The big question: Who replaces Les Miles at LSU?
BATON ROUGE, La. – Once the inevitable shoe dropped Sunday afternoon, the natural reaction for so many was predictable: What now for LSU football? Tigers football coach Les Miles was cut loose by...
View ArticleIn interview, Les Miles gracious about his LSU exit
BATON ROUGE, La. – Fired LSU coach Les Miles went public for the first time since his dismissal, doing a spot on “The Dan Patrick Show” on Monday, less than 24 hours after he was let go. Here are some...
View ArticleIf nothing else, Ed Orgeron will bring energy, enthusiasm to LSU
BATON ROUGE, La. – Where y’at, Ed Orgeron? For those of you not lucky enough to live in Louisiana, that’s a familiar friendly greeting in the state, especially for anybody with any connection to New...
View ArticleLife goes on for LSU – and improvement is needed
BATON ROUGE, La. – As crazy weeks go, LSU is smack-dab in the middle of one. It all began with a gut-wrenching 18-13 loss at Auburn that, as it turned out, was a massive domino that had a lot of...
View ArticleNew LSU OC Steve Ensminger has had issues as play-caller in past
BATON ROUGE, La. – In a week of widespread changes within LSU’s football program, most of the focus has been on Ed Orgeron getting another chance at running a big-time program. Second chances don’t...
View ArticleNo Fournette? No problem for LSU as Guice, Williams run wild
BATON ROUGE, La. – Not all problems are a bad thing to have. In fact, what the LSU offensive coaches are dealing with all of a sudden is the polar opposite of a dilemma. Playing without Leonard...
View ArticleGood, bad and ugly from LSU’s big win over Missouri
BATON ROUGE, La. – “Coach O” came, made changes and LSU dominated. What the Tigers’ 42-7 thumping of Missouri revealed as much as anything is how badly LSU needed a jolt of energy, which interim coach...
View ArticleWhere might Les Miles end up after LSU? A breakdown of possible destinations
If the last generation of legendary college football coaches taught us anything, it’s that walking away from the game they know so well isn’t the easiest thing for any of them. Bobby Bowden and Joe...
View ArticleThere is simple solution on Florida-LSU: Move the game or postpone it
BATON ROUGE, La. – You can take one of two approaches to the Florida-LSU game scheduled in Gainesville on Saturday. Will they or won’t they. Should they or shouldn’t they. Unfortunately, either some...
View ArticleEd Orgeron proves to be calming influence after Florida-LSU postponement
BATON ROUGE, La. – It’s a quiet Saturday in Baton Rouge for a bunch of reasons that don’t need to be rehashed again. Seems like that dead horse has absorbed enough abuse. After all the confusion,...
View ArticleIt’s time for Florida, LSU and the SEC office to find a solution
BATON ROUGE, La. – SEC football is good for a few black eyes every fall and this one doesn’t figure to be any different. As with any family, there’s almost always going to be a few dust-ups with the...
View ArticleDanny Etling-Steve Ensminger tandem preparing for tougher defenses
BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU got handed a whole bushel of lemons late last week when the Tigers’ road trip to Florida was scrubbed in the wake of Hurricane Matthew. The best thing LSU could do was make as...
View ArticleFlorida-LSU drama has been ugly from all corners
BATON ROUGE, La. – At long last, the not-so-national nightmare (actually more of a regional skirmish) is over. Florida and LSU will play football this fall after some wrangling that played out in the...
View ArticleLSU follows lackluster 1st half with explosive 2nd half to win easily
BATON ROUGE, La. – So much of the nine days leading up to LSU’s meeting with Southern Miss focused on a game that didn’t get played, was in danger of never getting played and finally got rescheduled...
View ArticleGood, bad and ugly from LSU’s rout of Southern Miss
BATON ROUGE, La. – It was back to football for LSU on Saturday after wading through a postponement and oodles of off-field drama for nine days. And once the Tigers got through the rusty hangover of an...
View ArticleIs Derrius Guice better option than Leonard Fournette in LSU’s new offense?
BATON ROUGE, La. – It’s the season for great debate. Whether it’s those two folks running for president (seriously, how many more days to the election?) or the football version surrounding the Dallas...
View ArticleEd Orgeron’s past is part of this LSU-Ole Miss game, but just a small part
BATON ROUGE, La. – Sometimes the storylines leading up to a game can seem so easy to latch onto. It’s the tantalizing “low-hanging fruit effect.” So the notion of Ed Orgeron coaching against an Ole...
