Ed Orgeron after beating Arkansas, retaining Golden Boot: ‘We plan to keep it’
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After a slow start, LSU kicked it into another gear in the second half and put away Arkansas early Saturday in Death Valley. The Tigers won the game by a wide 33-10 margin which is even more impressive when you consider the game was tied up at seven going into halftime.
The win was Ed Orgeron’s second over Arkansas during his short tenure as LSU head coach. Immediately after the game had been decided, Coach O was asked about what he was most proud of following LSU’s strong second half play.
“The way we ran the ball, the way we threw the ball,” Orgeron said. “Our guys came out with some fire, played with poise. Give Arkansas some credit, they came to play. They came to play a hard fought game, rivalry game. I’m proud of our guys.”
LSU star running back Derrius Guice had another big performance, rushing 21 times for 147 yards and three touchdowns. Once he got going in the second half, the Tigers were not going to lose this game. Orgeron discussed what changed in the second half to get the LSU runner going.
“The blocking picked up in the second half,” Orgeron continued. “Their D-line was penetrating too much, our guys did a good job of stopping the penetration. He hit the holes. He’s a tremendous back and player.”
After struggling for much of the day, the game broke wide open early in the fourth quarter when Danny Elting hit D.J. Chark for a 68-yard touchdown pass. Here’s what Coach O had to say about his starting QB after the game.
“I was really pleased that he came out in the second half and completed some balls, made some tremendous reads,” he said. “I’m proud of Danny.”
Finally, Coach O touched on continuing to hold on to the Golden Boot and what beating rival Arkansas means to the LSU fan base.
“It means a lot. A lot of people have a lot of pride in this game,” he continued. “Our players have a lot of pride (in the game). It stayed in Fayetteville too long. We plan to keep it.”
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
