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LSU Football: Ed Orgeron passes up opportunity to praise Bo Pelini

By Zach Ragan

Sep 26, 2020; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron celebrates with safety JaCoby Stevens (7) after a fumble recovery against the Mississippi State Bulldogs during the first half at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 26, 2020; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron celebrates with safety JaCoby Stevens (7) after a fumble recovery against the Mississippi State Bulldogs during the first half at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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LSU football’s defense hasn’t been as advertised this season.

Before the 2020 season started, LSU football head coach Ed Orgeron made a strong statement about the Tigers’ defense.

“We are so much better on defense right now than any part of the season last year,” said Orgeron in September.

Unfortunately for LSU, that hasn’t been the case this season.

The main reason the Tigers are 3-3 this season is because the defense hasn’t played very well (LSU gave up over 40 points in each of its three losses).

This past weekend in LSU’s 27-24 win over Arkansas, we saw some improvement from the Tigers’ defense. Defensive coordinator Bo Pelini simplified some things and LSU played much better.

Immediately after the game, Orgeron told reporters that he thought Pelini, who was hired this past offseason to replace Dave Aranda, did a great job.

But on Monday, Coach O didn’t sound as enthused about Pelini.

LSU football head coach Ed Orgeron passes up opportunity to praise defensive coordinator Bo Pelini

On Monday, Coach O was asked by a reporter about LSU’s defense and whether or not he felt like Pelini had been able to “steady” the unit.

Orgeron pretty much bypassed the Pelini portion of the question in his response.

“We had a great plan for the hurry-up offense, but still not pleased with the deep balls,” said Orgeron (via Rivals).

“Still not pleased with the rub routes. Still not pleased with the explosive plays, and definitely not pleased by the way we played most of the season. We need to improve to be a championship defense, and everybody knows that.”

I think Orgeron is a fan of Pelini (for now), but I don’t think he’s necessarily thrilled with the state of the defense right now.

It’s clear there are still some major issues that Pelini needs to fix. And I think it’s also clear that Orgeron would like to see the defense a little further ahead than what we’ve seen so far this season.

Next. LSU deserves a say in College Football Playoff. dark

If Pelini was doing a tremendous job, we’d hear that from Orgeron.

But when Orgeron avoids mentioning Pelini, it’s probably for a reason. This could be something to monitor over the next few weeks.

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