1st-time opponents BYU, LSU plenty familiar with each other

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PROVO — BYU and No. 13 Louisiana State have never faced each other in football.

But the two coaching staffs have plenty of familiarity with one another as they prepare for Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. MDT kickoff in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.

Starting at the top, BYU head coach Kalani Sitake considers LSU’s Ed Orgeron to be a good friend. The two were former assistant coaches in the Pac-12 (Sitake at Utah, Orgeron at Southern California), but their association goes back to Coach O’s days as head coach of Ole Miss.

Sitake was a rising linebackers coach with the Utes, while Orgeron was leading the Rebels through one of the lowest periods in program history. He had plenty of reason to focus only on his team, and no reason to pay attention to a lowly position coach from Utah.

But he did, Sitake recalled.

“I was a nobody coach, and he took the time to talk to me,” Sitake said. “He’s a really friendly guy and is never a guy to big-time anyone. I always appreciate that about him.

“He’s a good guy, and I really appreciate him. I’m honored to go against him in this game.”

Orgeron is also familiar with offensive coordinator Ty Detmer — and BYU, for that matter. Coach O’s first full-time position coach job was at Miami from 1988-1992, when he led the defensive line.

In this Aug. 6, 2016, photo, LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda gives instructions to Tigers M.J. Patterson during an NCAA college football practice in Baton Rouge, La. (Photo: Brett Duke/NOLA.com The Times-Picayune via AP)

Miami, 1990? Yes, Orgeron was an assistant coach for the then-No. 1 ranked ‘Canes when BYU pulled off one of the biggest upsets in college football history. Miami sacked Detmer twice from the defensive line that day, but the Heisman Trophy winner also threw for 406 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Cougars to the historic 28-21 upset over the reigning national champions in Provo.

“It wasn’t a good outcome for the Hurricanes,” Orgeron recalled of that day. “He was a 1990 Heisman Trophy winner and in the College Hall of Fame. Now he’s calling plays for the BYU Cougars. He’s a very good coordinator.”

Detmer still speaks fondly of that day and has followed Orgeron’s career since then, with stops at Syracuse, USC and the NFL.

“Orgeron took over early in the season (for LSU), and this isn’t their first go-around,” Detmer said after practice. “I wouldn’t treat it that way.”

BYU’s familiarity with LSU’s system doesn’t stop there. The Tigers’ defensive coordinator Dave Aranda joined in-state rival Utah State as defensive coordinator and defensive line coach in 2012, even leading the Aggies to a 27-21 overtime win over Sitake and the Utes that snapped a 12-game losing streak for the Logan team.

“They play the same defense we play,” Orgeron said. “They are good friends with Dave. They play a 4-3 defense, they play over, they play 3-4, very similar to the things that we do.”

On the field for LSU will be starting left tackle K.J. Malone, who spent 10 years in Salt Lake City. The reason he goes by KJ is because his given name Karl might get him mistaken in his hometown for a certain NBA hall of famer (and his father).

But this Malone isn’t diplomatic with his ties to college football programs in the state.

“I grew up about five minutes away,” K.J. Malone told SECcountry.com when asked about the Utes. ”Everyone at my school growing up was like, ‘oh, you need to be a Utah fan. BYU people are mean.’

“A lot of people have been talking to me about the game.”

BYU also has an LSU fan on its roster, with starting tight end Matt Bushman. The freshman who recently returned from a two-year mission for the LDS Church grew up in New Orleans until age 9, when Hurricane Katrina forced his family to evacuate to Arizona.

There’s a part of Bushman that bleeds purple. But not over BYU, he is quick to point out.

“Growing up, we were always BYU fans, but being from New Orleans, we cheered on LSU also,” Bushman said. “We’re going to have friends and family watching me on both sides of the spectrum.”