Last weekend, LSU fired head coach Les Miles and replaced him with interim coach Ed Orgeron. Offensive coordinator Cam Cameron also found himself out of a job, reportedly because Orgeron fired him upon taking over.
If Orgeron and new coordinator Steve Ensminger wanted to put a stamp on LSU's offense, the early returns are quite promising. Check out this note:
HOLD THAT TIGER!!
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) October 2, 2016
LSU takes down Missouri, 42-7, thanks to 634 yards of total offense. That's the most ever in an @SEC game. #ALLForLSU pic.twitter.com/PkfLXBnmPA
More:
News: #LSU just broke a school record for offensive yards in an SEC game, going over 630.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) October 2, 2016
Had 630 vs Ole Miss in 1987 and M-State in 1967.
There we've got it.
Less than a week after LSU removed its longtime head coach and his NFL veteran offensive coordinator, the Tigers posted more yards of offense than they've ever posted in an SEC conference game before.
They also beat Mizzou in a romp, in case you think I'm burying the lede. They even did it with all-world running back Leonard Fournette not playing.
Some notes from And The Valley Shook, which praises the offense but also Dave Aranda's defense:
Yes, this is the best the offense has looked all year, by leaps and bounds. But it was set up by the defense coming to play like an LSU defense. They came in amped up, shut down the Mizzou offense early, and gave the offense the opportunity to bust out.
Heck, Mizzou would have to resort to a double reverse pass back to the quarterback to score its only touchdown, late in the fourth and down by five touchdowns. It was hard to even be mildly upset by the play.
It was a night during which everything worked, and everything went right.
...
It's hard to imagine week one of the Ed Orgeron era going any better. It began with a shanked kick, and ended with a Gatorade bath.
For at least a night, everything seems pretty good.