Eating With Ed, Week 4: Vanderbilt

SEC play is finally here for the LSU Tigers (3-0) after their 65-14 victory over Northwestern State on Saturday.

But ahead of the weekend’s contest against the Vanderbilt Commodores (0-2), there is some cleaning up to do. The Tigers got off to an incredibly slow start against the Demons, holding just a 10-point lead before surging ahead in the second half.

“When we looked at the film, we didn’t play as good in some spots that we wanted to, especially on the offensive line and the defensive line,” Orgeron said. “Some spots we’ve got to get fixed, and some fundamental stuff that we’ve got to get fixed. Got the Tell the Truth Monday today to get those things fixed and looking forward to that.”

One specific area Orgeron would like to see improvement in is the pass rush.

“The pass rush will cost us,” he said. “We’re experimenting with different things. We did a better job of mixing in our blitzes. We’re going to have to blitz. We’re not ready to use the four man rush now with the guys that we have. We will use it, but how effective we can be, we have to get better at it. So I think you’re going to see more blitzes, more creative ways to get pass rush, and I think you saw that last Saturday.”

The turnover ratio at this point is also concerning.

“One of the things I did mention we were disappointed in, we’re even in the turnover ratio,” Orgeron said. “That’s not where we want to be. We’re minus 1 in the turnover ratio this week. We need to get more picks. We need to get more turnovers. We had a turnover last game and a turnover the game before, and we’re not getting enough turnovers.”

As far as players to watch, Stephen Sullivan is one to keep an eye on.

“We want to get Stephen the ball. He deserves it. He’s a good player. We talked about it after the Texas game, and you can expect to see him some at the tight end, some at the receiver, have some specific plays that he’s going to catch the ball. So we’re pleased with him.”

As has been the case all season, quarterback Joe Burrow continues to impress as a potential Heisman Trophy candidate. But he also continues to take risks and makes some gutsy plays.

Orgeron was asked about the Drew Brees injury and how that can be related to his own quarterback.

“I’m still going to have to remind Joe to run out of bounds. He ain’t going to want to run out of bounds. I’ll have to remind him to do it. Joe means a lot to our football team. Joe is becoming an elite quarterback, and I’ve been a part of three Heisman Trophy winners, Gino Torretta, Carson Palmer, and Matt Leinart -- and I’ve seen a lot of similarities or maybe some things even better that I remember those guys doing. So he could become that quarterback. Still has a ways to go, but he’s going to have to protect himself.”

On the injury front, Orgeron noted that Todd Harris is out for the year. Because of that, JaCoby Stevens is going to be more of a factor as a deep safety and there will some experimentation taking place as the Tigers work around his absence.

Glen Logan and Rashard Lawrence also will not be ready this week, and there’s no timeline on their return. K’Lavon Chaisson is questionable, and will be out of practice Monday.

The Tigers and Commodores are set to kick off at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday in Vanderbilt Stadium.

As for Ed Ingram, Orgeron says there has been “positive news” surrounding the situation, but there is no official update just yet. He expects one in the very near future.

Transcript

LSU Release [pdf]