LSU Football: Ed Orgeron’s claim this week doesn’t tell the whole story

LSU Football head coach Ed Orgeron made a claim this week that’s technically accurate, but it doesn’t tell the whole story.

While talking to reporters on Monday, Orgeron commented that he felt like LSU’s run game improved from week one to week two.

Here are his full comments (via 247Sports):

"“A little bit about the game, we wanted to improve on the run game, we did. We ran the ball outside, several players got the football so I was pleased with the improvement we saw in the run game. You saw two freshman running backs who I think are outstanding. You’ll see more of them along with Ty Davis. I thought he ran the ball well. We got a lot out of our running game and more to get later on.”"

The problem with Ed Orgeron’s comments

The Tigers rushed for 49 yards on 25 attempts in their season-opening loss to the UCLA Bruins.

In week two, LSU rushed for 125 yards on 36 attempts against McNeese State.

It’s an improvement in the box score, but is it really an improvement on the field?

UCLA is a solid team that seems to have things figured out finally under Chip Kelly. The Tigers, however, had the talent advantage in that game. LSU should’ve been able to run the ball more effectively against the Bruins.

After the UCLA game, it definitely feels possible that the Tigers have a big problem in the run game. And I don’t feel any differently just because LSU barely broke the century mark as a team against an FCS opponent.

Comparing the rushing output in the UCLA and McNeese State games isn’t really possible.

The Tigers should’ve run at will against McNeese State. But they didn’t. The Tigers ran for just 3.5 yards per attempt against McNeese State.

Is 3.5 yards per attempt against McNeese State really an improvement over 2.0 yards per attempt against UCLA? Does 3.5 yards per attempt against McNeese State give you any confidence that LSU will thrive running the ball against SEC opponents?

It certainly doesn’t give me any confidence.

And while it’s worth noting that LSU was down several key offensive linemen, let’s again not forget that McNeese State is an FCS OPPONENT! LSU’s third-string offensive linemen probably wouldn’t even respond to an offer from McNeese State.

Coach O must’ve accidentally watched game film from 2019 if he thinks that was an improvement. The Tigers’ offense has a long way to go if LSU is going to compete in the SEC West this season.