While the Saints are in Tiger Stadium, perhaps LSU offense could learn a few basic things

BATON ROUGE - The New Orleans Saints do not quite look like a Super Bowl team yet.

But they have kept their head above the levee at 3-2 entering the open week following an inspiring, 30-27 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday night in the Superdome after trailing by 20-3 late in the first half.

And the Saints know how to score a touchdown from the 1-yard line.

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LSU, on the other hand, is 1-2 on the season for the first time since Curley Hallman was the coach in 1994. And it was 0-for-4 from the 1-yard line in the final seconds of a 45-41 loss at 0-2 Missouri on Saturday as if Cam Cameron was still the offensive coordinator.

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The Saints may be coming soon to Tiger Stadium to practice and play games as the team wants to play in front of about 25,000 fans, which is not possible inside the Superdome amid COVID-19 protocols that have it virtually empty for games. It is in the great outdoors of Tiger Stadium, which is allowed to host 25 percent of capacity.

Now, that LSU has an open weekend with the Florida game pushed from Saturday to Dec. 12 because of COVID-19, the Tigers need to take advantage of the extra time and a possible new Tiger Stadium tenant.

If the Saints do come here, it would be wise for LSU offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger and pass game coordinator Scott Linehan to watch the Saints practice their red zone plays, particularly on the 1-yard line, in Tiger Stadium.

They should notice how Saints quarterback Drew Brees often lines up under center - not in the shotgun - on the 1-yard line. Brees did this on third and goal from the 1-yard line with 16 seconds to go in the first half Monday night. He took the snap, jumped forward and put the ball just over the goal line. Touchdown! So easy. And the Saints were in the game again, trailing 20-10 entering the second half.

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Brees, who at less than six feet tall and 209 pounds is not bigger than LSU quarterback Myles Brennan (6-4, 210), is an expert at that play. He's always doing it on third-and-short or fourth-and-short all around the field.

Brees popped over on a critical sneak from the half-yard line in the final seconds of the first half at Miami while trailing 24-3 in the 2009 season. The Saints were able to come back from the 24-10 halftime deficit for a 46-34 win that helped propel the franchise to the Super Bowl title later that season in that same stadium.

LSU ridiculously lined up in the shotgun on all four goal-line plays Saturday, failing on two runs and two passes. In other words, they went backward to try to go forward.

"We talked about that after the game," LSU coach Ed Orgeron said on WWL Radio this week. "We should have had the Bush Push in, and we should've called it."

The "Bush Push" refers to No. 1 USC's game-winning touchdown to win at No. 9 Notre Dame, 34-31, on the final play of the game from the 1-yard line in the 2005 season. Quarterback Matt Leinart took the snap from under center - very important - and tried to bull his way in. Tailback Reggie Bush helped with a little push from the back side.

Orgeron was Ole Miss' coach at the time, but he was an assistant at USC the previous seven years.

"I think we should've called that four times, and I think we should've ran it," Orgeron said.

The missed opportunity ruined a superb game By Brennan.

Ensminger and Linehan should study some of the Saints' other goal-line plays as well. The Saints have been scoring on quick passes to the tight end from short range with efficient regularity since 2006 when Brees and Coach Sean Payton came to New Orleans.

LSU tight end Arik Gilbert, a natural born mismatch for any defender anywhere on the field at 6-5 and 250 and fast, was not on the field during the Tigers' goal-line disaster.

One yard. That's all LSU needed to be 2-1 today with its heads above the levee. Yes, the defense would still be bad, but there would be a whole new outlook, plus the extra week now for personnel changes.

With LSU and the Saints now both open this weekend, how about goal-line practice on Saturday?

Orgeron, who was a Saints' assistant in the 2008 season and now is the second-highest paid college football coach in the nation, would love to have the Saints share his stadium. And he should ask if he can share their playbook with Ensminger and Linehan. It worked last year when Orgeron hired Saints offensive assistant Joe Brady to be his pass game coordinator. The rest is 15-0, national championship history and virtually no red zone issues.

"I love it," Orgeron said. "Sean Payton has been good to me, Mickey Loomis (the Saints general manager), Drew Brees, I'm a Who Dat fan, so bring 'em to Baton Rouge. Love to see 'em."

Payton would love the 25,000 fans, fresh air, and real grass as compared to the desolate dome on carpet for home games this season.

"To me, that would be exciting," Payton said. "You'll be playing on grass outside in a great environment. If it was playing in the dome with no fans or playing up there with 25,000 of our fans, then every one of us would make the second choice. So, we would embrace it."

And the Saints could remind LSU how to win.

"These are the tests that I do feel like really bring a team together," Brees said after charging his team back from 14- and 17-point early deficits the last two weeks. "It gives you confidence, gives you momentum, and really kind of shapes you. We know if we can put ourselves in position to win (like on the 1-yard line), we know how to do that."