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 | |
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| Conference | Southeastern Conference |
| West Division | |
| Record | 5–5 (5–5 SEC) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Steve Ensminger (3rd season) |
| Offensive scheme | Spread |
| Defensive coordinator | Bo Pelini (4th overall; 1st since 2007 season) |
| Home stadium | Tiger Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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. 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]
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Schedule edit
LSU Tigers announced its 2020 football schedule on August 7, 2019. The 2020 schedule consists 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]
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 26 | 2:30 p.m. | Mississippi State | No. 6 |
| CBS | L 34–44 | 21,124 |
| October 3 | 7:30 p.m. | at Vanderbilt | No. 20 | SECN | W 41–7 | 2,000 | |
| October 10 | 11:00 a.m. | at Missouri | No. 17 | SECN Alt. | L 41–45 | 10,013 | |
| October 24 | 6:00 p.m. | South Carolina |
| ESPN | W 52–24 | 21,855 | |
| October 31 | 2:30 p.m. | at Auburn | CBS | L 11–48 | 17,490 | ||
| November 21 | 11:00 a.m. | at Arkansas | SECN | W 27–24 | 16,500 | ||
| November 28 | 6:00 p.m. | at No. 5 Texas A&M | ESPN | L 7–20 | 23,607 | ||
| December 5 | 7:00 p.m. | No. 1 Alabama |
| CBS | L 17–55 | 22,349 | |
| December 12[b] | 6:00 p.m. | at No. 6 Florida | ESPN | W 37–34 | 16,610 | ||
| December 19 | 2:30 p.m. | Ole Miss |
| SECN | W 53–48 | 21,905 | |
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- ^[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
| 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
| Week | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
| AP | 6 (1) | 6* | 6 (1) | 6 (1) | 20 | 17 | RV | |||||||||||
| Coaches | 5 | 5* | 5 (3) | 5 (1) | 17 | 16 | RV | |||||||||||
| CFP | Not released | Not 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
- ^ "DI Council approves football bowl eligibility requirements waiver". NCAA.org (Press release). October 14, 2020. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
- ^ Scarborough, Alex. "LSU football self-imposes one-year bowl ban for 2020 season". ESPN. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
- ^ "Preseason SEC media poll, All-SEC Team announced". SECSports.com. Southeastern Conference. September 23, 2020.
- ^ Talty, John (July 30, 2020). "SEC moves to conference-only 2020 schedule, pushes back start of season". AL.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
- ^ Dellenger, Ross. "Sources: SEC Adopts Conference-Only Schedule With Sept. 26 Start". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
- ^ Dellenger, Ross (August 7, 2020). "SEC's New Schedule: Winners, Losers and... Mizzou". si.com. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ^ LSU at Florida Football Game Postponed
- ^ "2020 LSU Tigers Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved January 27, 2020.