BATON ROUGE – After a grueling five-week stretch of Southeastern Conference games, 13th-ranked LSU steps outside of league play for the final time in the regular season on Saturday, hosting Furman for Homecoming in Tiger Stadium.
Kickoff between the Tigers and the Paladins is set for 6 p.m. The game will be televised on LSU’s pay-per-view network TigerVision with Doug Greengard, Rene Nadeau and LSU Hall of Famer Kevin Mawae on the call.
The game can also be heard on the LSU Sports Radio Network and in the Geaux Zone on LSUsports.net with Jim Hawthorne, Gordy Rush and Bill Franques on the call.
LSU enters the game riding the nation’s longest non-conference regular season winning streak of 44 consecutive wins dating back to the 2002 season. LSU’s last non-conference regular season loss came at Virginia Tech to open the 2002 season. LSU hasn’t lost a non-conference home game since a 13-10 setback to UAB in the week 4 of the 2000 season.
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LSU brings a 6-2 overall mark into the contest, while Furman is 3-4 overall. The Tigers are coming off a 27-24 road loss to Ole Miss, while Furman beat Appalachian State, 27-10, for its biggest win of the season. Saturday’s game will be the first between the Tigers and the Paladins, who are members of the Southern Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision.
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“We’ve had a really good week of practice and we are looking forward to being in Tiger Stadium on Saturday,” LSU coach Les Miles said. “Furman is a good football team and it’s a game that we are going to have to play well in order to have success.
“I can only tell you that we will be ready for Furman. They have a toughness and athleticism that you better prepare for. They beat Appalachian State last week. Appalachian State, several years ago with their big win against Michigan, I promise you I don’t undersell those things.”
The Tigers will attempt to get back on track on both sides of the ball this week after struggling at times last week against Ole Miss when LSU accounted for 388 total yards and turned the ball over a season-high three times. LSU fell behind 17-0 against the Rebels before rallying to tie the game at 24-24 late in the fourth quarter.
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GameDay Info #13 LSU vs. Furman GameDay Forecast Times of Interest 8 a.m.
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LSU still ranks among the best in the SEC in scoring with 39.2 points per game and they are racking up 456 total yards a contest (184.1 rushing, 271.9 passing).
Defensively, LSU allowed a season-high 525 total yards to Ole Miss, including 349 yards through the air, also the most allowed by the Tigers this year. The Tigers are allowing 22.6 points and 370.9 total yards (155.5 rushing, 215.4 passing) per game.
Offensively, LSU will continue to rely on the passing arm of quarterback Zach Mettenberger, who is just 336 yards shy of becoming the first player in school history to throw for 2,500 yards or more in back-to-back seasons. Mettenberger is second in the SEC in pass efficiency (189.1 rating), passing yards (16) and passing yards (2,164). For the year, Mettenberger has connected on 135-of-207 passes with just five interceptions.
His top receivers in juniors Jarvis Landry (53 rec., 795 yards, 8 TDs) and Odell Beckham Jr. (42 rec., 805 yards, 6 TDs), who have combined for more receptions (95) and yards (1,600) than any other wide receiver tandem in college football this year.
Running back Jeremy Hill has rushed for 100 or more yards four times this year and he’s second in the league rushing with 779 yards and a league-best 10 touchdowns. Hill is averaging 6.8 yards per carry and 111.3 yards per game.
On the defensive side of the ball, linebacker Lamin Barrow leads the Tigers in tackles with 57, while defensive tackle Anthony Johnson is first on the team in tackles for loss (5.5) and cornerback Jalen Mills is tops in sacks (3.0).
The Furman contest will be the ninth straight contest for the Tigers as LSU is the only remaining team in a BCS conference that has not enjoyed an open date this year. The nine straight weeks of competition is the longest stretch for an LSU team since the 2005 team went 11 consecutive weeks with a game.
After Furman, the Tigers will practice three days next week leading up to their first open date of the season next Saturday. LSU returns to action on Nov. 9 when they travel to face top-ranked Alabama in Tuscaloosa.