Tag: Charles McClendon

LSU’s Alan Faneca named to 2025 College Football Hall of Fame ballot

Former LSU coach Nick Saban is also on the 2025 ballot.

One of the best offensive linemen in LSU history has the chance to be enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame.

[autotag]Alan Faneca[/autotag], who played for the Tigers from 1994-97, was named to the ballot for the 2025 induction class. He’s one of 77 players on the ballot and looks to become the 12th LSU player inducted, in addition to coaches [autotag]Bernie Moore[/autotag] and [autotag]Charles McClendon[/autotag],

Former LSU coach [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag] is also on the ballot.

At LSU, Faneca started 36 consecutive games, allowing one sack as he earned the Jacobs Blocking Trophy and consensus All-American honors in 1997. He was also a First Team All-SEC selection in his final two seasons with the Tigers.

A first-round pick for the Steelers in 1998, he played the bulk of his 13-year career with the team before finishing his career with the Jets and Cardinals. He earned nine Pro Bowl honors and was a six-time First-Team All-Pro while adding two Second-Team selections.

He won a Super Bowl with Pittsburgh during the 2005 season.

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Alabama is again the measuring stick for LSU

The Alabama game has come to define LSU over the years. It’s no different on Saturday night.

LSU and Alabama will play on Saturday night. It will be the 16th time in 18 meetings that both enter this one ranked. In that same span, this will mark the 13th meeting where both are ranked in the top 15.

Every year, this is one of college football’s best heavyweight fights. It wasn’t a rivalry born of proximity or borderlines, but about what it has meant to the sport.

You won’t find the pure old-fashioned hate you see with Alabama and Auburn or Ohio State and Michigan, yet this game became a measuring stick for both programs. It’s where we sort the contenders from the pretenders. And more often than not, it’s Alabama coming out on top.

Most LSU fans won’t admit this, but Alabama is the standard LSU finds itself chasing.

[autotag]Charles McClendon[/autotag] won 137 games as LSU’s head coach, more than any other man. Yet, he beat Alabama just twice.

It was the downfall of [autotag]Les Miles[/autotag], who went 5-2 in his first seven against Alabama, before losing his final five games against the Tide. Miles entered four of those games with top 10 ranked teams. It didn’t matter.

[autotag]Ed Orgeron[/autotag] knew it when he took the job.

“You are judged by that game. That’s the nature of the beast. I welcome it and I bring it on and I can’t wait until the day that we beat those guys,” Orgeron said in his introductory press conference in 2016.

“That is the benchmark every day we go to work.”

And in 2019, Orgeron led his team into Tuscaloosa and beat ‘Bama in what would be the defining moment of his LSU career.

[autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] knew it, too, when he replaced Orgeron. And in Year 1, Kelly got that win, upsetting Alabama in Tiger Stadium.

And now, Kelly will be asked to do it again. With a win on Saturday night, LSU can creep back into the College Football Playoff hunt despite its two losses.

But it would mean much more than that. It would mark the first back-to-back wins over Alabama since 2010 and 2011 and make LSU 3-2 in its last five against the Tide.

It would assert LSU’s position atop the SEC West, leaving no doubts about who runs this division now.

These are the games that come to define a program.

Win Saturday, and people in Baton Rouge will quickly forget about LSU’s September letdowns.

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Ranking the 10 best defenses in LSU history

Here are 10 of the best defensive units the Tigers have ever had.

For much of its history, LSU has had elite defense.

Whether it was [autotag]Paul Dietzel[/autotag], [autotag]Charles McClendon[/autotag] or [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag], several LSU coaches have had the luxury of a top defense.

In several cases, it led to a national title.

Here, I’m looking at some of the best defenses in LSU history. I’ve avoided ranking them because it’s too hard to compare defense across eras.

The bottom line: all of these units are good.

I tried not to include a bunch of units from consecutive years. For example, LSU had four of its best defenses from 1958-62. Only a couple of those groups are included here.

Here are 10 of the best defenses in LSU history.

LSU football all-time roster: Coaches, kickers and specialists

See which coaching and special teams legends made the cut in our all-time LSU football roster.

Special teams can be a bit of an afterthought at times, but that shouldn’t be the case. After all, special teams can be an equalizer for less talented teams and a thorn in the side of otherwise elite ones.

We’ve seen countless examples of special teams making — or breaking (see: kick-six) — teams’ title hopes over the years. When looking at LSU’s history, there’s no shortage of impact special teams contributors.

We’ll take a look at the best in this breakdown, as well as the top coaches who have come through the Tigers’ program over the years.

Check out LSU’s all-time offense and defense.

Check out our other College Wire all-time lineups: Alabama / Arkansas / Auburn / Clemson / Colorado / Florida / Georgia / Iowa / Michigan / Nebraska / North Carolina / Ohio State / Oklahoma / Oregon / Penn State / Rutgers / Tennessee / Texas / Texas A&M / USC / Wisconsin

How first-year LSU head coaches performed since 1962

Looking at first-year performances of LSU head coaches over the last 60 years.

Brian Kelly became the fourth head coach of the century for the LSU Tigers. Nick Saban, Les Miles, and Ed Orgeron have led the Bayou Bengals since the turn of the century. Kelly becomes No. 4 since the year 2000.

The previous three each won a national championship during their time in Baton Rouge, Kelly is searching for that elusive title run. It wouldn’t be a surprise to many if Kelly is able to rebuild the program and make a run, we have seen it time and time again.

What is the expectation level in year one? It would be a tall task to think they could make the run in the initial season for Brian Kelly. A good start would be a winning season. The last two years the team has finished 11-12, getting to seven or eight wins will feel like a win based on what Kelly was left by the previous staff.

Looking back at the last 60+ years of LSU football, we review how other coaches did in their first season as the Tigers head coach.

LSU head coach Ed Orgeron closing in on a milestone

Is today the day for Ed Orgeron?

LSU Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron has been chasing this milestone since the win over the Florida Gators: elusive win No. 50. As a head coach Orgeron has compiled a 65-49 record. Not exactly a world-beater of a record, but he is over the .500 mark.

As a member of the LSU Tigers, Orgeron is 49-20. A win over the ULM Warhawks will put him 30 games over .500 since becoming the head coach in 2016. His win over Florida allowed Orgeron to break the tie he had with Nick Saban.

With win No. 50 on the table, he can become the fourth head coach to win 50 games for the LSU Tigers. Bernie Moore was the first to do it.

Coach (Tenure) Games Wins Losses Ties Winning %
Charles McClendon, 1962-79 203 137 59 7 .692
Les Miles, 2005-16 148 114 34 0 .770
Bernie Moore, 1935-47 128 83 39 6 .672
Ed Orgeron, 2016-21 69 49 20 0 .710
Nick Saban, 2000-04 64 48 16 0 .750

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