BATON ROUGE — LSU went back to work on Tuesday as the seventh-ranked Tigers began looking ahead to Saturday’s non-conference matchup against North Texas.
Kickoff between the Tigers and the Mean Green is set for 7 p.m. in Tiger Stadium. LSU, winners of four straight, brings a 5-1 overall mark into the contest, while North Texas stands at 2-4 in league play. The LSU-North Texas contest was originally scheduled as the season-opener for both teams. However, due to Hurricane Katrina, the game was postponed until this weekend.
Tuesday had the Tigers back on the practice field in full pads, going for just over two hours at the Charles McClendon Practice Facility.
“I thought practice went well,” Miles said. “The temperature was cool and everybody had a little pep in their step and enjoyed it. Preparation has come along fine for North Texas. We have to focus and be sharper tomorrow.”
Miles used Tuesday’s practice to also get a little rest for a few players who have seen a great deal of action in recent weeks.
“I kept a couple of guys out of practice, or bits of practice, today to freshen them up a little bit,” Miles said following the workout. “But everyone we expect to play is healthier than they’ve been and we expect them to play Saturday.”
Miles also cited 10 consecutive weeks of games as one of the reasons the likes of running back Joseph Addai and defensive back Jessie Daniels saw limited action during Tuesday’s workout.
“This would have been our open week, and this becomes an extra game in what will be a pretty long run in the back end of the season,” Miles said. “We’re trying, for guys like Joseph Addai and Jessie Daniels who we’re going to count on in this stretch run, to lighten it up a little bit and make sure they’re fresh when they get to Saturday.”