BATON ROUGE — After playing just one game for the first four weeks of the football season fourth-ranked LSU will now play its second game in a six-day span on Saturday when the Tigers travel to Starkville to face Mississippi State in a battle of Southeastern Conference Western Division rivals.
Kickoff for Saturday’s contest is set for 1:30 p.m. from Davis Wade Stadium on the Mississippi State campus. The game will be televised on TigerVision, the school’s in-hour pay-per-view network. In addition, the game can be heard on the LSU Sports Radio Network as well as in the LSUsports.net’s Geaux Zone.
The Tigers bring a 1-1 overall mark and an 0-1 league record into Saturday’s contest following a bitter 30-27 overtime loss to Tennessee on Monday in Tiger Stadium. In that game, the Vols rallied from 21-points down to force overtime before eventually pulling out the victory.
Mississippi State takes a 2-2 overall mark and an 0-2 conference record into the game as the Bulldogs are coming off a 23-10 setback to Georgia last week. The Bulldogs have collected non-conference wins against Murray State and Tulane this year.
Temp.
84?
Condition:
Partly Cloudy
Chance of Rain:
10%
Humidity:
60%
Wind:
SE 6 mph
Sunset:
6:39 p.m. CT
Saturday’s game will mark the first time since 1973 that LSU will have to play two games in a six-day span. That year, the Tigers beat Mississippi State on a Saturday night in Tiger Stadium before dropping a 21-7 decision to Alabama in Tiger Stadium on Thanksgiving night.
Despite the quick turnaround, LSU coach Les Miles has said his team has had a good week of practice and is ready to get back on the football field for another game.
“We’ve done a good job of preparing despite the short week,” Miles said. “I think our football team understands that these are extraordinary times. I think we have made some adjustments to our own schedule that will enable them to play and enjoy being in Mississippi on Saturday. This team understand how to redirect and rally and we’re looking forward to the opportunity to playing again on Saturday.”
With the short week, the Tigers took Tuesday off from practice, instead watching and making corrections from the Tennessee game. LSU had its first and only full-scale practice on Wednesday, working out for just over two hours, followed by a shorts and shoulder pads practice on Thursday.
Kickoff:
1:30 p.m. CDT
Internet:
Geaux Zone
Television:
TigerVision
Radio:
LSU Sports Radio Network
Teams:
#4 LSU (1-1, 0-1 SEC)
Mississippi St. (2-2, 0-2 SEC)
Series:
LSU leads 62-33-3
Of Note:
LSU has not allowed an opponent to score 30 or more points in three consecutive games of one season since 1989.
The Tigers will have a walk-thru on Friday before departing for Starkville that afternoon.
Against Mississippi State, the Tigers will face a squad that they have dominated in recent years. LSU has won five straight and 12 of 13 from the Bulldogs, including a 51-0 win a year ago in Tiger Stadium. In that game, the Tigers raced out to a 34-0 halftime lead and still managed to put 51 points on the board despite fumbling the ball four times.
The Tigers go into the Mississippi State game looking to get back on track on both sides of the football following a tough outing against Tennessee.
“I felt like the team played extremely hard and with good emotion,” Miles said of his team’s effort against Tennessee. “But, we made what appeared to be some first game mistakes and played sloppy.”
Offensively, the key for the Tigers will be that of running back Joseph Addai and quarterback JaMarcus Russell. Addai ranks second in the SEC averaging 96.5 yards per contest. He’s also rushed for a league-best three touchdowns for the Tigers.
Russell has connected on 30 of 57 passes for 390 yards and one touchdown with Craig Davis (7 receptions, 117 yards) and Skyler Green (5 receptions, 44 yards) serving as his top targets.
Defensively, the Tigers are led by linebacker Cameron Vaughn (17 tackles), free safety LaRon Landry (15 tackles, 1 interception) and defensive tackles in Kyle Williams (9 tackles, 1 sack) and Claude Wroten (4 tackles, 2 tackles for losses).
Against the Bulldogs, the Tigers will face a squad who have a veteran quarterback in Omarr Conner and one of the SEC’s best running backs in Jerious Norwood. Defensively, the Bulldogs rely on defensive end Willie Evans, who currently leads the SEC with nine tackles for losses and six sacks.
“They are a very much improved football team,” Miles said. “They have a quarterback who can make plays, a tremendous running back in Jerious Norwood and they are solid in special teams.”