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Tigers Continue to Prep For USC; Randall to Start at QB

by LSUsports.net (@LSUsports)
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Tigers Continue to Prep For USC; Randall to Start at QB

BATON ROUGE — LSU continued its preparations for Saturday’s Southeastern Conference contest against South Carolina with a two-hour workout at the Charlie McClendon Practice Facility here Wednesday.

The Tigers, ranked No. 12 in the nation, enter Saturday’s contest with a 5-1 overall mark and stand atop the SEC Western Division with a 2-0 league record. South Carolina, winners of four straight, stands at 5-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play. Saturday’s meeting will be the first between the teams since a 20-20 tie in Columbia in 1995.

“We’ve had good focus, good concentration and I’ve been pleased with the way we have practiced this week,” LSU coach Nick Saban said. “South Carolina is a challenging team to play. First of all they do not beat themselves, they play well on defense and are hard to score against. Offensively, they do not make a lot of mistakes either.”

“We have practiced and prepared well all week and I am pleased with the attitude that we have come back with and we seem to have good focus on what we need to do against South Carolina.”

Saban confirmed on Wednesday that sophomore Marcus Randall will start at quarterback in place of an injured Matt Mauck. Mauck suffered a mid-foot injury in Saturday’s win over Florida and is out of action indefinitely.

“I think Marcus (Randall) has done a good job in practice this week and that the backup quarterbacks have done a good job as well,” Saban said. “Marcus has to go out there and manage the game. He is a young quarterback and we need to support him in what he does. He is capable of making some big plays because he is a good athlete.”

Randall has played in four games this year, completing 4-of-8 passes for 33 yards. Randall has also rushed for 13 yards on five carries. Saturday will mark Randall’s first career start.

Outside of Mauck, Saban said the Tigers enter the South Carolina contest healthy.

The Tigers will practice again on Thursday followed by a walk-thru in Tiger Stadium on Friday afternoon. Kickoff for Saturday’s contest is set for 6:45 p.m. in Tiger Stadium. The game will be televised to a national audience on ESPN2.