In his six-year tenure as LSU's head coach, Ed Orgeron's finest victory—aside from winning the 2020 national championship game—was his 2019 win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa. In his final game as part of the rivalry, Coach O pulled out all the stops to try to get one more signature win.
After LSU's offense was stopped on third down at midfield during its first drive, Orgeron opted to go the aggressive route and call a fake punt. This wasn't just any fake punt, though; this was a fake punt jump pass. Behold Orgeron's gambit in all its glory:
That majestic pass was pulled off by punter Avery Atkins, who looked more like Stephen Curry shooting a tear-drop runner than a punter moonlighting as a quarterback. Atkins—who had never before thrown a pass at the college level—found Jack Mashburn for a 26-yard game to the Alabama 26-yard line. Four plays later, quarterback Max Johnson found Brian Thomas Jr. for an eight-yard score to give the Tigers a 7–0 lead.
Beyond giving LSU and early advantage, the play clearly sparked the entire team, as the Tigers' defense stepped up to stymie Alabama's high-powered offense. The Tide was held scoreless on its first four possessions, snapping a 31-game streak of scoring in the first quarter. The last time Alabama finished the first quarter with zero points was on Nov. 19, 2016, against Chattanooga. The Tide trailed 3–0 after one quarter of that game before going on to win 31-3.
LSU's season has not gone the way it had hoped, and the program is searching for a new head coach after Orgeron and the school agreed to part ways at season's end. Given that setup, it's no surprise Oregeron took a "nothing to lose" approach, and it paid off beautifully for an early lead.
