LSU head coach Ed Orgeron had some words for a UCLA fan as he walked into the Rose Bowl on Saturday.
And then, after UCLA beat LSU convincingly, UCLA had some fun in return.
Orgeron, apparently only a fan of LSU’s particular shade of blue, called out to a heckling UCLA fan as he entered the stadium before the game. In short, the UCLA fan told Orgeron that the Bruins were going to win the game. The UCLA fan also brought up one of Orgeron’s trips to the Rose Bowl from his time at USC.
In what seemed like a playful response, Orgeron told the fan to bring it on in “your sissy blue shirt.”
When gametime came around, UCLA impressively controlled both lines of scrimmage and won the game 38-27 in front of a raucous crowd. Still basking in the glow of that win, whoever runs the UCLA Football Twitter account had to get a shot in at Orgeron by changing the account’s header image.
Earlier Sunday, another video trolling Orgeron and LSU was posted.
UCLA fan explains interaction with Ed Orgeron
The funny thing about the whole interaction is that the shirt the UCLA fan was wearing is not even blue.
Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times tracked down the fan, who explained how it all went down. The fan, David Witzling, said he was wearing a “team-issued black Jordan shirt” that only has a small blue UCLA logo.
Witzling said he brought up UCLA’s 35-14 victory over USC in 2013, Orgeron’s final game as USC’s interim head coach. He also brought up what Orgeron said in the week leading up to that game.
At an annual Conquest rally during the week of the game against UCLA at the Coliseum, Orgeron said, “Come Saturday night, we’re gonna let those little boys from across town into our stadium and we’re gonna lock the gates.”
Witzling, a 2003 UCLA graduate who lives in Huntington Beach, commenced his Trojans teasing Saturday as Orgeron approached the tunnel beneath where Witzling and his family were perched to shoot video of LSU’s arrival.
“Coach Orgeron, how are you doing?” Witzling begins, drawing an acknowledgement from the coach as well as a thumbs up. “We’re going to lock those gates and we’re going to beat you down. Remember ‘SC?”
Orgeron’s demeanor changes in an instant, the coach disparaging Witzling’s shirt as a Louisiana state trooper accompanying the coach flexes his right arm and taps his massive bicep.
Undeterred, Witzling continues, “You said, ‘We’re going to lock your gates, we’re going to lock your gates, we’re going to lock ‘em.’ ”
Two days after UCLA beat USC, Orgeron found out he would not be elevated to full-time head coach of the Trojans. Instead, USC hired Steve Sarkisian and Orgeron resigned.
After a season away, Orgeron landed at LSU as the defensive line coach and later the interim head coach following the firing of Les Miles. This time, Orgeron did get the full-time job. He made the most of it, leading LSU to a national title in 2019. Since then, though, the Tigers are just 5-6 overall.
If he doesn’t get things going again soon, the questions about his job status will start popping up even more than they already are.
