LSU, Orgeron Look to Hold on to Bowl Hopes vs UL Monroe

The LSU Tigers (4-6) have two more games left to clinch a bowl game. They must win both of these games, and the first one comes in primetime against UL-Monroe (4-6) on Saturday.

Both Lousiana teams ride a three-game losing streak. The Warhawks lost 27-24 last Saturday 27-24 to Arkansas State. Meanwhile, the Tigers lost to No. 21 Arkansas last Saturday, while dropping games to No. 2 Alabama and No. 10 Ole Miss in the weeks prior.

On Wednesday, Orgeron spoke about where the team’s at right now.

Looking ahead to the game, Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron announced a starting quarterback and reflected on his time atop the LSU program, facing his own last two games after being fired.

UL-Monroe Warhawks

UL-Monroe first-year head coach Terry Bowden, previously a grad assistant at Clemson, acknowledged the struggles the team’s had this year.

“This is what you get when you’re building a program,” Bowden said.

Quarterback Rhett Rodriguez returned to the lineup last game after being out with a chest injury since September.  He had a slow start, amounting to going 12-for-29 passing for 160 yards with one interception. Throughout the year, the Warhawks have scored 22.1 points a game. Conversely, they give up 35.4 points a game, in addition to allowing 464.4 yards a game.

LSU Tigers’ Quarterback Battle

Orgeron said sophomore Max Johnson will remain the starter this Saturday over freshman Garrett Nussmeier, who dropped his redshirt year to enter the quarterback battle.

“I don’t feel like Garrett beat Max out,” Orgeron said on Monday. “I don’t think that Max deserves to be benched.”

The freshman took over for Johnson after two drives in the 16-13 overtime loss to Arkansas. Nussmeier completed 18-of-31 passes for 179 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

“I gave him a chance to beat (Johnson) out,” Orgeron said. “The touchdown play he made was a phenomenal play, but we were also minus-three in the turnover (margin), and we only scored seven points. So Max is still our starter.”

Injury Update

On the defensive end, Orgeron said he thinks injured safety Sage Ryan will be able to play Saturday.

Ed Orgeron Reflects on Time at LSU

Orgeron holds onto two more games as the LSU coach. Through his 4.5 years as the Tigers head coach, Orgeron won the 2019 National Championship with Joe Burrow. The head coach reflected on his time and how he’s handling the end of his tenure.

Orgeron was also asked about his time on his weekly radio show. He raved on his experience with attending fans, adding that he enjoyed eating the ribs, too.

Uniform Check

LSU will wear a special edition purple jerseys with white helmets and pants on Saturday. On the Twitter announcement, LSU included a clip of SportsCenter host Scott Van Pelt.

https://twitter.com/LSUfootball/status/1460724845600120833?s=20

Where to Watch

UL-Monroe-LSU kicks off at 9 p.m. on ESPN2.