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Is this the year Auburn returns from Baton Rouge with a football victory at Tiger Stadium for the first time since the 1999 season? Auburn’s new head coach, Bryan Harsin, will make their SEC debut on Oct. 2 at LSU, against a team that fell to 5-5 last season after an unbeaten national championship in 2019.
The last Auburn coach to win a game at Tiger Stadium was Tommy Tuberville, who in his debut season at the AU saw his side clinch a 41-7 victory. Since that happened, Auburn has lost to the Bayou Bengals on 10 consecutive trips to Baton Rouge.
Tuberville’s teams were 1-4 at Tiger Stadium. Coach Gene Chizik’s Auburn sides went 0-2 at LSU and Gus Malzahn’s side finished 0-4 at Baton Rouge, including a three-point loss on the previous trip to ‘Auburn at LSU and a four-point loss on the road trip before that. .
On hold this season will be one of the more experienced teams in the SEC with LSU returning nine starters on offense and nine on defense. However, Auburn sacks the majority of starters for last season’s squad that whipped LSU 48-11 with Bo Nix passing for 300 yards and rushing for 81 more.
Ed Orgeron, who holds a 45-14 record as LSU head coach since taking over as interim coach in 2016, told SEC Football Media Days on Monday that he had high expectations for his 2021 team.
“Maybe last year we weren’t as hungry as we needed to be,” said Orgeron. “I think last year is a thing of the past … I think you will see that the Tigers have a very good football team.”
One of LSU’s main return starters, offensive tackle Austin Deculus, said on Monday he expected a “very energetic offense” from the Bayou Bengals that will remind fans of LSU’s 2019 team. Deculus said the theme heading into preseason training was “to get together as a team.”
LSU’s offense averaged 32 points per game in 2020, but gave up an unhealthy 34.9 points per game while averaging 492 yards per game. Orgeron hired Daronte Jones, formerly the defensive back coach of the Minnesota Vikings, to do something about the defensive difficulties.
Defensive back Derek stingley, Jr., said on Monday that chemistry had improved with a new coordinator on board. “On the defensive end of the ball, when Coach Jones walks into the room, he gives us energy,” Stingley said. “As a frontline group in high school, we all hang out outside of football and interact more. It shows on the field and it will show up this fall. “
QB battle: Senior red shirt Myles Brennan and second Max johnson are competing to be the starting quarterback. “In my opinion, it was dead even entering the camp,” Orgeron said.
“Look at the work Myles Brennan has done the way he started the season and the success he’s had in terms of yardage, it’s not his fault we lost the games. There is no doubt about it and he was injured. Brennan became the first player in LSU history to throw at least 300 yards in his first three starts. He had 79-131 passes for 1,112 yards last season.
TJ Finley started five games, including the loss at Jordan-Hare Stadium, before giving way to Johnson, who was 2-0 as a starter. Finley transferred to Auburn after spring drills.
Johnson completed 88-150 passes for 1,069 yards with eight touchdowns and one interception while playing as a substitute in four games and a starter in the last two.
“You look at the way Max continued to fight, keep competing and take his turn like so many LSU players,” Orgeron said. “Then his turn comes against Florida in The Swamp, a 27-point underdog, and he wins this game. We come back and we beat a really good team Ole Miss and he did some great things in this football game.
Bad days (and nights) in Baton Rouge: Auburn’s all-time record at Tiger Stadium is 5-19-1. Here are the scores of matches in Baton Rouge since Auburn’s last victory at Tiger Stadium.
2001 – LSU 27-15
2003 – SJ 31-7
2005 – LSU 20-17
2007 – LSU 30-24
2009 – SJ 31-10
2011 – LSU 45-10
2013 – LSU 35-21
2015 – LSU 45-21
2017 – LSU 27-23
2019 – LSU 23-20
Hot on the Bayou: LSU already has 15 entries for the 2022 class and is the top ranked SEC team in current 247Sports rankings. Orgeron said last season’s 5-5 record didn’t have a negative impact on recruiting and the 2019 championship season was fresh on the minds of the rookies, especially the state’s outlook. of Louisiana.
“Recruiting is our strength,” said the head coach. “We have a great recruiting staff at LSU. The state of Louisiana is loaded this year. We have a great relationship with all of our players and some of our committed players have become great scouts for us, so we’ve moved things in the right direction.
Introductory matches: Before hosting Auburn, the Bayou Bengals will face their first SEC game with a road trip in the state of Mississippi. The week before heading to LSU, the Auburn Tigers will play their last non-conference game of the 2021 calendar, a Homecoming contest against Georgia State.
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