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LSU football fans should expect a more aggressive defense under Bo Pelini

By Zach Ragan

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA - SEPTEMBER 14: Breiden Fehoko #91 of the LSU Tigers and Tyler Shelvin #72 celebrate during the first half of a game against the Northwestern State Demons at Tiger Stadium on September 14, 2019 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA - SEPTEMBER 14: Breiden Fehoko #91 of the LSU Tigers and Tyler Shelvin #72 celebrate during the first half of a game against the Northwestern State Demons at Tiger Stadium on September 14, 2019 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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Ed Orgeron recently hired Bo Pelini as LSU football’s new defensive coordinator, replacing Dave Aranda.

The 2019 LSU football team was arguably the greatest in college football history.

But there’s one area where the Tigers could’ve been a bit better.

Rushing the passer.

For whatever reason, former defensive coordinator Dave Aranda wasn’t as aggressive as it seemed like he should’ve been at times. There were a lot of situations where LSU tried to get pressure with only three or four guys.

Even a great defensive line will have trouble consistently getting after the quarterback when only three or four guys are being sent.

As a result, LSU finished the season with 37 team sacks, which was 17 behind Ohio State (the Buckeyes led the nation in team sacks with 54).

The Tigers finished behind Temple, Southern Mississippi and Boise State, among others, in total team sacks.

It’s not like LSU was bad in pass rushing situations, they just weren’t as good as they could’ve been.

But that’s likely to change under new defensive coordinator Bo Pelini.

LSU insider Shea Dixon, who covers the Tigers for Geuax247, recently told The College Football Daily Podcast “I think we’re gonna see more of a shift towards LSU sending more guys”.

Dixon added “LSU has sort of wanted to go back to that (aggressiveness). Dave Aranda’s defense would never have been described as Uber-aggressive or anything of that nature.”

I think this is extremely important. LSU probably won’t be scoring nearly 50 points a game next season. They should still have an explosive offense, but there’s no way they’ll replicate 2019’s offensive output. That means they’ll have to rely on their defense more in 2020.

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LSU’s defense wasn’t bad by any means in 2019, but I suspect we’ll see a defensive unit with a bit more swagger under Pelini.

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