View ArticleWhat now for LSU? A win over Tide would change everything for Tigers
BATON ROUGE, La. – Now LSU fans can exhale just a little and some of the discussion can begin about what lies ahead for the Tigers the rest of the season. After dismantling Ole Miss 38-21 – a desperate...
View ArticleThe good, the bad and the ugly from LSU’s win over Ole Miss
BATON ROUGE, La. – No more dress rehearsals. Some time to prepare for Goliath. And a load of confidence. After a strange first two months of the season, LSU now is ready to see exactly where things...
View ArticleDwayne Thomas’‘trash talk’ a welcome change at LSU
BATON ROUGE, La. – You don’t have to shake the branches of the LSU football program a whole lot to unearth how much things have changed in the past month. More proof dropped from those branches...
View ArticleTrue ‘rivalry’ or not, Alabama-LSU once again is a true big game
BATON ROUGE, La. – In a sport where rivalry games serve as the constant lifeblood, nobody does bitterness and contentious showdowns quite like the SEC. Every week, it seems like at least two teams from...
View ArticleLSU players, fans need to take cue from ‘Coach O’— relax and enjoy the moment
BATON ROUGE, La. – Just like any other season, the looming Alabama-LSU showdown is a game that you can “X” and “O” to death. And make no mistake, that has happened and will continue to happen until toe...
View ArticleAlabama game make-or-break for Ed Orgeron? I think not
BATON ROUGE, La. – Every once in a while in sports, an idea or concept becomes increasingly popular because it’s so easy to latch onto. Sort of like when you pull into the grocery or big-box store and...
View ArticleThere was one glaring difference – again – between Alabama and LSU
BATON ROUGE, La. – If you closed your eyes for a minute Saturday night at Tiger Stadium and players from LSU and Alabama swapped uniforms and changed sides of the field, you might not have detected...
View ArticleYou know who should be a legit candidate at LSU? Dave Aranda
BATON ROUGE, La. – Sometimes a great answer, if not the perfect one, is sitting there right in front of you. That just might be the case for the LSU powers-that-be as they attempt to find a permanent...
View ArticleThe good, bad and ugly from LSU’s loss to Alabama
BATON ROUGE, La. – Anticipation, build-up and hype are great things. When the dust settles, though, and the outcome wasn’t what was hoped for, there tends to be a nasty aftertaste. That is exactly what...
View ArticleLSU has to be more creative with its rushing attack
BATON ROUGE, La. – There are a lot of folks who will work hard to convince you that there are myriad secrets to successful offense in football. And, yeah, there are a lot of wrinkles and nuances a team...
View ArticleIs LSU the second-best team in the country?
BATON ROUGE, La. – Consistency is one of those catch words that most coaches love to use with their teams, and it makes sense because the concept applies in life as well. No need to be spectacular all...
View ArticleThe (mostly) good, (very little) bad and ugly from LSU’s rout of Arkansas
BATON ROUGE, La. – Exhale, LSU fans. The hangover effect exists no more – at least not in the Tigers’ first test after Alabama week. Instead of looking like a boxer staggered by a roundhouse haymaker...
View ArticleLes Miles and Baylor? That is one coaching rumor that makes sense
BATON ROUGE, La. – Well, this is a coaching rumor that you really can sink your teeth into amid a swirl of seemingly empty and yet-to-be-solidified drivel flying around right now. Les Miles and Baylor....
View ArticleKeys to LSU’s turnaround? Don’t forget Danny Etling
BATON ROUGE, La. – As LSU has flipped its 2016 season around, so many players have stepped to the forefront – some expected, some not so much. The Tigers are built around two running backs, feature one...
View ArticleLSU falters at home – and this one should sting for a long time
BATON ROUGE, La. – Some losses sting a little more. LSU absorbed one on Saturday that had to feel like a sucker punch. Everything was teed up for the Tigers to put a positive spin on a season that went...
View ArticleJoe Alleva, LSU should be patient, look at all options in coaching search
BATON ROUGE, La. – By nature, I am a listener more than a talker. I tend to sit back and absorb more than knee-jerk react. Tied into that, I believe everybody has a right to his/her opinion and that...
View ArticleLSU hammers Texas A&M, making you wonder why this offense disappears at times
Maybe in a season accentuated by what-ifs, it was fitting that LSU’s offense churned out its most impressive offensive performance in several seasons in the regular-season finale. Makes you wonder,...
