Three years ago, LSU fired its longtime coach, promoted his assistant in a move many chided and seemed far removed from reaching the College Football Playoff. Turns out, the Tigers aren’t just any other playoff team—they’re the No. 1 seed, playing No. 4 Oklahoma in the Peach Bowl on Dec. 28.
LSU’s rout of then-No. 4 Georgia on Saturday in the SEC championship game was enough to lift Ed Orgeron’s team to the top spot in the CFP committee’s rankings, continuing one of the best stories in college football. Orgeron, a Louisiana native who replaced Les Miles in 2016 after a failed coaching stint at Ole Miss, has led his home-state squad to the pinnacle of the sport, hiring a 30-year-old winderkind to overhaul an offense captained by the surefire Heisman Trophy winner, quarterback Joe Burrow.