NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
The College Football Playoff begins Friday, and emotions are running high for several fan bases.
Notre Dame was ranked 10th in the penultimate CFP rankings, but missed the playoffs to both Alabama, which dropped a third game, and Miami, which was ranked lower going into championship weekend but beat Notre Dame during the season, seemingly taking over.
Ed Orgeron didn’t have to worry about his playoff status while coaching LSU to a title amid a perfect season in 2019, but he has an idea of who should be in and out this year.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Pakinomist
LSU coach Ed Orgeron runs off the field with his team before an NCAA college football game against Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky, Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Michael Clubb)
“I don’t think a three-loss team should be playing for the national championship. Notre Dame should have come in ahead of Alabama,” Orgeron told Pakinomist Digital in a recent interview.
Bama is prompting calls of bias and/or collusion, given that the playoffs are broadcast on ESPN and ABC, the same network with which the SEC has a major media rights deal.
“The SEC was dominant. But now, the Big Ten, the Big 12 is catching up, they’ve had the national champion for a couple of years now. I don’t know what happened to the SEC and the bias, all that. Is there a chance they have it? I don’t want to get into that. But I know this — they’re very strong,” Orgeron added.
The SEC figures to stay strong as Lane Kiffin left Ole Miss for Orgeron’s former LSU in a controversial move. However, Orgeron said Kiffin, his former colleague at Tennessee and USC, made the right move when he almost didn’t have a choice.
Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin (left) and LSU Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron (right) shake hands after a game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. (Petre Thomas/USA TODAY Sports)
ED ORGERON ADVICE TO SHERRONE MOORE AFTER SAGA THAT LEADS HIM FIRED, ARRESTED
“Look, the timing of it, when he did it, that’s his choice. But he had to do it at that time to get the job he wanted. The calendar is wrong in college football. I wish they had the rule like the NFL that you can’t talk to a coach until their season is over,” Orgeron said.
As for advice on getting LSU back to the promised land?
“Keep doing what you’re doing. He knows what he’s doing. Recruit, evaluate like he does. He’s the king of the transfer portal. He’ll be able to dominate the SEC like he has. Keep doing what you’re doing.”
Orgeron last coached in 2021, but his career is certainly not over. In fact, he expects to be somewhere soon, potentially even opposite Kiffin.
LSU coach Ed Orgeron runs off the field with his team before an NCAA college football game against Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky, Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Michael Clubb)
“We’ve been in touch with people. I’d take a head coaching job, it doesn’t have to be a head coaching job. I’ll take a D-line coach or a recruiting coordinator, but the right situation hasn’t come along. I’m in a good position where I could take a job, I don’t have to take a job, but if the right situation comes up, I definitely will, and I’ll definitely be coaching within the month. I’ll be coaching again.”
