It has been a completely different year for Ed Orgeron and Louisiana State University.
After reaching the top of the mountain last season as national champions, the LSU Tigers are 2-3 and are not the same on offense or defense.
With losing 14 players to the National Football League, a few more to opt outs for this season, and losing two very good assistant coaches, the Tigers are averaging 35.8 points per game while allowing 33.6 points per matchup.
The remaining five games on its schedule are brutal, especially facing Alabama next week.
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Fans of college football enjoyed a treat in 2019 at Bryant-Denny Stadium, as Tua Tagovailoa and Joe Burrow battled the entire game. Despite playing on one ankle, the native Hawaiian totaled 418 passing yards with four touchdowns. It endured a tough, 41-46 loss at the hands of the Tigers, but there was an incident in the locker room that is fresh on Alabama’s mind.
Coach Orgeron told the players that LSU would defeat the Tide in everything from that moment on. Since the departure of Tagovailoa, Mac Jones has taken over the offense and it’s better than ever. Alabama is first in the Southeastern Conference for scoring offense (47.2 ppg) and total offense (555.2 ypg), while carrying the nation’s top-ranked unit for points per game.
Orgeron has been impressed with the Tide’s offensive line, running back Najee Harris and Steve Sarkisian at offensive coordinator.
He showered praise upon each area in Wednesday’s SEC Coaches Teleconference; however, he does not see Jones on the same level as his former quarterback.
“I have not watched him that much,” Orgeron said to reporters. “Let’s see where he takes it. Obviously, Joe took it. He’s a good player, he’s well-coached and he’s a great character young man. I see a lot of good things in him [but] I think it’s going to be a long time before we see another Joe Burrow around here, to be honest with you.”
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Instantly, many Tide fans would see this as a shot at Jones.
He has a tougher schedule than Burrow did and is playing in a global pandemic. Through six games in a conference-only schedule, Jones has more passing yards (2,196 to 2,157) and a higher quarterback rating (95.5 to 91.3) than Burrow.
Burrow had a slightly higher completion rating (79.5 to 78.5) and nine more touchdown passes (25-16), but he also had three teams of lower-tier competition — Georgia Southern, North Western State and Utah State — on his schedule.
He had the ultimate season with 5,671 passing yards with 60 scoring tosses, but Jones potentially has seven games left to have a chance at rewriting history. The redshirt junior was doubted all summer and used it to prove every critic wrong.
Jones is now at the front of the Heisman race and looks to take down the Tigers in Baton Rouge, La.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
