BATON ROUGE — The LSU football team team kicks off the seven-game home schedule for the 2002 season when it takes on Division I-AA opponent The Citadel on Saturday at 7 p.m. in Tiger Stadium with one word in mind: Redemption.
re-deem (r
-d
m
) vb.
6. To pay the penalty of; to make amends for; to serve as an equivalent or offset for; to atone for; to compensate; as, to redeem an error.
re-demp-tion (r-d
mpsh
n) n.
1. The act of redeeming or the condition of having been redeemed.
|
LSU and the Southern Conference In 1922, LSU and five other institutions joined the 14 charter members of the Southern Conference (est. Feb. 15, 1921 in Atlanta). At that time, the conference included 11 of the 12 current Southeastern Conference teams, with Arkansas being the exception. Three more schools — The College of the South (Sewanee), Duke and VMI — joined the Southern Conference in 1925 for a total of 23 teams. After LSU and 12 other institutions broke away to form the SEC in 1932 in an effort to reduce travel demands, The Citadel and five other schools joined the Southern Conference in 1936. The Conference went through another major shift in 1953 when seven schools broke off to form the Atlantic Coast Conference. This change was brought about due to the desire of many of those schools to schedule a greater number of regular season basketball games against their local rivals. The Southern Conference now consists of 12 schools in five states. It’s headquarters recently moved to in Spartanburg, S.C., after having spent 15 years in Asheville, N.C. VMI will leave the Southern Conference on June 30, 2003. Elon University has been approved for entry into the Southern Conference. |
Live streaming audio of the contest can be heard only on LSUsports.net beginning with the pregame show at 5:30 p.m. Use the “AUDIO” link from the “Upcoming Events” section of the homepage to listen live using Windows Media Player. Live stats will also be available only on LSUsports.net.
After suffering through a season-opening 26-8 loss to No. 16 Virginia Tech on Sunday in Blacksburg, the Tigers returned home to lick their wounds, raise their chins anew and seek redemption one game at a time.
“We went from the penthouse to the outhouse in two hours,” LSU head coach Nick Saban said a couple of days after his 14th-ranked Tigers had two punts blocked and couldn’t advance past the shadow of their endzone for the majority of three quarters.
Saban’s squad, the defending SEC and Sugar Bowl Champions, will get a chance to take the first step back up the mountain of success for the first time against The Citadel, a public military academy in Charleston, S.C., that is a member of the Southern Conference.
LSU (0-1) and The Citadel, a Division I-AA member since 1981, share a similar football background (see right-hand column), however, these schools have not met on the gridiron. Saturday will mark the second time the Tigers have met an NCAA Division I-AA opponent, with the other coming Sept. 2, 2000, when LSU beat the Southern Conference’s Western Carolina, 58-0.
The Citadel (0-0) has faced seven SEC schools in its history and has a 10-69-4 record, with its most recent victory coming in the 1992 season opener when the Bulldogs beat Arkansas in Fayetteville, 10-3. Last season, the Bulldogs went 3-7.
No matter the opponent, coach Saban has stressed that he’s looking for a better effort by his team and that he will use any personnel necessary in order to see that effort on the field Saturday.
LSU starting quarterback Matt Mauck had a difficult time settling into the game against the Hokies, as he was sacked four times, had at least eight catchable passed dropped by his wide receivers and started on his own 24-yard line on average.
After running back/return specialist Domanick Davis had an 81-yard punt return touchdown called back the first time a Tiger touched the ball, he along with LaBrandon Toefield never got into a consistent rhythm in the backfield. The duo combined for 69 yards on 17 carries and LSU’s lone touchdown.
On the other side of the ball, the LSU defense comes off a very good performance relative to its poor field position and inequity in time of possession. With the Hokies average drive beginning on their 43-yard line, LSU only gave up only 231 yards from scrimmage, registered seven tackles for loss including three sacks and only allowed the Hokies to drive more than half the field once. However, according to Saban, missed tackles and missed assignments led to all three Hokie touchdowns, so there will be plenty of room for improvement.
The Tigers will take the walk down Victory Hill at 5 p.m., while the stadium will open shortly after. The “Golden Band From Tigerland” will begin its march down the hill at 5:45 p.m.
With several parking lots unavailable that have been in the past, fans are encouraged to show up early for the game in order to find a place to park. Use the permit parking map on LSUsports.net to view available lots. Also, Tiger Transit, LSU’s park-and-ride bus system in cooperation with the CTC, will be in opperation for the first time.