View ArticleThe good, bad and ugly from LSU’s easy win at Texas A&M
BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU has been a bit of a Jekyll-and-Hyde team all season, and for the final chapter of 2016, the good doctor showed up and performed as well as he has in a while on offense in a 54-39...
View ArticleEd Orgeron’s first order of business at LSU: hiring coordinators
BATON ROUGE, La. – Now the picture comes into clearer focus. But it may get fuzzy again real soon. With LSU spinning the coaching search wheel and landing on Ed Orgeron, one clear domino toppled was...
View ArticleThe only way Ed Orgeron can win over his many critics? Win big
BATON ROUGE, La. – No concession speeches are forthcoming. No coach-elect meetings with the lame duck or, in this case, deposed leader. But the news of Ed Orgeron’s hire as LSU’s coach certainly has a...
View ArticleThe ‘carousel’ has started to spin, so what’s next for Les Miles?
BATON ROUGE, La. – One major domino fell, another one wobbled but stayed upright and now a new one may be ready to topple. Now the rest of the 2016 coaching carousel can get to spinning, and that...
View ArticleSigning Dave Aranda to extension is Orgeron’s first recruiting coup
BATON ROUGE, La. – With another phase of the never-ending recruiting cycle kicking into motion, new LSU coach Ed Orgeron will be plenty busy for the next few weeks. One of the biggest recruits that...
View ArticleWhy a Lane Kiffin move to LSU makes sense
BATON ROUGE, La. – Funny how much a coach’s popularity can change in a short time frame. In the fall of 2013, Lane Kiffin’s rising star abruptly fell when he was messily fired from his post as USC...
View ArticleIf not Lane Kiffin, then who? Plan B options at OC for Ed Orgeron
BATON ROUGE, La. – If the recent search for a new LSU coach should teach anything, it’s this: Sometimes the main target(s) aren’t always where things wind up. That doesn’t mean the Tigers won’t fall...
View ArticleCould SEC someday be left out of a four-team College Football Playoff?
BATON ROUGE, La. – Though this may age the writer a little, the whole drama surrounding the College Football Playoff selection reminds me of a great movie scene from the 1990s. First off, no, this...
View ArticleLSU regular-season review: A long, strange trip for Tigers
BATON ROUGE, La. — What a long, strange trip for LSU in 2016. And the thing is, it’s not over, on or off the field. The Tigers changed coaches, a potential Heisman candidate established himself in the...
View ArticleLSU in scramble mode after its top QB recruits decommit
BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU hasn’t made the complete trip from the penthouse to the outhouse with its 2017 quarterback recruiting class yet. But some unexpected moves by two previously committed players...
View ArticleLane Kiffin picks FAU over LSU. What was he thinking?
BATON ROUGE, La. – Back to the drawing board for Ed Orgeron and LSU, although you have to imagine that the Tigers’ coach has been doodling ideas on that board for a while now. Lane Kiffin won’t be the...
View ArticleSo, how long will the honeymoon last for LSU’s Matt Canada?
BATON ROUGE, La. – Honeymoons are a great thing. It’s a chance to really get cozy and find things out about a new relationship that you might not have been aware of. For new LSU offensive coordinator...
View ArticleLSU uses a Les Miles-type of performance to whip Louisville in Citrus Bowl
Holidays are a time to reminisce about people close to you, and that means phrases like “______ would’ve loved that.” LSU wrapped up its holiday season Saturday several steps short of what was hoped...
View ArticleLSU remains the SEC team most likely to supplant Alabama
BATON ROUGE, La. — Fireworks went off for several minutes in Baton Rouge late Monday night. On the Plains of Auburn, fans showed up at Toomer’s Corner and rolled the stately oaks with toilet paper. You...
View ArticleLSU quarterbacks — well, sort of — make more news
BATON ROUGE, La. – Quarterback news and LSU never seem to stray too far from each other. Tuesday was no exception, as a Tigers quarterback of the past and one potentially of the future made news. Turns...
View ArticleDabo Swinney’s way beat Nick Saban’s – and what does that mean for Ed Orgeron?
BATON ROUGE, La. – Like a lot of useful phrases that get overused to the point of morphing into cliché, “old school” has gotten plenty of wear-and-tear. Watching the Alabama-Clemson showdown in the...
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