LSU won a big game Saturday over Florida, 49-42. This should have been a great moment for Ed Orgeron. He got the upset over the Gators in Death Valley. Their offense came to life. Maybe turn around his fortunes. But word came Sunday that he and LSU have decided that they have agreed to part ways. There have been continued reports that there has been no love lost between the two sides, that being Orgeron and the LSU administration.
He is 2 years removed from winning a national championship with the likes of Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase. But with that, controversy has followed him into the 2020 season and beyond. A dismal 5-5 season, along with accusations of program indiscretions have followed him into 2021. This year’s 3-3 start before the Florida game, Saturday, was probably the last straw. Players don’t want to play for him anymore, and reports are coaches don’t want to coach for him anymore. It’s time to go and time for a change. They have agreed to let him finish the season, which is a smart move, but even a smarter move for them to get the search going for the next coach.
So who is next? We know that LSU will want to make a splash. With the SEC West arguably the most competitive division in all of college football, LSU will feel they have to make a change. You are going to see all of the usual suspects…Luke Fickell of Cincinnati, Urban Meyer, of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jimbo Fisher of Texas A & M, and James Franklin come to mind. I could see Franklin. He has run his course at Penn St. This could be a great move for him. LSU AD Scott Woodward lured Fisher away from Florida when he was at A&M, could he do the same again? One name to watch, though, could be Mel Tucker from Michigan State. No one is hotter right now than Tucker. Yes, I know he likes it in East Lansing, but he has that SEC mentality and knows that there are limitations in East Lansing that you won’t see in Baton Rouge and the SEC. They have the budgets and win at all cost mentalities you just don’t see in East Lansing, MI. Keep an eye on this.
Cincinnati was smiling this morning. Iowa getting thumped on by Jeff Beck’s Purdue Boilermakers was cheered on wildly in the Queen City yesterday. The new ranking is out this morning, and Georgia is number one, followed by Oklahoma and Cincinnati in the AP poll. Cincinnati is number 2 in the coaches’ poll. With their remaining schedule, the Bearcats are smiling from ear to ear. They run the table, and it’s going to be very difficult to keep them out of the playoff unless we see an undefeated B1G Ten team and Oklahoma run the table. Alabama will always loom large in the discussion, but if Georgia knocks them out in the SEC Championship Game, then yes it could happen!
Here is my latest Top Ten:
1. Georgia. 6. Michigan St.
2. Oklahoma. 7. Ohio St.
3. Cincinnati. 8. Penn St.
4. Alabama. 9. Oklahoma St.
5. Michigan. 10. Oregon
We haven’t even gotten to November yet, and things are getting very interesting, very quickly!
Enjoy the ride!
Photo Credit: Twitter (@GoBearcatsFB)
