Coach Ed Orgeron: How will success at LSU this season be measured?

On Sept. 2, a new era for LSU football will begin. The story of Ed Orgeron and his path from LaRose, Louisiana, to South Lafourche High School to LSU to Northwestern State and after many football stops in-between back to LSU has been well documented.

Yes, he won a bowl game versus Louisville as the “head coach” without the interim tag. Now he prepares the LSU Tigers for the 2017. His team, “dream job,” back home in Louisiana, wearing the purple and gold.

The Tigers have 12 regular season games scheduled after playing 11 in regular season in each of the last two years. In a rare case for the this season, LSU has only six games at home with five on the road and a neutral site contest, the season opener against Brigham Young in Houston on September 2.

There have already been some season record predictions floated out by members of the media and a few wise guys out in the desert. I have made season record predictions for many years and even have been accurate a few times. With the importance of preseason practices and the unknown injury factor, I will hold my forecast this year as always to the week of the season opener.

As I ponder LSU’s possible final record, certainly what happens in fall camp will be a considerable factor. Coach Orgeron has decided to keep the media from these August practices. That is his choice as head coach and, while I disagree with it, he can do what he wants. He is the boss, and his success will not start to be measured until the BYU game.

This brings me to the question: How will success be measured for Coach O? In a way, it depends on who is doing the measuring.

I will start with the fans. Those who want to see 15-0 and a national championship (there are always some in that category) should not hold their breath. A large number of fans just want to see a win over Alabama; again, do not hold your breath. Some fans want the team in Atlanta playing for the SEC Championship, and don’t care about the path. That in my opinion is a long shot. I think that a winning record in SEC play would be a good step towards long term success for Coach Orgeron’s first team. Keep in mind that five SEC games out of the eight with be n the road due to the Florida weather interruption debacle last season.

I feel that anything more than five SEC wins will equal a degree of “success” that will make most fans happy. Being realistic should be a theme for the fans in this new coach’s era. Over the coming weeks, we will examine the facts about the team and hopefully have that lead to a realistic forecast of the upcoming season.