BATON ROUGE — With six wins to its credit, LSU is already bowl eligible for a school-record ninth consecutive year. Now, with three games remaining on its schedule, it’s up to LSU to finish strong in hopes of securing as good a bowl bid as possible.
First up for the 19th-ranked Tigers is Troy on Saturday night at 7 o’clock in Tiger Stadium in a contest that was postponed earlier this year due to Hurricane Gustav. Saturday’s contest against the Trojans will serve as Homecoming for LSU.
The Troy game will serve as the final night contest in Tiger Stadium this season. Next week’s home finale will carry a 2:30 p.m. start and will be televised by CBS. The Troy game will be televised on LSU’s pay-per-view network, TigerVision.
GameDay Info
LSU vs. Troy
Saturday, Nov. 15
7 p.m. CST
GameTime Temp: 48?
Rain: 0% chance
Humidity: 56%
Wind: NW 10 mph
Forecast
Sunrise: 6:31 a.m.
Sunset: 5:08 p.m.
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m.
Times of Interest
Noon
LSU Ticket Office opens
1 p.m.
Tipoff: LSU vs. Jackson State ? men’s basketball at PMAC
2 p.m.
9 Volt live at Tiger One Village (in front of PMAC)
4 p.m.
Club level and Suites open at Tiger Stadium
4:15 p.m.
LSU Student gates open at Tiger Stadium
4:30 p.m.
All remaining gates open at Tiger Stadium
4:50 p.m.
LSU walks down “Victory Hill”
5 p.m.
LSU Gameday presented by CST on the air | Watch Live Pregame Video
5:25 p.m.
Mike the Tiger comes down the hill
5:30 p.m
LSU band marches down the hill
6:27 p.m.
Mike the Tiger Field Parade
6:38:15 p.m.
Guest Captains Presentation
6:39 p.m.
Homecoming Court Presentation and Recognition
6:42 p.m.
LSU King and Queen Coronation
6:45:30 p.m.
Golden Band from Tigerland takes the field for pregame performance
6:50 p.m.
Alma Mater and National Anthem
6:56 p.m.
LSU takes the field
6:56:45 p.m.
Troy takes the field
7 p.m.
Kickoff: LSU vs. Troy
Pre-Game Presentations
Homecoming Court
LSU King and Queen Coronation
End of First Quarter
Wayne Stabiler recognition
Halftime
Troy Band performs
LSU Golden Band from Tigerland performs
Guest Captains
Marc Boutte
Andy Lofton
Mark Lumpkin
Robert DeLee
LSU goes into the Troy game with a 6-3 overall mark following last week’s gut-wrenching 27-21 overtime loss to top-ranked Alabama. Against Alabama, the Tigers blocked a field goal as time expired in regulation to force the overtime period.
Troy brings an identical 6-3 record into the game on Saturday. The Trojans, who are members of the Sun Belt Conference, are coming off a 17-7 win over Western Kentucky last week. Troy has won four of its last five games and two of its three losses this year have come to Ohio State and Oklahoma State.
“I think they (Troy) are a very capable team,” Miles said of this week’s opponent. “I’ve watched them play defense, and I’ve watched them throw the ball on offense. They have a number of playmakers. We expect this to be a competitive game.”
LSU and Troy have met before with the Tigers coming from behind to win 24-20 back in 2004. That game too served as Homecoming and saw the Tigers, behind a career-best passing effort of 328 yards by Marcus Randall, score with just over two minutes left record the victory.
LSU went on to win nine regular season games that year and advance to the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, Fla.
This year, the Tigers go into the Troy game looking to finish the season on a high note, which means winning its final three games. All three of LSU’s losses this year have come to ranked opponents, including a pair of top 10 teams in No. 1 Alabama and to No. 9 Georgia.
The focus this week at the Charles McClendon Practice Facility has been on the Tigers and their ability to continue to improve. Last week, LSU played perhaps its most complete game of the season. LSU rushed for over 200 yards against an Alabama team that was rated among the best in the nation defending the run; the Tiger defense forced three turnovers against the Crimson Tide; and special teams played a big role in the game against Alabama, blocking a kick that sent the contest in overtime.
“We have pointed that we can get better,” Miles said. “I think our guys responded very well and they understand there are a number of ways we can improve. They came to practice this week with that in mind. We are not about encouraging. We are more about directing to get better. For all the right reasons, we encourage to be a great team, encourage playing four quarters of quality football and encourage improvement.”
Offensively, LSU goes into the Homecoming game as the only team in the SEC to rank among the top four in the league in both rushing and passing. The Tigers, who are averaging 31.2 points per game, are No. 3 in the conference in rushing with 187.8 yards per game and No. 4 in passing with 212.4 yards a contest. Overall, LSU’s offense ranks No. 3 in the league with a 400.2 average.
LSU junior Charles Scott needs just 19 yards to become the 12th 1,000-yard rusher in school history. In nine games this year, Scott has rushed for 889 yards and 13 touchdowns.
The Tigers are also expected to play two quarterbacks on Saturday with starter Jarrett Lee and backup Jordan Jefferson getting snaps. Lee has started six games for the Tigers, throwing for 1,608 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Jefferson, a true freshman, has seen just a handful of snaps this year, but is expected to see action in the first half against Troy.
“He’s (Jefferson) getting better with each day of practice and with each period,” Miles said. “I’d like to have him play a series or two late in the first half or second quarter.”
Defensively, the Tigers are coming off perhaps their best effort of the season last week against Alabama. As a unit, LSU is allowing 303.4 yards per game ? 109.3 rushing and 194.1 passing.
The Tigers will face a Troy team that runs the spread offense and the Trojans are averaging 31.7 points and 431.2 yards per game. Defensively, Troy is allowing 21.7 points and 324 yards per game.
Miles will coach his 50th game at LSU against Troy, becoming just the seventh coach in school history to reach that milestone with the Tigers. With a win over Troy, Miles will join Tennessee’s Phil Fulmer and Mississippi State’s Allyn McKeen as the coaches with the most wins after 50 games in SEC history. Miles currently has a 40-9 overall mark with the Tigers, while Fulmer was 41-9 in his first 50 games with the Vols and McKeen was 41-7-2 with the Bulldogs.
The Tigers will also bring a 17-game winning streak against non-conference opponents into the Troy game with all 17 wins coming under Miles. LSU hasn’t lost a non-conference contest since dropping a 30-25 decision to Iowa in the 2005 Capital One Bowl.
After Saturday, the Tigers will host Ole Miss for Senior Day on Nov. 22 followed by a trip to Little Rock to face Arkansas on Friday, Nov. 28. at 1:30 p.m.