Why fans should feel confident about LSU football’s offense in 2020
By Zach Ragan
LSU football will hope to find offensive success again in 2020.
LSU football probably won’t be as good offensively in 2020 as they were in 2019.
And that’s fine. The Tigers don’t have to average 48 points a game again to win the SEC (especially if the defense improves under Bo Pelini…which is expected).
But LSU will obviously hope to replicate the success from 2019 as much as possible.
One of the challenges the Tigers will face is the marriage of new passing game coordinator Scott Linehan and offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger. Anytime a new coach is brought into the mix, there’s the question of whether or not the chemistry will be right.
Bright offensive minds don’t always mesh well together.
I think we all remember how Matt Canada, a well regarded offensive coordinator, didn’t work out very well in Baton Rouge in 2017.
Canada and Ed Orgeron just weren’t a good fit together. After one season, LSU parted ways with Canada. The “mutual parting of ways” included a $1.7 million settlement and a non-disclosure agreement.
When Coach O hired Canada, it seemed like a great move on paper. Canada had Pittsburgh’s offense in the top 10 in 2016 (averaging over 40 points a game).
The chemistry, however, was off. And there’s nothing more important for a coaching staff than chemistry.
Fortunately for the Tigers, the chemistry between Ensminger and Linehan appears to be great.
Orgeron spoke with 104.5 in Baton Rouge this week and talked about the relationship between Ensminger and Linehan.
“The chemistry has been fantastic”, said Orgeron.
“Scott had some stuff up on the board and they were all talking, it seems like they’re getting together very well. I think the biggest thing for us on offense is continuing to play the LSU standard of performance and find out what this new personnel can do.”
It would certainly be easy for Ensminger to push back against any ideas that Linehan brings to the table. After all, no one has done it better than LSU did it in 2019.
But it’s clear that Ensminger, along with rest of Orgeron’s staff, is dedicated to constantly evolving and getting better. They know that teams will study what the Tigers did last season in an effort to duplicate it and defend against it.
LSU is trying to stay ahead of the competition, though. And that’s the main reason I think the Tigers will once again be a major threat in the SEC West.
Next. NFL scouts split on Thaddeus Moss' potential. dark
The Vegas odds may not favor LSU right now, but the Tigers are just as dangerous as any other team in the SEC.