ATHENS — LSU coach Ed Orgeron has seen the best of college football from coast to coast, from his days with Pete Carroll’s USC dynasty, to the SEC’s dominance the past 10 years.
Orgeron took time at his Monday press conference to break down Georgia football, providing a look at the Bulldogs’ from an opposing coach’s point of view.
Georgia has been so dominant against the first half of its schedule that a team hasn’t been within 10 points of the Bulldogs in the second half of a game all season. That could change at LSU on Saturday when the teams meet in a 3:30 p.m. clash at storied Tiger Stadium.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart talked about his No. 2-ranked Bulldogs anticipating a physical matchup from the No. 13 Tigers, and LSU “Coach O” in turn provided his scouting report on Georgia football.
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Here’s what Orgeron had to say about the Bulldogs’ coaching, schemes and personnel, from the press conference transcript provided by LSU:
Familiarity with Georgia OC Jim Chaney
“Before I mention their offense, I want to say this, this is a very good team as we know, very talented, very well coached by Kirby Smart and they have done a tremendous job at Georgia.
“On offense they’re scoring 42 points a game. I know Jim Chaney, the offensive coordinator, I worked with him at Tennessee (2009). A lot of the things that we did at Tennessee he’s doing there, very familiar with his offense.”
Making note of Georgia center Lamont Gaillird
“This is the best offensive line that we have seen so far. That (number) 53 center, Lamont Gaillard is the best center that I’ve seen in a while. I think he’s an outstanding player. He’s a dominant blocker. We got our hands full.”
Orgeron assesses Bulldogs’ backfield
“Obviously their quarterback, Jake Fromm is excellent. They have a slew of running backs, they just keep on bringing them in, bringing them in, bringing them in. They look different, but they’re all great players. They have great skill players, averaging 42 points a game. This is going to be another tremendous challenge for us.
“(Fromm is) smart, can throw the deep ball, play action pass, he’s protected well, he is surrounded by great athletes, he can move in the pocket, bootlegs, nakeds, waggles, all that stuff. Can run if he has to. And then if they want to go dual threat quarterback they will bring in Justin Fields, so they have got it all.”
Impressed by D’Andre Swift
“(He’s) able to change direction — he reminds me of (former LSU back Derrius) Guice in a lot of ways. He’s five-nine, 215, he runs inside, they run what we call the down play, he runs on the inside leg of the center behind a good offensive line. He’s going. He can change direction east and west just like that and he can run you right over. And can catch the ball. And plus he has a lot of backup. He can stay fresh. Those guys come in, you just can’t tell the difference. It looks like they have about five or six backs that can play in the NFL. Very, very impressive.”
Breaking down Georgia defense
“Great defense, three-four defense, Kirby is a defensive guy. (They’re allowing) 13 point per game, (and) only giving up 283 yards total yards. This is going to be a tremendous challenge for us. They have great talent on special teams, very well coached.
“He plays base defense a lot. He doesn’t have to blitz. They don’t have a lot of sacks. They do affect the quarterback. They stop the run. They’re big. He’s a three-four team. They tackle well, they have big impressive personnel and their corners lock up. They can play eight men in the box and they can play man coverage with anybody they want to.
“I know they lost a couple of guys to first round draft choices, they don’t have that speed off the edge. But they’re still dangerous, they’re physical, they’re one of the best defenses in the country. I think their philosophy is more or less affecting the quarterback, pass rush lanes, make you get rid of the ball quick.”
Orgeron’s view of Bulldogs offensive identity
“Georgia is not as much a quarterback run except when they put that No. 1 in. They’re more traditional run with a great offensive line and some great backs, a zone team. They’re going to line up and try to maul you and run right at you. And then they have speed sweeps, they can get around the edge to bunch toss. They’re very much a pro style running team. They’re very good at it.”
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