LSU football has a fair number of issues it must contend with to right the ship after a disappointing 3-2 start, but one rises above the others.
And it's no abstract issue as Tigers coach Ed Orgeron put it on SportsTalk this week. It's actually pretty simple: LSU needs to be better in the final quarter of games.
"We’ve got to fix that," Orgeron said. "We’ve got to fix that in the way we practice, the way we coach, the way we make adjustments. I think that’s the biggest thing that we’ve got to get fixed."
The Tigers have been outscored 29-7 in the fourth quarter this season, the lone touchdown coming in the opening loss against UCLA. Getting shut out in the final frame nearly cost the Tigers in a tight win over Mississippi State, and it did bite the Tigers with Auburn scoring the final 14 points of the game to rally for the win despite entering the final frame trailing 19-10.
Orgeron didn't point to anything specific in terms of getting that done, but he's pointed out issues in the play-calling that have muddled some play calls while the team tried to get into the perfect play. The Tigers offense had some success going into what Orgeron calls "warp," a code to indicate a faster-paced attack to keep the defense on its heels. He says LSU got away from that against Auburn, and he expects things to shift back into gear when they face unbeaten Kentucky this week.
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"We won three games in a row doing that," Orgeron said. "For some reason we got bogged down. It just went the other way a little bit and made some mistakes. But we’re definitely going back the other way."
As he's said repeatedly throughout the season, the team also needs to recommit to the running game. That will help the offense be more efficient down the stretch of games, but things need to change -- particularly along the offensive line -- for that to happen.
"They can’t be all zone schemes where guys are one-on-one," Orgeron said. "We’ve got to get them some help in some areas. We’ve got to do some misdirections. Give them a chance."
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