LSU will look to salvage its season against No. 2 Alabama on Nov. 14, but coach Ed Orgeron said beating the Tigers’ SEC West rivals isn’t the primary focus of the bye week.
“We’ve got to fix us first,” he said.
LSU, which went undefeated and won the national championship last season, has fallen well short of expectations this season, beginning with losing its season opener to unranked Mississippi State. They were blown out by Auburn, 48-11, last Saturday to fall to 2-3.
The defense has been a particular sore spot, giving up 33.6 points per game, which ranks 12th in the SEC. In previous weeks, Orgeron said the defense needed to be simplified in order to perform better. But coming off the loss to Auburn, his tone had changed.
“We’ve simplified as much as we can simplify, to be honest with you,” he said.
With that said, Orgeron did his best to project confidence as he spoke to reporters during his regular weekly news conference. He said the players haven’t lost their motivation and the coaching staff remains united.
“I feel positive about what’s going on,” he said.
In fact, Orgeron went so far as to reference last season’s championship team.
“We’re not that far away,” he said. “We’ve got to get better coaching. We’ve got to get better players. This is LSU and we’re going to do that.”
But whether LSU will be at full strength against Alabama remains to be seen. Orgeron said he’s unsure whether quarterback Myles Brennan will be able to play against the Crimson Tide. Brennan has missed the last two games with a lower-body injury.
Freshman TJ Finley started both of those games in Brennan’s place and went 1-1. After playing well in a win over South Carolina, Finley completed just 13 of 24 passes against Auburn, with no touchdowns, two interceptions and one fumble.
