| LSU CLOSES OUT CENTURY AGAINST ARKANSAS
LSU (2-8, 0-7 in the SEC) play its final game of the century on Friday at 1:30 p.m. in Tiger Stadium against No. 17 Arkansas (7-3, 4-3 in SEC). Arkansas is the sixth top 25 opponent for LSU this season. This marks the fourth year the teams will play for “The Boot”, a 24-karat gold trophy in the shape of the states of Arkansas and Louisiana combined. Arkansas has The Boot after last year’s 41-14 win in Little Rock. LSU is riding an eight-game losing streak, while Arkansas has won two straight, including last Saturday’s 14-9 win over Mississippi State. LSU, who lost to Houston, 20-7, in its last outing, had last week off. This also marks the head coaching debut of Hal Hunter, who is serving as LSU’s interim head coach for the final game of the season. A BALANCED ATTACK LEADS HOUSTON PAST LSU, 20-7 The Cougars took the lead for good on a Mike Clark 22-yard field goal with 6:17 to play in the first half. Houston added another TD just before halftime for a 17-7 lead. Clark hit a 29-yard field goal in the third quarter for the only points in the second half. Mealey led LSU with 53 yards rushing on five attempts, while Jerel Myers caught eight passes for 114 yards to become the all-time leading freshman receiver in SEC history. LSU VS. ARKANSAS Opponents: LSU (2-8) vs. Arkansas (7-3) LSU and Arkansas meet for the 45th time on Friday in Baton Rouge with LSU holding a 27-15-2 lead in the series. Last year, Arkansas snapped LSU’s three-game winning streak in the series with a 41-14 victory in Little Rock. LSU has won the last two games between the teams in Tiger Stadium, and overall the Tigers hold a 4-1-1 mark in contests played in Baton Rouge. Arkansas’s last win in Baton Rouge came on Nov. 27, 1993 by a 42-24 count. Of the previous 44 meetings between the teams, 25 have come in Shreveport, La. The series dates back to 1901 when LSU beat Arkansas, 15-0, in Baton Rouge. THE COACHES Hal Hunter is LSU’s interim head coach for this game Houston Nutt is in his second year as Arkansas coach Previous Position: Boise State, head coach, 1997 LSU VS. ARKANSAS The LSU Tigers close out the 1999 season and play their final game of the 20th century on Friday when they take on the Arkansas Razorbacks in a Southeastern Conference game, slated to start at 1:30 p.m. in Tiger Stadium. The game will be televised regionally by CBS. LSU will finish out a disappointing campaign as it heads into its final game with a record of 2-8 on the year and an SEC mark of 0-7. Arkansas is enjoying its second winning season under head coach Houston Nutt, bringing a record of 7-3 into its regular season finale and an SEC record of 4-3. The Tigers had an open date last week after losing to Houston, 20-7, on Nov. 13. Arkansas won its second game in a row last weekend, defeating Mississippi State, 14-9, in a game played at Little Rock. HUNTER DEBUT Hal Hunter will serve as LSU head coach in an interim capacity against Arkansas. LSU dismissed head coach Gerry DiNardo on November 15, and DiNardo chose not to coach the final game of the season. Hunter was named interim coach by LSU chancellor Dr. Mark Emmert and athletic director Joe Dean. He becomes the 30th head coach in LSU football history. Hunter is the first coach to take over an LSU team during the season since 1916. During the 1916 season, head coach E.T. McDonald resigned his position after the fifth game of the season and was succeeded by Irving Pray. Pray coached for two games before turning the team over to Dana X. Bible who finished out the year as the Tiger head coach. (Note: McDonald’s name as been documented as both McDonald and McDonnell.) ABOUT HAL HUNTER Hal Hunter has served as LSU’s offensive line coach since coming to Baton Rouge from Vanderbilt with Gerry DiNardo in 1995. He was promoted to assistant head coach after the 1998 season. Hunter, 40, a 1982 graduate of Northwestern, has coached at Northwestern, Hamilton of the CFL, William & Mary, Pittsburgh, Columbia, Indiana of Pennsylvania, Akron and Vanderbilt. He coached the offensive line at Vanderbilt for four years under DiNardo (1991-94) before joining the LSU staff. Hunter and his wife Tracy have two children, Hal IV and Andrew. DINARDO WRAPUP Gerry DiNardo served as head coach of the LSU Tigers for five seasons before being dismissed from his position on Nov. 15 of this year. He finished his service at LSU with a record of 32-24-1 and currently has a career head coaching record of 51-49-1, which includes four years as head coach at Vanderbilt. DiNardo led LSU to bowl victories in his first three seasons, taking the Tigers to the co-championship of the SEC’s western division in 1996 and 1997. But his Tigers fell on hard times the last two years, going 4-7 in 1998 and 2-8 through the first 10 games of the 1999 season. COACH SEARCH LSU chancellor Dr. Mark Emmert said on November 15 that he, along with athletic director Joe Dean, will conduct a national and open search for LSU’s next head football coach. The next coach will be the 31st in Tiger history and will lead the LSU football program into the next century. Emmert said that he hopes to have a recommendation to LSU’s Board of Supervisors at its next regular meeting on Dec. 10, but he added that Dec. 10 is not a hard deadline. CENTURY FINALE LSU’s game