LSU Football: How long will the same excuse work for Ed Orgeron?

For the second straight season, LSU football is 0-1 after losing a game where they were favored.

And for the second straight season, the excuses from Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron sound familiar.

After the loss to UCLA to open the 2021 season, Orgeron talked to reporters about how his team should’ve been better prepared for the game.

Coach O took responsibility for the lack of preparation — which is the right thing for a head coach to do — but that’s also what he did after LSU lost to Mississippi State in week one of the 2020 season.

How long will LSU football put up with Ed Orgeron’s excuses?

Earlier this week, Orgeron said he wished he would’ve prepared the team better for the matchup against the Bruins.

Here are his exact comments (via Rivals.com):

"“I wish I would’ve prepared the team better. Now that I know what (Chip Kelly) was doing, I think I could’ve shown the team more of that.”"

That’s a strange comment to make. Of course the team would’ve been better prepared if they knew UCLA’s game plan. That’s true of any team in the country. The Tigers were ill-prepared because Orgeron didn’t do his job — and he admits he didn’t do his job.

The comments after the UCLA game sound almost identical to the comments Coach O made after the Mississippi State loss last season (something that Rivals.com writer Jerit Roser pointed out).

Here are Orgeron’s comments after the loss to the Bulldogs in 2020 (via Rivals.com):

"“The truth is we’ve gotta coach better. It’s gotta start with me. We’ve gotta prepare our team better. We’ve gotta coach our coaches better. We’ve gotta execute better. And we’ve gotta make better in-game adjustments during the game, during halftime. We could’ve had a better plan on both sides of the football our first game.”"

Despite the new coaching staff additions (new coordinators on both sides of the ball), the same issues are present that were there a year ago.

This is on Ed Orgeron.

And right now, I’m not sure fans should have any faith that it’s going to get fixed.

Look, I’m a Coach O fan. I love his energy and his passion. And he’s one of the best recruiters ever in college football.

But how long can these same issues persist — issues that Orgeron has consistently acknowledged — before fans and the administration at LSU lose confidence?

I have a feeling we’re quickly reaching the point where Coach O’s job is in serious jeopardy.

We can’t keep hearing these same excuses while nothing changes. It’s time for LSU to put the preparation issues behind the program, otherwise, a coaching change will have to be made.