LSU football coach Ed Orgeron hugs kicker Tracy Cole after he made a 42-yard field goal to beat host Auburn 22-21 last Saturday.OTHER PICKS
Ole Miss 52, Kent State 31LSU 27, Louisiana Tech 10Central Florida 34, Florida Atlantic 29Penn State 38, Illinois 17Notre Dame 26, Wake Forest 23Michigan 31, Nebraska 16Pittsburgh 28, North Carolina 21Virginia 27, Louisville 24Ohio State 52, Tulane 10West Virginia 44, Kansas State 25Virginia Tech 35, Old Dominion 9Oklahoma 34, Army 7Stanford 31, Oregon 24Washington 27, Arizona State 6Memphis 48, South Alabama 21Miami 32, Florida International 7Florida State 23, Northern Illinois 22
As Cole Tracy was lining up for a 42-yard field-goal attempt on the final play of last Saturday afternoon's game at Auburn, LSU coach Ed Orgeron insists all was calm inside.
A Tracy miss, and Auburn wins 21-19. A Tracy connection, and it's a 22-21 upset inside a frenzied Jordan-Hare Stadium.
"I was fine. I was OK," Orgeron said Wednesday. "I felt that we were going to make the kick. I felt that this time. I have a lot of confidence in Cole Tracy, but I can't tell you that I felt that all my career.
"For this one, I felt confident he would make it."
Tracy's kick, of course, was right down the middle for LSU to stun Gus Malzahn's Tigers, who were ranked No. 7 at the time but dropped two spots in this week's AP Top 25. LSU opened the season with a 33-17 drubbing of then-No. 8 Miami in Arlington, Texas, leaving Orgeron's upstarts as the first team with two top-10 victories within the first three weeks of the season since the 1976 Missouri Tigers topped Southern California and Ohio State.
That Missouri team vaulted into the top 10 but couldn't maintain its early success, finishing with a 6-5 record.
This LSU team does not seem destined to that same fate, though some sizable obstacles certainly remain. In three consecutive games, Orgeron's Tigers will face No. 2 Georgia, No. 14 Mississippi State and No. 1 Alabama. There is an open date before Alabama visits, and all three of those games are in Baton Rouge.
LSU, which went from No. 12 to No. 6 this week, has morphed from a team on the fringe of the rankings to having complete control of a run to the College Football Playoff, but Orgeron wants the focus to be squarely on Saturday night's home game against Louisiana Tech. He knows the outside dynamic has changed in a short time and that there is constant praise awaiting players around campus.
"There is no question, and I talked to them about that right after this last game," Orgeron said. "We have a saying that we have to block out the noise, whether it's good, bad or indifferent. We have to be able to control the environment within our room. We talk about that a lot.
"Obviously they're getting a lot of pats on the back, but we put that to bed when we met on Monday."
LSU hasn't always looked aesthetically pleasing this month - it averaged 2.9 yards a carry and had 19 incompletions at Auburn - but it is the only Football Bowl Subdivision program yet to turn the ball over in 2018. LSU is also 11-for-11 so far in red-zone scoring opportunities.
Pasquali's Pix
Georgia at Missouri: Kirby Smart praised Missouri this week for being "SEC-built" before going out to practice to watch his NFL-built Bulldogs. Bulldogs 40, Tigers 17.
Texas A&M at Alabama: Clearly Nick Saban and his Crimson Tide are thrilled to be halfway to bowl eligibility. Crimson Tide 45, Aggies 14.
Clemson at Georgia Tech: The host Yellow Jackets will need more than cut blocks against this defensive front. Tigers 38, Yellow Jackets 13.
South Carolina at Vanderbilt: The Commodores are 2-12 against the Gamecocks in Nashville, 2-11 in Columbia and have lost nine straight series meetings. Commodores 20, Gamecocks 17.
Mississippi State at Kentucky: Of the Southeastern Conference's six first-year coaches, Mississippi State's Joe Moorhead is the only one who's still undefeated. Bulldogs 19, Wildcats 17.
Florida at Tennessee: Once upon a time, Florida had a coach who would make fun of Tennessee's repeated trips to the Citrus Bowl, which is now a dreamy destination for both programs. Gators 23, Vols 20.
Samford at UTC: A resounding win by the Mocs would prove they're for real - and that Florida State should move to the Southern Conference. Mocs 24, Bulldogs 22.
Arkansas at Auburn: At least Razorbacks players won't get booed this week. Tigers 42, Razorbacks 15.
Last week: Winners - 20; Taggarts - 5
Pasquali is 62-13 overall (82.7 percent) this season.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.