against Arkansas will be the Tigers’ final game of the 20th century. LSU goes into the game with a record of 595-349-47 during the 1900s. The Tigers have had 27 coaches during the 20th century, have won 10 conference championships (2 SIAA, 1 SIC, 7 SEC), one national championship and have appeared in 31 bowl games. LSU closed out the 1800s with a 38-0 win over Tulane on Dec. 8, 1899. LSU opened the 1900s with a 70-0 win over Millsapps on Nov. 11, 1900. THE BOOT LSU and Arkansas will be playing for “The Boot,” a 24-carat gold trophy in the shape of the states of Arkansas and Louisiana that forms a boot. This marks the fourth time the teams are playing for “The Boot.” LSU won the coveted trophy the first two years, in 1996 and 1997, but the Hogs took home “The Boot” last season. “The Boot” will sit on Arkansas’ sideline during the game and will return to Fayetteville should the Razorbacks win, but will be carried off the field to the Tigers’ locker room if LSU is victorious. SENIOR DAY A total of 12 Tiger seniors will be dressing in the purple and gold for the final time on Friday and will be honored in pre-game ceremonies. Here is the 1999 LSU senior class: Danny Boyd, Tim Donelon, Corey Gibbs, Alcender Jackson, Rondell Mealey, Johnny Mitchell, Michael Mitchell, Jamal Pack, Charles Smith, Andy Stroup, Jeremy Witten and Damien Woods MYERS SETS SEC FRESHMAN RECORD LSU freshman phenom Jerel Myers, with eight catches against Houston, broke the Southeastern Conference record for most catches in a single season by a freshman player. Going into the final game of the year, Myers has 61 catches for 817 yards and two touchdowns. Myers broke the old SEC mark of 58 set by Zola Davis of South Carolina in 1995. TRACKING RONDELL MEALEY LSU tailback Rondell Mealey will finalize his place in LSU history on Friday against Arkansas. He needs only 10 yards to move into seventh place in LSU history in career rushing yards and he needs only 62 to move into sixth place. Here are the top 10 rushers in Tiger history:
MEALEY AMONG LSU TD LEADERS With a touchdown against Houston, Rondell Mealey moved into fifth place in LSU history in rushing touchdowns, breaking a tie with Harvey Williams and Garry James. With one more touchdown, he would tie Terry Robiskie for the fourth most TD’s at LSU. Kevin Faulk, who played at LSU from 1995-98, holds the school record with 46. Here are LSU’s all-time rushing touchdown leaders:
WILLIAMS AND MITCHELL KEEP STREAKS ALIVE LSU left offensive tackle Louis Williams has now started 21 straight games at that position, and has started on the Tiger offensive line in 22 of the Tigers’ last 26 games. LSU defensive tackle Johnny Mitchell has also started in 21 straight games at that position for the Tigers. Mitchell, a senior team captain, has played in every LSU game except one since joining the team in 1996. He started every game at tackle last year and has started all 10 games this season. MYERS MOVES UP LSU RECEIVING CHART With 61 catches, Jerel Myers has the third most receptions ever in a single season by any LSU player. Only Wendell Davis, who caught 80 passes in 1986 and 72 in 1987, has caught more passes in one year than the freshman Myers. Here is the list of top single season receivers in LSU history.
JOSH BOOTY NEARS PASS ATTEMPT MARK Josh Booty has become only the third quarterback in school history to throw over 300 passes in a single season and needs to throw 20 passes to set an LSU record for most pass attempts in a single season. Going into the final game of the year, Booty has thrown 327 passes with 158 completions for 1,787 yards. The record for most passes in a season is 346 set by Jeff Wickersham in 1985. Wickersham also surpassed the 300-pass mark in 1983 and 1984, while Tommy Hodson did it in 1989. Here are the top five single season pass attempt leaders in school history:
DAVIS SETS RETURN RECORD; NEARS ANOTHER Freshman return specialist Domanick Davis has set an LSU record for the most kickoff returns in a single season. Going into the final game of the season, Davis has 24 returns for 585 yards, an average of 24.4 yards per kickoff return. Against Houston, Davis broke the old record of 23 returns set by Robert Dow in 1975 Dow also owns the record for most kickoff return yards in a season with 598 in 1975. Davis needs 14 return yards against Arkansas to break Dow’s record. ABRAM BOOTY MOVES UP RECEIVING CHARTS Abram Booty, who missed the Houston game with an injury, is in eighth place in career receiving yards at LSU. Booty has 115 catches for 1,703 yards and eight touchdowns in his career, and he needs 26 yards to move into seventh place ahead of Carlos Carson (1977-79).
OTHER NOTES FROM THE LSU-HOUSTON GAME LSU lost its eighth straight game, a school record for most consecutive losses … Rondell Mealey’s 34-yard touchdown run was the longest run from scrimmage since Jerel Myers’ 60-yard reverse for a touchdown against North Texas in the second game of the season. TIGERS IN THE SEC Following are categories in which LSU players rank in the top five in the SEC: Receptions – Jerel Myers, No. 2, 6.1 catches per game Following are categories in which LSU ranks in the top five in the SEC: Passing Defense – No. 4, 187.7 yards per game NEXT YEAR Here’s a look at LSU’s schedule in the year 2000: |
Patrick Peterson