Ed Orgeron is a bold one, regardless of a loss.
LSU held Alabama’s offense to 20 points, despite being depleted on defense.
Orgeron saw his defensive front dominate the offensive line of the Crimson Tide, sacking Bryce Young four times. The Tigers limited Alabama to six yards rushing and had a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter.
Regardless of the loss, Coach O had a lot to say Wednesday about the Crimson Tide.
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Two years ago, he said Bryant-Denny Stadium belonged to the Tigers. Now, Orgeron says the Tide has weakened.
“I felt we were a better team than them,” Orgeron said in the SEC Coaches Teleconference on Wednesday.
“I don’t know if they were expecting us to be that good. … I don’t know if they played to their peak performance or not, but I felt we matched up pretty good. … I can’t judge how good they are. They aren’t as good as they were in the past. They might be the best team in the country, I don’t know. But they weren’t that night.”
Orgeron has a point with his statement.
The Alabama-LSU rivalry is physical; however, the Tide could not take advantage of an opponent decimated by injuries. Alabama was favored to win by 28.5 points, but LSU made the matchup closer than the experts expected.
Coach O’s team also shut the Tide off the scoreboard in the first quarter.
Alabama had not been blanked in the opening quarter of a game since 2019 versus Duke. The best teams are self-motivated, but this should drive the Tide up more. Some fans don’t believe Alabama is the second-best team in college football.
National media pundits think the program is at its most vulnerable state under Nick Saban.
Saturday’s game against New Mexico State needs to start the end of the narrative for Alabama.
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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.
