BATON ROUGE – LSU looks to solidify its top five ranking on Saturday as the fifth-ranked Tigers, who are coming off one of the biggest victories in the Les Miles era last week against Alabama, host Louisiana-Monroe for Homecoming this weekend.
Kickoff for the Tigers and the Warhawks is scheduled for 6 p.m. in Tiger Stadium. The game will be televised on TigerVision, LSU’s pay-per-view network.
LSU brings an 8-1 overall mark into the ULM game following last week’s 24-21 victory over then- No. 5 Alabama. The Warhawks are 4-5 overall after dropping an overtime decision to Florida International last week. It’s only the second meeting between the teams in football. LSU won the first game between the teams, 49-7, in 2003.
LSU is ranked No. 5 in the BCS standings this week and No. 6 in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll. LSU is the highest-ranked one-loss team in the BCS.
While it would be easy to relax this week in practice after such an emotional game last week against the Crimson Tide, that hasn’t been the case as the Tigers are using Saturday’s game as another opportunity to make progress as a team.
“We’ve had a good week of practice so far,” Miles said following Wednesday’s workout. “The energy has been really good at practice. This team understands that ULM is a very talented squad, one that will come into Tiger Stadium and play their best.
“The key for us is to continue to improve and understand that it’s one game at a time starting with ULM on Saturday.”
The LSU game will be the third contest for ULM against a team from the Southeastern Conference this year. The Warhawks have lost to Arkansas and Auburn already this season.
Miles said the Tigers will likely be without the services of safety Brandon Taylor, who missed most of the Alabama game with a foot injury. Miles said that senior Jai Eugene along with freshmen Eric Reid and Craig Loston will replace Taylor in the secondary.
The Tigers are also short-handed on the line as sophomore tackle Alex Hurst‘s status for the game is uncertain at this point. Hurst was injured in the first half against Alabama, forcing junior Greg Shaw into action.
Miles and the Tigers did get some good news recently as junior guard Will Blackwell has returned to practice and could be ready to play as early as next week. Blackwell suffered a broken ankle on the first offensive play of the year for LSU against North Carolina and has been out of action since.
“Will is taking snaps at practice, it’s amazing,” Miles said. “He has really worked hard at rehabilitation and his body has healed extremely well. I am not ready to say he can take snaps in the game but he may be soon.”
LSU will practice again on Thursday followed by a walk-through on Friday afternoon.