FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. – The LSU football team looks to get back on the winning side of things Saturday night on what is expected to be a cold night at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium as the Tigers and Razorbacks meet in the annual “Battle for the Boot.”
The temperature is expected to be close to freezing by the 7 p.m. kickoff, making it one of the coldest kickoff temperatures in the time period temperatures were notes on game stats. The temperature was 31 degrees when LSU and Arkansas kicked off in their first conference meeting in 1992. On the positive side, after a forecast that started earlier in the week with an 80 percent chance of wintry mix, the Friday forecast now has the percentage of precipitation at zero.
LSU is 7-3 overall, 3-3 in the SEC West and ranked No. 16 in the College Football Playoff top 25. Arkansas is 4-5 and 0-5 in the league and needing two wins in its final three games to become bowl eligible.
The Tigers are playing its final two games on the road in the regular season, traveling to Arkansas Saturday, followed by an off week before the Thanksgiving night clash at Texas A&M.
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The game will be televised by ESPN2 with Joe Tessitore, Brock Huard and Shannon Spake on the call. Jim Hawthorne, Doug Moreau and Gordy Rush will be on the broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network and in the Geaux Zone at LSUsports.net.
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LSU GameDay Info LSU (7-3, 3-3 SEC) at Arkansas (4-5, 0-5 SEC) LSU’s Ticket Will Call opens at 5:30 p.m. ET at Gate 12 of Reynolds Razorback Stadium. As the visiting team, LSU will wear white jerseys and will occupy the east sideline. TV: ESPN2 | WatchESPN Forecast: Partly Cloudy Driving Directions (Baton Rouge to Fayetteville, Ark. — 531 mi.; 8h, 53m) Full-Game Replays on SEC Network: |
LSU comes in off last week’s 20-13 overtime loss in Tiger Stadium to Alabama, while Arkansas was open last week after losing a 17-10 decision to No. 1 Mississippi State in their last outing on Nov. 1.
Despite the overtime decision, LSU has won three of their last four games and goes into Fayetteville playing their best football of the year over the last month. LSU’s defense has given up just two tournaments in regulations in its last three games. The Tiger defense is allowing just 16.3 points (3rd in the SEC) and 317.8 total yards (3rd in the SEC).
LSU’s pass defense leads the league, allowing just 163.5 yards a contest. In 10 games, the Tigers remain the only team in the SEC holding opposing quarterbacks to less than 50 percent completion percentage as LSU has held opponents to 148-of-305 passing.
“I will look forward to, as we prepare and get ready for Arkansas, a quality opponent, both sides of the ball. Coach Bret Bielema has done a very good job,” said LSU Coach Les Miles. “They have their program going in the right direction … Everybody that they play they play extremely close and very competitive … They’re fourth in the conference in rushing at 248 yards per game. The quarterback, Brandon Allen does a really good job running their offense; he’s completing at about 47% and five touchdowns, five interceptions and just doing a really good job.
“Defensively they’re allowing 24 points and 364 yards per game, a lot of playmakers on that side of the ball, a lot of very, very mobile down linemen and linebackers. They’re allowing 136 yards per game to the offenses that they play. It’s going to be a great opportunity. The best thing about a time frame like this is our football team will certainly want to reconcile this game (last Saturday) … and then they will want to turn their attention to what would be the next opponent, and that next opponent is very talented, very capable, and we’ll very much look forward to preparing for them and it will be a great challenge.”
LSU is 25-1 following a loss under Coach Miles. The tigers have lost back-to-back games only one time under Miles, that coming in 2008 when the Tigers fell to Ole Miss and Arkansas in consecutive weeks. This is the first time since 2000 that LSU will close out its regular season with back-to-back road games. A win against Arkansas would mark LSU’s 15th straight season with at least eight wins. It’s the longest active streak in college football and the longest streak in school history.
This will be the 19th year the teams will battle for “The Boot,” a 24-karat gold trophy in the shape of the states of Arkansas and Louisiana that resembles a boot. LSU has won the trophy 12 times, including the last three years.