Promise delivered

Published 6:00 pm Sunday, September 1, 2019

LSU covers spread with spread attack

LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson (2) catches a 9-yard touchdown as Georgia Southern linebacker Jay Bowdry (5) defends in the first quarter of an NCAA college football game in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, Aug. 31, 2019. (AP Photo/Michael Democker)

BATON ROUGE — Forget everything you ever thought you knew about LSU football. Throw out whatever preconceived notions you ever had.

These are not your father’s Tigers.

The rumors were true. It wasn’t a false-tease this time.

LSU officially joined the up-tempo, no-huddle spread-offense revolution Saturday night and it was a sight to behold.

Forget the first stadium-wide sales of beer and wine in Tiger Stadium’s long history.

The Tigers were celebrating with offense, scoring almost at will with a dizzying array of new tactics en route to a 55-3 victory over Georgia Southern to open the season.

The only thing missing, as promised, was a huddle, the archaic product of a bygone era.

“What a great job,” LSU head coach Ed Orgeron said. “What we saw tonight was what we’ve been looking at all August camp.

“I could see the look of our players. They were ready to go. I don’t think our coaching staff could have done any better job. And I don’t think our players could have played any better.”

Yes, No. 6 LSU will get a far stiffer test next week when they travel to No. 10 Texas, which beat Louisiana Tech 45-14.

But it was hard to find fault after quarterback Joe Burrow tied the school record with five touchdown passes — all in the first half — and completed 23 of 27 for 278 yards before leaving the game after one series of the second half.

“We have a great scheme,” Orgeron said, crediting offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger and passing game coordinator Joe Brady.

“Joe Burrow was on fire. Great concepts tonight. He threw some great balls and our receivers were open. We had no sacks.

“Give the ball to athletes in space and let them make plays. That’s what they did.”

Just about everybody got in the act as 14 Tigers caught passes, and seven had rushes.

LSU nose tackle Tyler Shelvin (72) tackles Georgia Southern running back Matt LaRoche (5) at the line of scrimmage in the first quarter of an NCAA college football game in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, Aug. 31, 2019. (AP Photo/Michael Democker)

Terrace Marshall caught three of Burrow’s touchdown passes, while Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase each had one.

“Everyone is having fun now because everyone knows that they are going to get a chance to touch the ball,” said Chase, who scored the season’s first touchdown to get things rolling on a 13-yard reception.

Jefferson led the receivers with five catches for 87 yards.

Backup quarterback Myles Brennan finished the game after Burrow took the night off after one series in the second half.

“We obviously ran into a great team,” Georgia Southern coach Chad Lunsford said. “There were a lot of one-on-one matchups out there that they executed and we didn’t.”

That was the plan, Orgeron said, and he suggested his team merely scratched the surface.

The Tigers didn’t show a good bit of the offense they spent the last nine months cooking up, he claimed.

“We really only ran a couple of plays,” Chase said. “But we definitely wanted to show people what we are capable of. We showed what everyone could do out on the field.”

“We didn’t show it all,” Orgeron said. “We didn’t need to. We’re going to run the spread offense, we’re going to score points, we’ve got athletes.”

That was obvious from the start.”

“We could have done whatever we wanted to out there,” Orgeron said.

LSU needed six plays to squeeze off a six-play, 75-yard scoring drive to open the season, much to the delight of a crowd that had heard rumors all summer.

And there was more where that came from.

The Tigers eventually scored touchdowns on the first five possessions, with one of the up-tempo drives lasting more than 2:24.

LSU which struggled at times last year in the red zone, was 7-for-7 there Saturday.

LSU wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase (1) catches a 13-yard touchdown pass as Georgia Southern cornerback Monquavion Brinson (4) defends in the first quarter of an NCAA college football game in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, Aug. 31, 2019. (AP Photo/Michael Democker)

It was the offense Orgeron said he always wanted, perhaps one that could steal the show from an LSU defense that held the quirky Georgia Southern offense to 98 yards

It wasn’t quite the offensive balance Orgeron was promising — 350 yards passing, 122 on the ground — but he wasn’t complaining.

“The scheme is a lot better this year,” Orgeron said. “We’ve got answers this year.”

Burrow agreed.

“Whenever you call a play and have an answer to every coverage and every blitz (your opponent) can give you, you know you are going to be successful as long as you can handle the changes mentally. I know I can do that. Whatever I see against a defense now, I have an answer every play.”