As Ed Orgeron walked up for his post-game press conference, he had a message to share with no one in particular.
The coach with a ticking clock dropped his typical gruff post-game demeanor for some clear emotion and honestly to spill through.
“I feel bad for these kids, man," Orgeron said. "I just feel bad. Really do. Two weeks in a row, could’ve put them in a better position to win. They played their hearts out.”
Orgeron isn't wrong. But if the performance against Alabama could be called a moral victory, an overtime loss to Arkansas was clearly a demoralizing defeat. The Tigers lost at home despite its defense thoroughly dominating the Razorbacks, at one point forcing four consecutive 3-and-outs. That's despite the Tigers continuing to deal with serious depth issues stemming from injuries that have ravaged nearly every position on the roster.
Injuries have forced changes to practice routines. The program didn't have enough healthy players to even hold its typical scrimmage during the open week. Ahead of Arkansas, the team didn't put on pads for their Wednesday practice with an eye on keeping players fresh and healthy. It was the first time all season LSU had worked a non-padded day into the Wednesday routine. It's one of the clearest signs of just how beat-up this group truly is -- and that includes many of the players gutting it out on the field.
"We’ve got two games left, we’ve got to regroup," Orgeron said. "That’s a hurting group in there right now.”
Those two remaining games are also must-have for LSU's hopes of making a bowl game. They will be heavy favorites against UL Monroe next week, but will have a tough task closing out the season against Texas A&M.
Related
While the Tigers coach again maligned his coaching staff's inability to put players in position to succeed and win, he's still not ready to throw in the towel. He wants to make a bowl game. The players want to make a bowl game. The inspired play of the defense the past two weeks -- highlighted by the continued emergence of star linebacker Damone Clark -- is evidence enough of the pride in this group.
"Nobody" thought LSU would be able to go toe-to-toe with Alabama, Orgeron said, "and we did." He expects that fiery play to translate the final two weeks, as well as the bowl his team is hoping to land in -- wherever and whatever that may be.
"We said we were gonna fight. I said we’re gonna fight, they’re gonna fight," Orgeron said. "They know I’ve got 2 weeks left. And we’re giving it everything we’ve got. We’re gonna finish strong. Whatever happens we’re gonna finish strong.”
Related
━━━━
MORE FROM ORGERON
DID YOU CONSIDER SWITCHING BACK TO MAX?
As was the plan going into the game, Max Johnson started against Arkansas, but gave way to Garrett Nussmeier after two series. The freshman gave a clear spark on his first two drives, but struggled the rest of the way. His final throw of the game was an interception in the end zone that set up Arkansas for a potential game-winning field goal.
Orgeron said coming off the field at halftime that Nussmeier would play the rest of the way, and it was really never a consideration to make the switch back down the stretch with the freshman struggling.
“We could’ve gone back and forth right there. But I just didn’t want to put him back in," Orgeron said. "We were so far into it. We kind of felt like we were gonna let Garrett play, give him a shot. And he made some good plays. But I just didn’t want to go back when things went south again, I just didn’t want to put him back in there.”
How about the next two games?
“We’re going to look at it. We’re trying everything. Hey, Garrett made some good plays and he didn’t make some good plays," Orgeron said. "Max make some good plays, he don’t make some good plays. I don’t think you can put it all on the quarterback. I think we’ve got to look at everything encompassing what we’re doing, then we’ve got to go from there."
Related
━━━━
WHAT WAS THE DEAL WITH THE WILDCAT SNAP?
“Apparently not enough [practice]," Orgeron said.
“I don’t think … it was very good to put Ty Davis back there, wildcat. We hadn’t done it all year. We caused a fumble. We could’ve gone up 17-3. I wish we had that call back.”