LSU coach Ed Orgeron has been dealt his first setback as full-time coach of the program last weekend, losing 37-7 on the road to Mississippi State.

How he and his program respond will be key to building momentum moving forward. Last season, after disappointing losses to Alabama and, in particular, to Florida, the Tigers bounced back immediately.

Orgeron was the first coach to speak during this week’s SEC Coaches Teleconference. Here’s a summary of what was said during the call:

  • We have to bounce back from a poor performance against Mississippi State. We’ve practiced very hard this week.
  • Favorite moment or memory at Syracuse during your time there? I’m very appreciative of Syracuse and Paul Pasqualoni. Much of what I learned there, I took with me to USC and now here at LSU.
  • Rashard Lawerence and Derrius Guice playing vs Syracuse? Derrius Guice is very questionable. He did not dress out Tuesday. Lawrence should be able to give us some snaps, he dressed out Tuesday.
  • Did Syracuse express interest in you while you were looking for a job? A radio show contacted me and I was honest. Of course, I was interested but I was never contacted by the school.
  • How will you prepare for the pace of Syracuse’s offense? Similar to how we did against Mizzou (in 2016). We are running two different offenses at our defense. It worked well yesterday, we will do it again today.
  • What will your message be to the fans after the loss to MSU? That was a bad performance. I totally take the blame. We are going to get this thing right. I understand the disappointment, that was not LSU football.