Well, the time has come and the waiting is over. It’s time to send out football season with a bang tonight when LSU takes on Georgia Tech.

I’ve given the keys to victory for both sides, so it’s time to make my pick.

For LSU, it’s all about the two B’s: Balance and Big Plays.

LSU needs to find a balance on offense. They will have opportunities to hit big plays down the field against a Georgia Tech defense who will keep 7-8 in the box at all times to stop the LSU ground game. If Jordan Jefferson moves the chains in the passing game, LSU will have a big offensive day.

If he doesn’t expect to see a whole lot of punting from the Tigers.

LSU needs to stop big plays for the Jackets. Assignment football is hard to stop for 60 minutes. A lot of teams contain it for 2-3 quarters, but then have a hiccup or two here and there. That’s more than enough to turn a good defensive day into a terrible one against an offense like the Jackets’.

This is such a hard game to predict, because we have no idea how it will play out, because we’ve never seen LSU play an option attack before.

On one hand, there’s the LSU front four which has all of the talent in the world and on paper should be able to do enough to disrupt the timing of th offense.

But then there is the lack of discipline we’ve seen all season. From the missed tackles to the untimely penalties to the missed assignments, LSU has not been the most sound defense this season and discipline is always given utmost importance when facing an option attack.

So instead of guessing about things we do not know, I will make my prediction based on something I do know — Les Miles.

Miles is 3-0 at LSU in bowl games with all three wins coming in dominant fashion.

Given 4 weeks to get ready, I trust he will have his players ready to do just enough to control the Jackets’ offense.

My Pick:

LSU 28

Ga Tech 20

MVP: T. Toliver – I see there being a lot of plays down the field for the LSU offense. If Jordan Jefferson keeps his poise, I think he will hit 2-3 of them with Toliver, as the Jackets will be zeroed in on Brandon LaFell and Demetrius Byrd.

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Aside from the big game, the big news is again on the LSU coaching staff as reports from all across the state have former Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron accepting a position as the associate head coach and defensive line coach at LSU.

According to the reports, Orgeron would be the highest-paid assistant on the LSU staff and would have a large role in aiding Les Miles in game-day preparation and recruiting.

WHAT A HIRE!

1. Game-day preparation – Orgeron did not have a great deal of success at Ole Miss in the W/L record. But his teams were ALWAYS ready to play (just ask LSU). With his fiery personality and his experience, I think LSU’s slow starts will be long gone

2. Recruiting – Look at some of the greats in the USC program in the past 10 years. Most of them were recruited by Coach O. Whether at Miami, USC or Ole Miss, Coach O has been a fabulous recruiter and I think LSU will be able to keep the best talent in Louisiana and across the Southeast on their radar with the recruiting trio of Miles, Orgeron and Josh Henson all on board.

I love the hire of Coach O and the 2009 coaching staff is beginning to look special.

Enjoy the bowl, my friends!