The LSU Tigers were demolished by No. 1 Alabama 55-17 Saturday night. It was a very frustrating night for Ed Orgeron and the Tigers, and at one point Orgeron slammed his headset in disgust following another DeVonta Smith touchdown.

After LSU beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa in 2019, the Crimson Tide had revenge on the brain, and they came for blood. LSU’s defense was thoroughly shredded by Mac Jones, Najee Harris and DeVonta Smith.

Following the loss to Alabama, Ed Orgeron spoke to the media.

Opening Statement

“I just told the team I thought they fought really hard. We practiced well, a lot of 1-2. They fought through the very end. Obviously, we made some mistakes. Coach better, better scheme, better execution. You got to give them credit. They’re a good football team.

“No. 6 is one of the best players I’ve seen and he had a tremendous game against us. Our guys are going to stick together and get ready for Florida.

“Our guys are going to stick together and get ready for Florida. Any questions?”

Does this help or hurt recruiting?

“I think it helps recruiting. Recruiting has been fine. Our guys have stuck with us, the commits have stuck with us. I think we’re in good shape. I’m not going to say it helps recruiting. You don’t ever want to lose like that but when guys see that, “Hey, I can come in and play. There are some opportunities for me,” We have a lot of young guys, a lot of freshman are playing right now. I think that’s the way you take it.”

On slamming his headset in disgust

“Our plan was, for most of the game, double team him. That was one of his times that we weren’t. Then we got beat one on one, that’s nobody’s fault. We went into the game to stop No. 6 and you have to give them credit. Sometimes we had him doubled and he made some big plays. It was just frustrating seeing a player have 300 yards in the first half.”

Worst defensive performance of the year?

“Well, we had some pretty good performances against Texas A&M and a pretty good performance against Arkansas. I think the first half was not a very good half with the explosive plays that we wanted to eliminate. That’s all I’m going to say about that.”

Did you lose some defensive progress in this game?

“I thought that there were some parts of the game that our guys played very well. You’ve got to give them credit. They’ve got an excellent scheme. Like I said, their quarterback was on fire. No. 6, he’s a great player. So, I think it’s a combination of both. I’m not discouraged at all. I think our guys fought every down. Can we call plays better? Can we scheme better? Yeah. Can we play better? Yeah. Our guys fought.”

On potential coaching changes

“I promised we’re going to wait until the end of the season, and then, we’re going to sit down and go through everything.”

The number of freshmen that played against Alabama

“I told the team that. There’s a lot of young guys that played against Alabama for the first time. They got a real taste of the action; they know what its like. This experience today is going to help this young team down the road.”

Are there areas where LSU needs to close the gap to Alabama?

“Oh yeah, no question. It wasn’t just the line of scrimmage. The explosive plays and the passing. We just have to get better. We have to get better scheme-wise. I think we have talent in some places; I still have to do a better job recruiting. We beat them last year because we had an excellent offensive scheme and we had the Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback. That’s why we beat them. We still have to get better on defense, we have to get better on offense, and special teams.”

The number of freshmen that played against Alabama
“I told the team that. There’s a lot of young guys that played against Alabama for the first time. They got a real taste of the action; they know what its like. This experience today is going to help this young team down the road.”

On Alabama’s offense

“They have an athletic O-Line. On stretches you could see that they were all moving fast, either going to the boundary or the field. They were able to pull their guards and their tackles. They were big and athletic, and they got up on us a couple times, which helped the running back spread out for a few extra yards.”

How confident is Orgeron in the defensive scheme?

“I feel confident. You can say it is a rebuilding year. It’s a lot of new faces on the defense, a lot of new guys. During this COVID period, a whole bunch of things are happening. The defense and the scheme, it works but it is just something new for all of us. We just have to get back to it.”

You can watch Orgeron’s postgame press conference below: