BATON ROUGE, La. -- There’s a reason LSU Tigers coach Ed Orgeron said last week that retaining defensive coordinator Dave Aranda had been “the No. 1 priority in our program.” If the eye test throughout Aranda’s first season with the Tigers was not convincing enough, the stat sheet should do the job.
The Tigers rank sixth nationally in scoring defense (16.4 ppg) and 14th in total defense (323 ypg). Only two defenses have surrendered fewer touchdowns this season than LSU’s 16. The Tigers did that despite this being their first season running Aranda’s trademark 3-4 base scheme after years of operating out of a 4-3.