With tears welling in his eyes, the entire weight of LSU's 2021 season appeared to have been realized and lifted off of Ed Orgeron's shoulders in one stunning, spectacular finish.
LSU's outgoing head coach kept his composure as he walked out on the field and shook the hand of Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher after the Tigers' unlikely, 27-24 win under the lights at Tiger Stadium. But the emotion began flowing as he shared a hug on the field before being corralled by ESPN's Cole Cubelic.
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“It was about 19 seniors. It wasn’t about me, I told them ‘this is never gonna be about me.’ This is about the team," Orgeron said, staring off into the distance around a stadium that holds so many of his cherished memories. "One team, one heartbeat. I’m so proud of them.”
It was a result that was anything but secure, with the Tigers surrendering a 10-point lead in the 4th quarter after leading the entire game. LSU's offense had been stuck in neutral, with the Aggies' pressure battering LSU quarterback Max Johnson and torpedoing drive after drive. But with the defense forcing a punt, the Tigers had an answer in the final moments. In the end it was a 28-yard touchdown to Jaray Jenkins with 20 seconds remaining sealed a win that lifted the Tigers to 6-6 and sets them up for a bowl appearance.
“I felt we were gonna make the play the whole time," Orgeron said with his trademark confidence that never wavered, even after he learned midseason he'd lose his job at the end of it. "I felt that Jake [Peetz] did a great job of calling the last couple plays of the game. Give it to the whole team, this is a big team win."
Orgeron and his team aren't done yet, now having to wait to find out where the powers that be drop them in bowl season. But it was Orgeron's final night at Tiger Stadium as LSU's head coach, and Cubelic made sure to set up Orgeron for the phrase he'd have never left without saying, regardless.
"Geaux Tigahs."
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