ORLANDO, Fla. - LSU coach Ed Orgeron was late to the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl winner's press conference Saturday afternoon.
He was busy.
LSU athletics department representative Michael Bonnette said, "Coach O will be right out he's dancing."
"Coach O's turning up, y'all," said LSU running back Derrius Guice.
Welcome to the new era of LSU football.
During Orgeron's first official game as head coach, the Tigers shut down Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Lamar Jackson and a high-powered Louisville offense while knocking off the Cardinals 29-9 Saturday afternoon at Camping World Stadium in front of an announced crowd of 46,063.
It was LSU football the way Orgeron wants it to be played, especially by the defense, said cornerback Tre'Davious White.
"Coach O, he always says hit him hard, play fast and get to the ball, all 11 guys, and our defense does that," said White, who helped the Tigers rattle Jackson all day.
LSU held Louisville to 220 yards of total offense, did not allow a Cardinals touchdown and sacked Jackson eight times.
"We just pride ourselves in keeping guys out of the end zone," White said. "On defense, our motto is bend but don't break. If they get down in the red zone, just don't let them get in the end zone, so we did a great job of that."
Orgeron said his team's preparation, engineered by defensive coordinator Dave Aranda, was crucial to shutting down Jackson. LSU, which had not used many blitz packages during the regular season, came at Louisville with several different looks.
"I thought it was very brilliant on Dave's part to mix it up," Oregeron said. "We did it all game. He was one step ahead."
LSU (8-4) set the tone early. Louisville appeared to get things rolling during the second series when Jackson hit James Quick with a 53-yard pass to the LSU nine-yard line. But the Cards could do no more, settling for a short field goal from Blanton Creque to open the scoring and give Louisville a 3-0 lead.
That was about as much offense as the Cards could muster during the opening half. Louisville (9-4) was forced to punt on five of its first seven offensive possessions, the other ending in another Creque field goal to end the half.
Meanwhile the LSU offense started to establish some balance, led by the passing of Danny Etling and the running of Guice. Etling lit up the Louisville secondary in the first half and the primary recipient of his work was Malachi Dupre, who had a career best day with seven catches for 139 yards, most of which came before halftime.
His one-handed snag, Odell Beckham style, on a third-and-11 play in the second quarter kept a drive alive that ended with a Guice one-yard touchdown catch that put LSU up 14-3.
"As soon as I got my head around, the ball was in front of me, so I didn't really have time to get my second hand on it. So I just reached out there and grabbed it," Dupre said. "We were just calling plays and Danny was looking my way, and I'm glad he was and I got it going early."
Jackson never got it going, a feat the LSU defense thought it had a good chance of accomplishing. Linebacker Arden Key was one of the players causing the most trouble for Jackson. Key's first sack of Jackson resulted in a safety and his second helped him set the LSU record for sacks in a season with 12.
"It was a blessing for us to even play a Heisman Trophy winner like Lamar Jackson," Key said. "Throughout the whole year, we had never seen a quarterback like that, who could run and throw.
"Once we get rolling and get hot, it's hard to stop us."
Jackson said he wasn't frustrated, but there were plenty of times that LSU forced the sophomore into uncharacteristic mistakes.
"I didn't get frustrated. I just tried to keep going. It's a long game," Jackson said. "(You've) got to go out there and attack, and I just feel we didn't really attack how we should. We're a great team and people can say what they want to say, but I feel we just didn't play how we're used to playing. That's all."
LSU's offense fed off the defense and Guice got rolling, as well, ending the game with 138 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries, including a 70-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Etling threw for 217 yards and two touchdowns on 16-of-29 passing.
"We got beat by a good football team," Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said.
As for Orgeron's post-game antics, LSU fans can expect more dancing if the Tigers keep winning.
"He's one of the best," White said.