BATON ROUGE — The LSU football season is down to three-games and first up for the Tigers is Alabama at 6:45 p.m. on Saturday in Tuscaloosa.
The Tigers, who are ranked No. 3 in the nation in both the Associated Press poll and the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Top 25 as well as a No. 4 ranking in the BCS, stands at 8-1 overall and 4-1 in Southeastern Conference action. The Tigers and next week’s foe, Ole Miss, are the only teams on the western side of the league that control their destiny.
ESPN as well as ESPN HD will televise Saturday’s LSU-Alabama game.
Alabama, a team looking to play the spoiler, enters Saturday’s game coming off perhaps its best performance of the season in a 38-0 win over Mississippi State. The Crimson Tide enters the game with a 4-6 overall mark and a 2-4 league record. Alabama is not eligible for the SEC title this year.
“It’s down to a three-game season,” LSU coach Nick Saban said earlier this week. ” I have been pleased with the way the players have gone about it (practice this week), what they have tried to do, and how we have worked on both sides of the ball.
“I think they have a good football team. They have a good front seven on defense and they are very aggressive in the secondary and are one of the most physical teams that we have played. They have run the ball effectively on everybody that they have played this year and they make some plays in the passing game. Brodie (Croyle) is a real capable guy. They lost some tough games but they are a very capable team.”
Saturday’s contest will feature the nation’s best against the run in LSU’s defense against the top running back in the SEC in Shaud Williams. LSU enters the game allowing only 60.3 yards rushing per game, while Williams ranks first in the SEC and among the national leaders with 114 yards per contest. In 10 games this year, Williams has rushed for 1,140 yards and a league-best 12 touchdowns.
When the Tide isn’t running the ball, they count on quarterback Croyle, who has completed 137 of 242 passes for 1,722 yards and 13 touchdowns.
When the Tigers have the ball, LSU will continue to rely on the steady play of quarterback Matt Mauck, who leads the SEC in pass efficiency with a 156.7 rating. In nine games, Mauck has connected on 150 of 230 passes for 1,924 yards and 19 touchdowns, which ranks as the second-highest total in LSU history for a single-season.
Mauck’s favorite target is that of receivers Michael Clayton, Devery Henderson and Skyler Green. Clayton leads the Tigers with 45 catches for 705 yards and six touchdowns, while Henderson has 38 receptions for 626 yards and a league-high nine scores and Green has 33 catches for 396 yards and four TDs.
Freshman Justin Vincent will start for the fourth straight game at tailback as he continues to lead the Tigers with 383 yards rushing and five touchdowns. Shyrone Carey is expected to return to action on Saturday after missing LSU’s last four games with a knee injury. Carey has rushed for 307 yards and a team-best six touchdowns in 2003.
After Saturday, the Tigers return to action on Nov. 22 when they travel to face Ole Miss at 2:30 p.m. in Oxford in a game that will be televised nationally by CBS.