BATON ROUGE — A good week of practice is just what LSU needed as the 13th-ranked Tigers will look to put the Florida game behind them on Saturday as they return to action against South Carolina in Columbia.
Kickoff for the LSU-South Carolina contest is slated for 7:06 p.m. CT from a sold out Williams-Brice Stadium. The game will be televised to a national audience by ESPN.
LSU goes into the contest with a 4-1 overall mark and a 2-1 league record after last week’s 51-21 loss to Florida. South Carolina has won four straight and stands at 5-2 overall and 2-2 in conference play.
Last year, LSU beat the Gamecocks, 28-16, in a rain-soaked Tiger Stadium. Saturday’s game will be the first for LSU in Columbia since the 2003 season when the Tigers ran past the Gamecocks, 33-7. Ironically, the game came after LSU dropped a disappointing 19-7 decision to Florida in Tiger Stadium.
Miles said he’s been encouraged by the teams’ effort in practice this week and the improvement that they have made going into the South Carolina game.
“I’ve enjoyed our effort this week and what we’ve been able to accomplish on the practice field,” LSU coach Les Miles said. “We are in pretty good shape health wise. This team is looking forward to getting back on track.
“I think the preparation has been good, and I think (the players) will have a little bit of an edge when they go to South Carolina. I think they want to play better than they’ve played.”
Saturday’s game will feature a pair of redshirt freshmen quarterbacks who will be starting for their respective teams in LSU’s Jarrett Lee and South Carolina’s Stephen Garcia. Last week, Garcia came off the bench to rally South Carolina to a 24-17 win over Kentucky.
“I think he (Garcia) is a gamer,” Miles said. “He makes some plays. He gets out of the way and has good feet.”
Lee has emerged as LSU’s starting quarterback; however sophomore Andrew Hatch is expected to see action as well for the Tigers against the Gamecocks. In five games, Lee has connected on 68 of 115 passes for 852 yards and eight touchdowns. Hatch has added 250 passing yards and 115 rushing yards. He’s also accounted for three touchdowns ? two rushing and one passing.
Lee and the rest of the Tiger offense will be facing a South Carolina defense that currently leads the SEC in both total yards and pass defense. The Gamecocks rank among the top three in the nation in both of those categories as well.
“They are big, strong, mobile guys,” Miles said of the South Carolina defense. “They have really capable safeties, guys that can play. They’re a good defense.”
The Tigers practiced one final time on Thursday afternoon before conducting a walk-thru on Friday morning. The team will depart for Columbia at 12:30 p.m. on Friday.