BATON ROUGE — A week after having little trouble in beating Louisiana-Lafayette and a week before facing fourth-ranked Auburn in the conference opener, eighth-ranked LSU will have an early season test when they take on Arizona in Tiger Stadium.
Kickoff for the SEC-Pac-10 showdown between the Tigers and the Wildcats is set for 5:32 p.m. The game will be televised to a national audience on ESPN2. As of late Friday, only a couple hundred tickets remained for the game.
It’s the fourth straight year in which a Pac-10 occupies a spot on the LSU schedule and if the last two years are any indicator as to how this game could go, then is should be a good one . A year ago, LSU scored 28 fourth quarter points to come-from-behind to beat Arizona State in Tempe. A year earlier, the Tigers had to go to overtime for a 22-21 victory over Oregon State in Death Valley.
Buy the GameDay program online now!
The last time LSU and Arizona squared off, the Tigers rolled to a 59-13 win over the Wildcats on their way to claiming the 2003 BCS National Title. Saturday’s game will mark Arizona’s second trip to Tiger Stadium, the first since a 27-26 setback to LSU in 1984.
LSU vs. Arizona
Weather (Forecast)
GameTime Conditions: Isolated Thunderstorms
GameTime Temp: 85?
High: 89?
Low: 69?
Chance of Rain: 30%
Humidity: 53%
Wind: ESE @ 6 mph
Sunset: 7:18 p.m. CT
Event Schedule for Saturday, Sept. 9
Time Event
1 p.m. – Tiger One Village opens
1:30 p.m. – Live music in Tiger One Village: Mike Zito
3 p.m. – All Gates to Tiger Stadium open
3:20 p.m. – LSU team walks down hill to locker room
3:30 p.m. – “LSU GameDay” presented by CST begins
3:45 p.m. – Mike the Tiger loaded and brought to Gate 11
4 p.m. – LSU band marches down hill to Tiger Stadium
5:32 p.m. – Kickoff: LSU vs. Arizona (ESPN2)
Pregame:
1986 SEC Championship football team recognized
LSU football letterwinners recognized
Halftime:
LSU Golden Band from Tigerland performs
LSU track and field team recognized
Guest Captains:
Sammy Martin
Shawn Burks
Mickey Guidry
Both teams go into Saturday’s contest with 1-0 marks, however, LSU had a little easier time picking up its season-opening win as the Tigers rolled to a 45-3 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette. On the other hand, Arizona had to kick a last-second field goal to beat BYU, 16-13, a week ago. Still, LSU coach Les Miles expects for his team to a have a battle on its hands come Saturday night.
“Arizona has a very talented team and we expect that they will be geared up to play their best,” Miles said of the Wildcats. “We recruited a number of guys that are on their roster, including (defensive end) Louis Holmes, who is a very talented player on their defensive front.
“Offensively, they are led by their quarterback, Willie Tuitama, and some really good skill players. Willie (Tuitama) is very capable of making all of the throws. He can function their offense and does a really good job of executing their game plan.”
Miles is also quick to point out the big-play ability of wide receiver Syndric Steptoe, who caught six passes for 93 yards, including a 48-yard reception, against BYU.
Defensively, the Wildcats are led by a host of outstanding defensive backs, in particular safety Michael Johnson and cornerback Wilrey Fontenot. A week ago, Johnson registered nine tackles and recovered a fumble in their win over BYU, while Fontenot added seven tackles and a sack for a 7-yard loss.
“Coach (Mike) Stoops has always been a tremendous defensive coach,” Miles said of Arizona. “He’s got that team playing extremely well. They have a great scheme and can bring pressure from anywhere they need to give an offense fits. They change pretty regularly in their game plan so you’re really not going to know exactly what you are going to get until Saturday.”
The Tigers will counter the attacking Wildcat defense with quarterback JaMarcus Russell, who has a 15-2 mark as LSU’s starter. Russell is coming off a 253-yard, 3-TD performance a week ago as he paced an LSU offense that racked up 469 yards of offense against Louisiana-Lafayette.
Seniors Dwayne Bowe and Buster Davis were the favorite targets of LSU quarterbacks a week ago as they duo combined for eight catches for 170 yards and a touchdown.
When the Tigers aren’t throwing the ball, they’ll turn to a host of running backs in the ground game led by senior Justin Vincent and juniors Jacob Hester and Alley Broussard. Last week, Broussard led the Tigers with 46 yards on eight carries in his first action since the Capital One Bowl in January of 2005.
When Arizona has the ball, the Wildcats will face a Tiger defense that hasn’t allowed a touchdown in 10 quarters, a streak that dates back to the second half of the SEC Championship game against Georgia last year.
A week ago, the Tigers held Louisiana-Lafayette to only eight first downs and just 176 yards of total offense.