LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A pair of young and relatively inexperienced quarterbacks take center stage here Friday when LSU faces Arkansas at War Memorial Stadium in a game that has become the annual Battle for the Boot.
Kickoff for the Tigers and Razorbacks is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. The game, which will be played under overcast skies and temperatures in the 50s, will televised nationally by CBS. LSU brings a 7-4 overall record into the game, while Arkansas is 4-7. The winner of today’s contest gets the coveted “Boot” to display in its trophy case for the next year.
Last year, Arkansas regained control of the Boot for the first time since 2002 after its thrilling 50-48 triple-overtime win over LSU in Baton Rouge.
True freshman Jordan Jefferson will make his first career start today after coming off the bench in last week’s loss to Ole Miss to replace an injured Jarrett Lee. In Lee’s absence, Jefferson connected on 9 of 20 passes for 129 yards and one TD. Nathan Dick, a redshirt freshman, threw for over 300 yards last week in his starting debut.
Jefferson will become the first true freshman to start at quarterback for the Tigers since the 1995 season and he’ll also become the third different player to start at that position for LSU this year, which ties for the most in college football in 2008. Furthermore, Jefferson will become the fifth player to start at quarterback for LSU since December of last year, joining a list that includes Matt Flynn, Ryan Perrilloux, Andrew Hatch and Jarrett Lee.
“I like Jordan Jefferson,” LSU coach Les Miles said. “He had a nice week of preparation, and he keeps getting better and better.
“It’s interesting; he’s no longer the second-team quarterback. He’s just really stepped up his attention to detail this week. He throws a better ball and he’s had a good week of preparation.”
While the outcome of today’s contest could hinge on which quarterback can either make the most plays, or make the fewest mistakes, the Arkansas contest is a game that will clearly test LSU’s secondary as the Razorbacks are expected to be without the Southeastern Conference’s No. 2 rated rusher in Michael Smith.
As a result, the Razorbacks will turn to the air, something that they did a week ago against Mississippi State with outstanding results. In what was their best passing game of the year last week against the Bulldogs, the Razorbacks completed 25 of 43 passes for 333 yards, three touchdowns and just one interception.
That performance a week ago will keep Nathan Dick in the lineup, ahead of his older brother Casey, who started the first 10 games of the year for Arkansas.
LSU’s defense goes into today’s game rated No. 10 in the SEC in total defense, allowing 320 yards per game, including 215.5 yards through the air and 104.5 on the ground. One area that the Tigers should be able to expose is that of the Arkansas offensive line as the Razorbacks have allowed a league-worst 39 sacks this year, an average of 3.55 per game. The Tiger defense has registered 21 sacks in 11 games with defensive end Rahim Alem leading the way with seven.
When the Tigers have the ball, LSU will look for balance, but they are also expected to take advantage of the dimension that Jefferson brings to the game and that’s his ability to run. A week ago, Jefferson led the Tigers in rushing accumulating 51 yards; however three sacks resulted in a net of 23 yards on the ground for the rookie.
The Tigers will also look to get its stable of running backs, including the SEC’s No. 4 rated rusher in Charles Scott, involved in the offense. Scott has rushed for 1,081 yards and 14 TDs for the Tigers this year.
When the Tigers aren’t running the ball, Jefferson has four sure-handed receivers to go to in Brandon LaFell, Demetrius Byrd, Terrance Toliver and Richard Dickson. LaFell ranks first in the SEC in catches per game (5.4) and he’s second in yards per game with 77.6 a contest. Dickson is one of the most productive tight ends in the SEC this year with 25 receptions, while Toliver had perhaps his breakout game last week in leading the Tigers with five catches for 35 yards and a score against Ole Miss.
The Tigers offense will face an Arkansas defense that is last in the SEC in both yards allowed (381.6) and points allowed (31.3). However, the Razorbacks defense has stiffened over the last half of the season, holding opponents to 23 or fewer points in four of their last six games.
“I like what I’ve seen this week on the practice field,” Miles said. “It was a short practice week for us, but we got a lot done.
“I think we’re all kind of looking forward to getting back on track. I suspect that everybody wants to pull their weight and make a difference. I think it’s important. It’s a short week so we get to turnaround and play quickly with the game being on Friday. We need to play well against a quality opponent.”