Ed Orgeron explains what surprised him in LSU loss to Kentucky

With another week of college football comes another deflating loss for the 3-3 LSU Tigers and head coach Ed Orgeron, the latest coming on the road against the 6-0 Kentucky Wildcats.

Of course, another loss means more questions regarding Orgeron’s uncertain future at the helm of LSU. And further analysis would show why.

LSU’s defense was porous at best in a 42-21 shellacking on the road, as Orgeron’s team let Kentucky quarterback Will Nevis string together one of the most efficient games of his career. Nevis needed just 17 pass attempts to complete 14 passes, and though he only threw for 145 yards, he punched in three passing touchdowns. Additionally, Levis had 11 rushes for 75 rushing yards and two touchdowns — making him the third-highest rusher on a Wildcats team that ran all over LSU. Chris Rodriguez Jr. had 16 carries for 147 yards and a rushing touchdown, while Kavosiey Smoke had 12 carries for 104 rushing yards.

In truth, Kentucky’s well-rounded approach to LSU was to be expected from a balanced offensive team. So, what surprised Orgeron when he faced the Wildcats?

The wildly effective rushing attack.

“The 330 yards rushing,” Orgeron said to reporters when asked what surprised him most about the box score. “I knew they had a good rushing game, but 330 yards rushing — we’ve got to be able to do something to stop that.”

Orgeron is going to have to find a way to stop opponents from rushing with such ease, and the solution must come to fruition quickly. LSU’s gauntlet of a schedule continues next week, when they face No. 20 Florida and its two-quarterback offense, then No. 17 Ole Miss, followed by No. 1 Alabama and No. 13 Arkansas. Things are looking bleak, to say the least.

“I do like the way we ran the football with authority,” Orgeron said, deflecting the question to his own rushing attack — which was, quite literally, one of the worst in the country heading into the Kentucky game. “I like the way [Tyrion] Davis-Price ran the ball. I thought he ran the ball very well. We made some improvement on offense.”

To Orgeron’s credit, LSU did run the ball well, and Davis-Price had himself his best game of the season. He rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries, but that proved to be inconsequential. LSU’s offense still punted the ball away three times, and the defense failed to force a turnover; meanwhile, quarterback Max Johnson, who completed 22 of 38 passing attempts for 261 passing yards and a touchdown, lost a fumble of his own to the Kentucky Wildcats.

If Orgeron was surprised by Kentucky’s rushing attack, he could be blown away by the offenses that the LSU Tigers are set to face in the coming weeks — that is, if he makes it through the next few weeks.