LSU proved it is worthy of a top-five ranking by going on the road to beat a quality opponent in Texas on Saturday night, and the Tigers had to overcome some tough conditions both on the field and in the locker room.
LSU head coach Ed Orgeron told reporters on Monday that there was no air conditioning in the visitor’s locker room before or during the game at Texas Memorial Stadium. The temperature at game time was just below 100 degrees. It’s unclear if that was intentional on the part of the Longhorns, but it was also the case when they hosted Louisiana Tech the week before.
#LSU Coach O seems to confirm there was no air conditioning in the Tigers' locker room at Texas, something Louisiana Tech warned them about. pic.twitter.com/Llm3lG4csJ
— Jacques Doucet (@JacquesDoucet) September 9, 2019
Orgeron said LSU was prepared for the lack of AC so they brought some fans and did some other things to keep the locker room as comfortable as possible. Several Tigers players went down with cramps during the game, but the coach said he did not think the locker room conditions were to blame.
“I don’t think that caused as much as going out there and having to play 93 plays on defense,” Orgeron said. “I think that had a lot to do with it. Although it was hot, I think the humidity was like 23 percent. It wasn’t like Louisiana, but our guys did cramp up in the second half.”
Texas fans could be heard booing during some drives where LSU players went down with cramping, thinking they were faking injuries to slow the Longhorns’ offense.
It’s worth noting that there seemed to be some bad blood between the two teams heading into the game. One LSU player downplayed the ability of Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger, and some words were exchanged on the field prior to kickoff. LSU QB Joe Burrow also trolled Longhorns fans by waving goodbye to them when the Tigers sealed the win.
LSU’s 45-38 victory was the first leg of a home-and-home series between the two programs, which means the Tigers will play host next year. Texas might want to be prepared to have no AC in their locker room during that game.
