STARKVILLE — Opportunities were running slim for Ed Orgeron’s LSU Tigers in the final minutes of what was ultimately a 27-19 loss to Florida, and his mind had already turned to what he could have done to create more.
In the week before hosting then-No. 2 Georgia, he found what he was missing, and he was determined to take advantage this time.
Orgeron gave the go-ahead for four fourth-down conversion attempts against Georgia and the No. 5 Tigers (6-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) hit all four in the win. Now No. 22 Mississippi State (4-2, 1-2 SEC) has to be ready for more of the same 6 p.m. Saturday (ESPN) in Tiger Stadium.
This week, that day was Wednesday, which MSU defensive coordinator Bob Shoop says is the day the team focuses on third down and red zone.
“What you look at is when they get a certain part of the field, when it’s third-and-7 you might want to call the defense like it’s second-and-7, meaning you figure they’re going to go for it on fourth down,” Shoop said. “If you have a blitz to attack a protection, you might call what you want to call on second down because you know the threat of the run game is still there.”
Not only was LSU moving the chains on fourth down, it was creating the opportunities needed to win a critical game. Its first fourth-down attempt was a quarterback sneak for a touchdown by Joe Burrow; later in the first half, the Tigers were successful twice on fourth down in a touchdown drive that made it 16-0.
Shoop said he is crafting a plan for further fourth-down attempts, but what he saw from the Tigers last week is more of an abstract idea than the reality of fourth-down threats.
“The fact that they played to win,” Shoop said. “They were coming off a loss at Florida, they were coming back home to the No. 2 team in the country and they played like you would expect a Ed Orgeron and Dave Aranda team to play. They’re certainly not going to lack confidence going into Saturday night.”
Luckily for Shoop, the LSU coaching staff is thinking the same thing.
“It’s a gameplan thing. We have a plan to be aggressive,” Orgeron said on the SEC teleconference. “Obviously they’ll have it on tape so they’ll be ready for it.”
Orgeron hinted that offensive aggressiveness could be anything, even some spurts of up-tempo offense. The number of directions LSU could go for its next bit of aggressiveness are nearly limitless and MSU knows it’s coming. All that’s left to determine is how and when.
“I think they have a lot of confidence in their run game right now,” MSU head coach Joe Moorhead said. “Both running backs run with great pad level, they fall forward and I think it’s really representative of how they’re playing right now, with a ton of confidence.
“They’re playing to win rather than trying not to lose.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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