2020 LSU Tigers football team

The 2020 LSU Tigers football team represented Louisiana State University in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Tigers played their home games at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and competed in the West Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by fourth year head coach Ed Orgeron.

2020 LSU Tigers football
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionWest Division
Record5–5 (5–5 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorSteve Ensminger (3rd season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorBo Pelini (4th season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumTiger Stadium
Seasons
← 2019
2021 →
2020 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
No. 13 Florida x   8 2     8 4  
No. 7 Georgia   7 2     8 2  
Missouri   5 5     5 5  
Kentucky   4 6     5 6  
Tennessee*   3 7     3 7  
South Carolina   2 8     2 8  
Vanderbilt   0 9     0 9  
West Division
No. 1 Alabama x$#^   10 0     13 0  
No. 4 Texas A&M   8 1     9 1  
Auburn   6 4     6 5  
LSU*   5 5     5 5  
Ole Miss   4 5     5 5  
Arkansas   3 7     3 7  
Mississippi State   3 7     4 7  
Championship: Alabama 52, Florida 46
  • # – College Football Playoff champion
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • * – Tennessee vacated all wins due to NCAA violations. LSU was ineligible for postseason due to self imposed ban.
    Note: Due to COVID-19, the SEC played a conference-only schedule.
Rankings from AP Poll.

The season was not an easy one for LSU, who were the defending national champions. After starting the year with a stunning home loss to Mississippi State, the Tigers were only able to string together five wins. In addition to losing a record 14 players to the NFL draft the year before, All-American wide receiver, Ja'Marr Chase opted out of play before the season. The Tigers also lost their starting quarterback, Myles Brennan, three games in and had to rely on true freshmen, TJ Finley and Max Johnson, for the remainder of the year. In spite of these obstacles, the Tigers managed to end the season on a positive note with wins over sixth-ranked Florida and Ole Miss, the former as a 24-point underdog. The Tigers also had a scheduled home game vs. Missouri switched to Columbia three days before kickoff due to the threat of Hurricane Delta along the Louisiana coast.

By comparison, LSU had already eclipsed more losses by their seventh game of the season than they had in all of 2018 and 2019 combined. Still, the victories over Florida and Ole Miss allowed LSU to avert its first losing season since 1999, when the Tigers went 3–8. The .500 season is the first for LSU since a 5–5–1 ledger in 1974.

On December 9, LSU announced a self-imposed bowl ban for the 2020 season. Although the Tigers did not finish the season with six wins, the NCAA removed bowl eligibility requirements for the 2020 bowl season.[1] This self-imposed bowl ban was enacted due to an NCAA investigation at LSU over allegations of improper booster payments to their players.[2]

Preseason

edit

SEC Media Days

edit

In the preseason media poll, LSU was predicted to finish in second in the West Division behind Alabama. LSU received the second-most votes (tied with Georgia) to win the SEC Championship Game.[3]

Schedule

edit

LSU Tigers announced its 2020 football schedule on August 7, 2019. The 2020 schedule originally consisted of 7 home, 4 away, and 1 neutral site game in the regular season.

The Tigers had games scheduled against Nicholls, Rice, Texas, and UTSA, which were all canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4][5][6] Due to the Covid 19 Pandemic, LSU, like the other SEC members played a 10-game all conference schedule. The games vs. Vanderbilt and Missouri were not on the Tigers' original schedule.

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 262:30 p.m.Mississippi StateNo. 6
  • Tiger Stadium
  • Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)
CBSL 34–4421,124
October 37:30 p.m.at VanderbiltNo. 20SECNW 41–72,000
October 1011:00 a.m.at MissouriNo. 17SECN Alt.L 41–4510,013
October 246:00 p.m.South Carolina
  • Tiger Stadium
  • Baton Rouge, LA
ESPNW 52–2421,855
October 312:30 p.m.at AuburnCBSL 11–4817,490
November 2111:00 a.m.at ArkansasSECNW 27–2416,500
November 286:00 p.m.at No. 5 Texas A&MESPNL 7–2023,607
December 57:00 p.m.No. 1 Alabama
  • Tiger Stadium
  • Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)
CBSL 17–5522,349
December 12[b]6:00 p.m.at No. 5 FloridaESPNW 37–3416,610
December 192:30 p.m.Ole Miss
SECNW 53–4821,905
^[a] The game between LSU and Missouri was originally scheduled to take place in Baton Rouge. However, in light of Hurricane Delta, the game was moved to Columbia, Missouri.
^[b] The game between LSU and Florida was originally scheduled to take place on October 17. However, due to COVID-19 management requirements in response to positive tests and subsequent quarantine of individuals within the Florida program, the game was rescheduled for December 12.[7]
Schedule Source:[8]

Personnel

edit

Coaching staff

edit

Current staff as of February 10, 2020

 
Head Coach Ed Orgeron
Name Position
Ed Orgeron Head coach
Steve Ensminger Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach
Bo Pelini Defensive coordinator/linebackers coach
Scott Linehan Passing game coordinator
James Cregg Offensive line coach/running game coordinator
Mickey Joseph Wide receivers coach/assistant head coach
Kevin Faulk Running backs coach
Bill Johnson Defensive line coach
Corey Raymond Cornerbacks coach/recruiting coordinator
Bill Busch Safeties coach
Greg McMahon Special teams coordinator
Tommy Moffitt Strength and conditioning coordinator
Russ Callaway Senior offensive assistant & analyst

Rankings

edit
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes ( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516Final
AP6 (1)6*6 (1)6 (1)2017RV
Coaches55*5 (3)5 (1)1716RV
CFPNot releasedNot released

Players drafted into the NFL

edit
Round Pick Player Position NFL Club
1 5 Ja'Marr Chase WR Cincinnati Bengals
2 59 Terrace Marshall Jr. WR Carolina Panthers
4 115 Jabril Cox ILB Dallas Cowboys
4 122 Tyler Shelvin DT Cincinnati Bengals
6 205 Racey McMath WR Tennessee Titans
6 224 JaCoby Stevens S Philadelphia Eagles
7 237 Kary Vincent Jr. CB Denver Broncos

References

edit
  1. ^ "DI Council approves football bowl eligibility requirements waiver". NCAA.org (Press release). October 14, 2020. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  2. ^ Scarborough, Alex. "LSU football self-imposes one-year bowl ban for 2020 season". ESPN. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  3. ^ "Preseason SEC media poll, All-SEC Team announced". SECSports.com. Southeastern Conference. September 23, 2020.
  4. ^ Talty, John (July 30, 2020). "SEC moves to conference-only 2020 schedule, pushes back start of season". AL.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  5. ^ Dellenger, Ross. "Sources: SEC Adopts Conference-Only Schedule With Sept. 26 Start". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  6. ^ Dellenger, Ross (August 7, 2020). "SEC's New Schedule: Winners, Losers and... Mizzou". si.com. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  7. ^ LSU at Florida Football Game Postponed
  8. ^ "2020 LSU Tigers Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved January 27, 2020.