LSU coach Ed Orgeron Not Making SEC Championship Bigger Than it Needs to Be
LSU coach Ed Orgeron kicked off Monday's press conference by saying "I'm glad there's a press conference today." That's because for the first time since 2011 the Tigers will be representing the SEC West in the SEC Championship in Atlanta, taking on No. 4 Georgia.
The No. 2 Tigers open the week as 6.5 point favorites over the No. 4 ranked Bulldogs, who sport what Orgeron called the "best defense we've played yet." Georgia is No. 4 in total defense in 2019, allowing opponents 257 yards per game while also allowing a measly 71 rushing yards per game, second best in the country to Utah.
Orgeron said he's watched a lot of film on the Georgia rush defense, saying what makes them so tough is it has NFL ready players manning the defensive line to make it easy for linebackers to break through and get stops.
"They play with a low pad level. They play a 3-4. They play very, very good technique when they play the 3-4. They bring that No. 99 in that weighs about 330 pounds. He knocks everybody back, lets those linebackers run. The thing when you watch the Georgia Bulldogs, ever since I've been watching football, they get 11 helmets to the football. They fly to the football. They tackle well in space. They're very physical."
With such a tough defensive line to prepare for, more pressure will be put on the much improved LSU offensive line to open holes for junior running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Edwards-Helaire over the last seven weeks has turned himself into one of the premier backs in the SEC.
Edwards-Helaire is third in the conference in rushing yards (1,233), first in rushing touchdowns (17) all while being eighth in the conference in attempts per game. There was speculation before the season that the freshmen running backs, John Emery and Tyrion Davis-Price, would dip into Edwards-Helaire's touches in 2019 but Orgeron knew what he had in the junior out of University High.
"I thought he'd be a good back, no question about that," Orgeron said. "But I think he's exceeded all of our expectations except Clyde's expectations. That's a credit to him, to Tommie Robinson, but mostly to Clyde."
In preparation for a longer season, Orgeron has dialed back the practice intensity over the past couple of weeks in hopes of having his players fresh for this time of year. The fourth year Tiger coach said that was something he picked from the NFL and that it's stuck with him whether it be at USC or LSU.
"As the season has gone on here, Tommy Moffitt and Jack (Marucci), they measure how fast our guys are playing," Orgeron said. "When we're starting to slow down, they tell me when we're slowing down. It may be a drill or so, may be a couple of minutes. But every week we scale back on practice. We've had five groups playing at 20 miles an hour, which is the highest we played all season last year. Those methods work. They give me the information. I make the decision how much we scale back, and it's worked for us."
In spite of the SEC Championship being played in a neutral site, the game will feel like anything but for Tiger fans making the trip to Atlanta.
With the game being played so close to Athens, 72 miles to be exact, the logical theory is that the game will be like a home game for the Bulldogs, who travel well as it is. Orgeron said while that may be the case, he expects the Tigers to be well represented, knowing the circumstances of what's at stake.
"I know our fans are going to be there. I feel good about that. Everywhere we go, we've had great fans," Orgeron said. "But we will treat this as an away game. We will have crowd noise on Tuesday, Wednesday. Be very well-prepared for all the Georgia fight songs they'll play on our field all week."
Much like the Alabama game earlier this season, Orgeron and the coaching staff are making it a point of emphasis with the team to not treat this game any bigger than it already is. After all, the SEC Championship is just one more game in front of a much bigger picture for this 2019 LSU team.
"We're going to take it one day at a time," Orgeron said. "This is not too big for our football team. Our team can handle this. Our coaching staff can handle this. It's going to be about beating Georgia. We're not going to let all the stuff outside make it too big of a game."
