BATON ROUGE — It’s been six years since a team ranked No. 1 in the nation came to Tiger Stadium. That will change on Saturday night as the Tigers, ranked No. 11 in the nation, hosts the No. 1 ranked team in Division I-AA in Western Illinois.
Kickoff for Saturday’s contest is set for 7 p.m. in what could be a very wet Tiger Stadium. Saturday’s forecast calls for at least a 50 percent chance of rain during the day. Cox Sports Television will show the game on a tape-delay basis at 5 p.m. on Sunday and then again at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
The last time a team ranked No. 1 in the nation came to Tiger Stadium, Florida was the team and they left Baton Rouge with a 28-21 setback. While Western Illinois is no Florida, they still are one of the top teams its division and they have four wins over Division I teams since 1999.
As a matter of fact in its last game against a Division I team, the Leathernecks posted a 34-12 win on Sept. 4, allowing only four field goals to Eastern Michigan. Western Illinois also limited Eastern Michigan to minus-2 yards rushing in the contest.
LSU enters Saturday’s game with a 2-0 mark as the Tigers look to improve to 3-0 for the first time since 1998. The Tigers, who are 12-3 under Nick Saban in non-conference games, are coming off a 59-13 thrashing of Arizona last Saturday in Tucson.
“All I can say about Western Illinois is that they have beaten three Division I opponents in the last couple of years,” LSU coach Nick Saban said. “They have an outstanding quarterback and they have not given up a touchdown on defense this year. They have three All-Americans playing, one defensive lineman, one linebacker, and one guy in the secondary on defense.
Just because a team is I-AA does not mean that they do not have, especially when they can beat IA schools, football players that need to be respected and regarded and prepared for just as any other team. I think this is an opportunity for our team to show that they can play with consistency as well as make an improvement as a football team.”
The Tigers head into the contest averaging a whopping 54 points a game, tops in the SEC. In two games, LSU has scored 108 points, that’s the most by a Tiger team since the 1930 squad opened their season by scoring 147 points in wins over S.D. Wesleyan and Louisiana Tech.
Last week, the Tigers scored on seven of their first eight possessions, including the first six times they touched the ball en route to a 38-0 halftime lead.
The Tigers will once again go with Matt Mauck at quarterback and he enters the contest with a 7-1 mark as LSU’s starter. Last week, Mauck missed on his first attempt and then connected on 10 straight to finish 10-of-11 for 150 yards and one TD, a 48-yarder to Michael Clayton. Mauck also rushed for a score in the win over Arizona.
Clayton enters the contest ranked first in the SEC in receiving as he averages six receptions for 130.5 yards a contest. Clayton, who played on both sides of the ball against Arizona, has caught at least one pass in 28 straight games for LSU.
When the Tigers aren’t throwing the ball on Saturday, they will rely on the running of sophomore Joseph Addai, who is coming off an 86-yard, two touchdown performance last week. In two games, Addai has rushed for 167 yards and has yet to have a carry for negative yardage.
“I think offensively if we can continue to improve and execute we can do well, but they have a team that has not been scored on,” Saban said. “Hopefully we will be able to keep getting the ball to our skill guys and let them make plays in space and do a good job from that standpoint.”
Defensively, the Tigers, who have allowed only two touchdowns this season, will be challenged by Leatherneck quarterback Russ Michna. In two years at Western Illinois’ starting quarterback, Michna has thrown for over 3,500 yards and 23 TDs in leading the Leathernecks to a 13-2 mark as their starter.
“They have a very good quarterback who has thrown for a lot of yards and it is going to be a real challenge for us defensively to contain him,” Saban said of Michna. “There is no question he is the best quarterback we have played against so far this season.”
The Tiger defense ranks first in the SEC allowing only 211 yards per contest. Linebacker Lionel Turner leads the Tigers with 12 tackles, including two for losses, while strong safety Jack Hunt follows with 11 stops and one interception.
Louisiana Farm Bureau will sponsor Saturday’s game. Among the other attractions at the Western Illinois game include the Pigskin Playground for the kids, as well as the presenting of the 2003 SEC championship trophy to the LSU baseball team at halftime.