In his interviews with the media this week, Orgeron was forthcoming about the obvious lapses of communication and scheme issues on the defensive side of the ball. After an offseason of praising the 4-3 scheme and Bo Pelini for the transition, the product on the field just isn’t up to LSU standards.
“I saw a defense with a lot of pressure. I saw a defense running around, making plays, eliminating explosive plays,” Orgeron said about the defensive performance in the offseason. “I still think we can have an outstanding defense. I know there's not a lot of great defense being played in the SEC right now. That's no excuse. I want to play great defense at LSU, and we're going to play great defense one way or another.”
These extra few days to focus on communication, fundamentals and assignments could be of major help to the Tigers without a game to worry about this Saturday in the Swamp. It was already going to be tough to make the requisite adjustments to show major improvement against the Gators.
Simplifying the defense as a whole is the key as the Tigers now have 10 days before their next matchup against South Carolina.
“Some of it’s personnel changes, some of it’s just simplifying,” Orgeron said Wednesday. “We have to make sure that in our base defense, we’re very sound and eliminate the deep ball, stop the run. It’s just basic football we have to start playing.”
The offensive struggles haven’t been as magnified but there are a few areas that are concerning. The big two that stick out above the rest are the third down and red zone inefficiency.
LSU is 9-of-39 (23%) on third downs this season, ranking dead last in the SEC and No. 71 out of a possible 76 Division I teams. The 0-for-10 performance against Missouri was just the latest dud and Orgeron said that has to change.
“It's a combination of running the ball, being more manageable third down,” Orgeron said. “And when we get there, we gotta have better schemes, better protection and we gotta execute. And that's not being done right now.”
Getting stopped at the goal line four straight times against Missouri was also a sour way to end the game, especially after hanging 41 points throughout the course of the game. But again that comes back to blocking up front, better schemes and execution.
It’s also a minor miracle that the Florida game was postponed because it gives quarterback Myles Brennan a few extra days to heal. The Tigers’ junior quarterback took a hard hit to the shoulder in the first half of LSU’s week three loss and has been sore ever since, according to Orgeron.
The soreness was so bad that Brennan hasn’t practiced at all this week and Orgeron called him “doubtful” for the Florida game if it had been played.
“He's pretty bruised up and I was pleased to see that he took it and it was hard for him to rotate to throw the ball,” Orgeron said. “He went out in the second half and didn't blink so I was very proud of him."
After his explosive start to his first season as a starter, the argument can be made that there’s nobody on this LSU team who can be lost for any period of time more than Brennan. Brennan has thrown for 1,112 yards, 11 touchdowns and three interceptions this season while completing 60% of his passes.
Receiver Terrace Marshall and tight end Arik Gilbert were also limited in practice this week, Orgeron revealed on his weekly radio show.
All in all, this postponement couldn’t have come at a better time for this LSU team. The Tigers have plenty of work to do and now have the requisite time to start figuring it all out.
“I just think we need to play up to our capability. I don't think we need to play over our heads. We got some good players and coaches. We gotta do it right.”
