BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU can’t run the football. The tape and the numbers don’t lie. Four games into the season, the Tigers only have one game rushing for at least 100 rushing yards: the home opener versus McNeese.

The Bayou Bengals finished with 124 rushing yards against the Cowboys, but in the September 11th matchup, the Purple and Gold averaged 3.4 yards per carry.

During Monday’s presser, head Coach Ed Orgeron wasn’t hesitant when asked if the team could reach its goals without a run game.

“I don’t think so, not at all. I think you have to run the football. There’s some things that we can do to help our offense, but I think we need to find a way to run the football. We have some great backs. We need to find something in the run game that can give us some relief that we’re not always throwing the football,” Orgeron said.

LSU tried to have a balanced attack versus Mississippi State. The Tigers finished with the same number of pass attempts as runs: 27, but the ground game totaled just 63 rushing yards and 2.3 yards per carry.

Every rushing attack needs a dependable offensive line, but the Tigers’ unit has battled injuries since fall camp. Orgeron said starting left tackle Cam Wire and backup offensive lineman Charles Turner would return this week, but the o-line’s struggles with continuity have shown in its blocking.

“We just don’t have any room to run. We have some guys get knocked back. Sometimes, we have holes. Sometimes, we don’t have holes. We just need to be more consistent, and we need to choose the runs that we can run well. We have to do things, that we know to do, well and do them better,” Orgeron added.

Running back John Emery’s eligibility is still in limbo. The junior awaits the NCAA’s decision on if/when he can return to the field, but Coach O said they hope to hear about his status “soon.”

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