BATON ROUGE — The calendar turned to November this week and with it comes a stretch of four games this month for the Tigers that will define LSU’s season. The Tigers open their four-game stretch on Saturday in another road contest against a top-10 ranked team as LSU travels to face No. 8 Tennessee.
Kickoff for the Tigers and the Vols is set for 2:34 CDT in Knoxville in a sold out Neyland Stadium. The game will be televised to a national audience by CBS.
LSU, winners of two straight and four of its last five, bring a 6-2 overall mark into the contest. The Tigers are 2-2 in league play with both losses coming on the road to Auburn and Florida. Tennessee has climbed to No. 8 in the nation after reeling off five straight wins to run its record to 7-1 overall. The Vols are 3-1 in league play with their only setback coming at the hands of Florida by a 21-20 count.
Weather (Forecast)
GameTime Conditions: Sunny
GameTime Temp: 57?
High: 59?
Low: 37?
Chance of Rain: 0%
Humidity: 30%
Wind: E @ 3 mph
Sunset: 4:37 p.m. CST
Something will have to give on Saturday as the Tigers bring an impressive 11-game winning streak in November into to the contest, a streak that dates back to the 2003 season. On the other hand, the Tigers are 0-2 on the road this year, meaning if the streak is to stay intact the Tigers will have to pick up their first win away from home this weekend.
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“It’s not just another Saturday,” LSU coach Les Miles said. “With a victory against Tennessee, we have a place to stand in this conference. The key is to play ourselves into contention. This game is a very important game for us. More importantly, it is an opportunity to play well on the road. This game is awfully important for this team. We need to establish who we are in the (SEC) West, and again play ourselves into contention.”
“We’ve made a great deal of improvement since our last game,” Miles said. “We used last week’s open date to correct some things and we’ve done a good job of preparing this week. Our guys are ready to get back out and play another game.”
If the Tigers are to pick up their first road win of the season on Saturday, they will have to do it by putting four quarters of consistent play together. In two road games this year, the Tigers have only been able to muster a total of 13 points. On the other hand, LSU is 6-0 at home as they are averaging 45.7 points in those games.
“It’s going to take four quarters of focus and poise,” Miles said. “We understand that there are going to be momentum swings in any game. We have to stay focused and keep our poise. We have a veteran team so these guys know what it takes to win on the road.”
Offensively, the Tigers will again look to the play of quarterback JaMarcus Russell, who owns a career record of 20-4 as LSU’s starting quarterback. Russell goes into the contest ranked first in the conference and No. 4 in the nation in pass efficiency. He’s also thrown 17 touchdown passes and is approaching the 2,000-yard mark for passing yards this year.
Russell’s top targets ? seniors Craig Davis and Dwayne Bowe along with junior Early Doucet ? form one of the nation’s top receiving trios. They have combined for 107 catches for 1,618 yards and 13 touchdowns. Bowe goes into the contest with 21 career TDs, which ties Michael Clayton for the school record.
The Tigers will look to get their running game untracked on the road for the first time this year. Alley Broussard is coming off a good week of practice for the Tigers as he continues to look to regain his form from two years ago. Broussard has rushed for 202 yards and four touchdowns this year, including a 38-yard score in his last outing against Fresno State.
Broussard will be joined in the backfield by junior Jacob Hester, who has rushed for 239 yards and a team-best six touchdowns this year. Hester also has caught 24 passes for 171 yards and two scores. His eight total touchdowns rank second in the SEC this year.
Defensively, the Tigers go into the contest ranked No. 1 in the nation in total defense (211 yards per game) and No. 2 in the nation in scoring defense (8.3 points per game). LSU’s defense hasn’t allowed a touchdown in nine straight quarters.
The LSU defense goes into the game not knowing if they will face Tennessee’s Erik Ainge at quarterback or his backup, Jonathan Crompton. Ainge suffered an ankle injury last week against South Carolina and has been limited in practice this week.
“We’re preparing for their best,” Miles said. “We have looked at the few snaps that their other quarterback has played and we figure that their package is ready to go. I can imagine that once the adrenaline gets flowing, they’ll have Erik ready to play.”