Year: 2016

If the hypothesis being tested is “Can Ed Orgeron be the head coach of the LSU Tigers?”, the first two iterations of the Coach O experiment at LSU have yielded overwhelmingly positive results. Orgeron’s been just the catalyst the Tigers needed, following Les Miles’ sudden but not unexpected firing after LSU’s second loss before October. Following the same methods he implemented at USC in 2013, when he went 6-2 as interim head coach, Orgeron’s shortened and labeled practices — ‘Tell the Truth Monday,’ ‘Competition Tuesday,’ etc. — and increased film sessions to produce a team that’s, so far, looked sharper, fresher, and more dominant on Saturdays since his battlefield promotion.

But the results of the experiment, while thus far promising, are insufficient. The conditions have been too favorable. Wins over Missouri, no better than the 12th-best team in the SEC, and a 4-3 Southern Miss team will earn Orgeron style points, but they’ll not land him his dream job.

However, wins over Ole Miss, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, and Texas A&M — LSU’s next five opponents — will do exactly that.

[…]

Inside: Why play action has been more effective; what a healthy Leonard Fournette adds