BATON ROUGE — LSU’s defense will face another stiff test on Saturday when Auburn’s high-powered offense comes to Tiger Stadium for a 6:30 p.m. matchup against the ninth-ranked LSU Tigers.
The game between LSU and Auburn will be televised nationally by ESPN2. LSU, which had an open date last week, is 5-1 overall and 3-1 in conference play. The Tigers dropped a 13-3 decision to top-ranked Florida in their last outing. Auburn, losers of two straight, is 5-2 overall and 2-2 in league play.
Saturday’s matchup between the Tigers will feature an LSU defense that ranks among the best in the Southeastern Conference going against an Auburn offense that ranks second to only Florida in the league in terms of scoring, total offense and rushing offense.
It’s the second straight game that LSU will go against one of the top offenses in the SEC. In its last outing two week ago, LSU limited Florida to just 13 points and 327 yards of total offense.
“I’m excited to see how my team matches up against Auburn,” LSU coach Les Miles said following Wednesday’s workout. “Part of that will be our defense versus a very talented offense.
“Auburn has a very good rushing attack and our defense has been keying into that. I think our guys enjoy physical football, and that certainly seems to be the style Auburn brings. It will be a nice matchup.”
LSU goes into the Auburn game allowing 14.5 points and 322.5 yards per game, while Auburn is averaging 464.9 total yards and 34.9 points per game. Since giving up 478 yards and 23 points in the season-opener against Washington, the LSU defense has clamped down, allowing just 291.4 yards and 12.8 points over its last five games.
Thanks to last week’s open date, LSU has had an extra three days of preparation for Auburn. Miles said his team has improved since its last game.
“The practice week has gone well,” Miles said. “I felt like we got a lot accomplished Monday and Tuesday, and today was more of a polish day. The team has improved; we’ll see how much by the time we get to Saturday.
“Hopefully the production will be noticeable. We think we’ve improved our knowledge of the game in key spots. I think you’ll see some personnel differences, but not many.”
LSU will practice again on Thursday followed by a walk-thru on Friday afternoon.