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Know the Foe: LSU

Know the Foe: LSU

Football Nov 20
By ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist Paul Letlow

Coach Ed Orgeron has known for weeks that this is his last hurrah at LSU. Orgeron reached a separation agreement with the Tigers in mid-October but was allowed to coach LSU for the remainder of the season. ULM on Saturday represents one of his two final regular-season games at Tiger Stadium, with Texas A&M visiting Baton Rouge next week. And the Tigers (4-6) have to win them both just to become bowl eligible. "We play to win the game, ok? That's important to us," Orgeron said this week. "We're competitive. I want these guys to finish strong and be proud." Orgeron didn't field many questions about ULM at his Monday press conference and admitted he hadn't scouted the Warhawks much to kick off his week. ULM started 4-3 before losing its last three games. The intra-state contest kicks off at 8 p.m. on ESPN2, with LSU listed as a 28-point favorite. "On to ULM," Orgeron said on Monday. "First of all, I haven't watched a whole lot of ULM this morning because we're trying to fix LSU. But we're going to respect every opponent and get ready to play those guys." LSU is 3-0 all-time against the Warhawks with all three victories coming since 2003. LSU beat ULM, 49-7, in 2003 followed by a 51-0 win in 2010 and a 31-0 victory in 2014. An interesting note, Saturday's game will feature the only two teams in the state of Louisiana to have won National Championships at the FBS or FCS level. ULM (then Northeast Louisiana) won the FCS (then I-AA) national title in 1987, while LSU has claimed national title at the highest level four times (1958, 2003, 2007, and 2019). "I've coached down there several times," ULM coach Terry Bowden said. "For any football fan or any football coach, it's one of the most exciting venues in college football. … It will be a great place to showcase our program. " Injuries have been a big part of LSU's disappointing season. The Tigers are missing 11 players who were projected as starters going into the opener at UCLA. "People don't push 'em around," Bowden said. "They may have lost games at the end, but athletically, they're as good as anybody in the conference." Quarterback Max Johnson is still listed as LSU's starter after freshman Garrett Nussmeier played last week but decided this week to sit out the rest of the season to preserve his redshirt. "I don't think Garrett beat him out. I don't think Max deserves to be benched," Orgeron said Monday before Nussmeier's decision. "Max is still our starter. It's going to be up to Garrett and his father if he wants to redshirt or play in a back-up role." Johnson has completed 181-of-302 passes for 2,190 yards and 22 TDs, while Nussmeier was 29-of-57 for 329 yards and two scores. Johnson's 22 touchdown passes in a single season rank fifth all-time at LSU. Overall, LSU's is averaging 27.1 points and 365.9 total yards per game (111.4 rushing, 254.5 passing). A breakout star at running back, Ty Davis-Price has rushed for 837 yards and six touchdowns. Davis-Price has rushed for 100 or more yards in two-straight games, including 106 yards on 28 carries against Arkansas. Three of LSU's top five active receivers are true freshmen led by Jack Bech (37 catches for 432 yards, 3 TDs). Other top freshmen targets for the Tigers include Brian Thomas Jr. (22-283-1) and Malik Nabers (16-206-2). LSU's top receiver Kayshon Boutte (ankle) was injured in the second half against Kentucky and is out for the season. Defensively, the Tigers are allowing 26.6 points and 385.9 total yards per game (147.5 rushing, 238.4 passing). Hit hard by injuries, the LSU's defense had a solid effort in the 16-13 overtime loss to the Razorbacks. "Outstanding defensive effort again. Hold them to 16 points," Orgeron said. "A good offense. We held them to half their rushing yards, half their total yards." Over opponents' last 25 possessions (Alabama and Arkansas), LSU's defense has forced 14 punts, with 10 of those possessions being three-and-outs, to go along with two turnover on-downs and a forced turnover. LSU gave up just four touchdowns and three field goals during that span. ULM's offense has surrendered 36 sacks, including five last week in a loss to Arkansas State. LSU ranks No. 4 in the SEC in sacks with 31 through 10 games and has seven in its last two games. Defensive end BJ Ojulari leads the Tigers with 6.0 sacks. Linebacker Damone Clark leads the nation in tackles with 118 while linebacker Micah Baskerville (71), safety Jay Ward (51) and safety Cam Lewis (41) are LSU's other top tacklers. Baskerville is coming off his best game with 12 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss including 2.0 sacks against Arkansas. Kicker Cade York, a second-team All-American in 2020, has made 11-of-13 field goals this year and dating back to last year, has made 19 of his last 21. York holds the LSU record for most 50-yard field goals in a career (12), in a season (6 in 2020) and longest field goal (57 at Florida, 2020). "I won't even venture to say right what's going to happen in the game," Bowden said. "But I used to work in television for 10 years and they'll hype that game up and they'll talk good about ULM and LSU to the entire country. We're going to get some good exposure and good publicity before the game even starts. You can't take that back. That's how valuable games like this are to your institution, to our football program and to the future of your program." Warhawk connections: LSU senior consultant Manny Michel served two stints as an assistant coach at ULM. Michel worked for four different ULM coaches in 12 seasons as defensive line coach from 1999-2008 and 2016-17. Doug Nussmeier was the quarterback at Idaho in 1993 that came into Malone Stadium and beat the former NLU football team in the I-AA playoffs. His son Garrett is now a quarterback at LSU. Tiger bytes: Orgeron said he was glad the ULM game was at 8 p.m., which will allow him to also take part in Senior Day at McNeese State. His son Cody is the starting quarterback for the Cowboys. … LSU has won 33-straight games against in-state opponents with its most recent contest against a Louisiana school coming in Week 2 this year when the Tigers posted a 34-7 win over McNeese. … LSU is 138-25-8 all-time against teams from the state.  … Dating back to Ole Miss, LSU's last four TDs have been scored by true freshmen (Jack Bech 2, Brian Thomas Jr. 1 and Malik Nabers 1). … Boutte's nine TD receptions still rank No. 2 in the SEC.  … LSU has started six true freshmen. … Starting offensive tackle Austin Deculus has appeared in 58 career games (43 starts). Deculus is seeking to become the first player in LSU football history to appear in 60 career games. … Return specialist Trey Palmer is one of only eight players in school history to return both a punt and kickoff for a TD.
 
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