BATON ROUGE – LSU will look to keep the nation’s longest non-conference regular season winning streak intact on Saturday when the eighth-ranked Tigers host Eastern Michigan of the Mid-America Conference in Tiger Stadium.
It’s the first meeting between LSU and Eastern Michigan in football. Kickoff between the Tigers and Eagles is set for 6 p.m. on ESPNU with Allen Bestick (play-by-play) and former Boise State and Colorado coach Dan Hawkins (analyst) on the call.
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The game will also be broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network with Hall of Famer Jim Hawthorne calling the action in what is his 33rd and final season as the Voice of the Tigers. Hawthorne is joined in the booth by former LSU great Doug Moreau along with former LSU letterwinner and special teams sensation Gordy Rush reporting from the sidelines.
The Tigers are 3-0 overall and up to No. 8 in the nation in the Amway Coaches Poll and No. 9 in the Associated Press Top 25 following last week’s 34-24 win over Syracuse in the Carrier Dome.
LSU sophomore Leonard Fournette continued to be the talk of college football this week as he rushed for a career-high 244 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the win over the Orange last Saturday. Fournette has rushed for 631 yards and eight touchdowns in three games and his 210.3 rushing yards per game leads the nation. He’s the only player in LSU history to have back-to-back 200-yard rushing games and he’s got the most rushing yards and rushing TDs for any player in school annals.
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Eastern Michigan, which ranks last in the FBS in rushing defense allowing 373.2 yards per game, is 1-3 overall following last week’s 58-36 loss to Army. The Eagles beat Wyoming, 48-29, in week 2 for their only win of the season. Their other losses have come to Ball State (28-17) and Old Dominion (38-34).
Despite their 1-3 mark, LSU coach Les Miles and the Tigers are not taking the Eagles lightly.
“The key piece to any game is the opportunity of victory and the opportunity to win,” Miles said when asked by a reporter earlier this week about the chance of emptying his bench against Eastern Michigan. “Everybody kind of takes it for granted except for us and the team. If the team took it for granted, we would have a very difficult time.
“Eastern Michigan has committed a serious amount of financial backing into their athletics. It is a much a different place than when I was around Ann Arbor. If you watch their players, they can play. Their offense is averaging over 400 yards a game. I am just telling you that it is very much, first and foremost, about victory. Those coaches who spend time answering who is coming in after, they get their butts kicked. I would love to play all of my players, but that’s not how I am approaching this game. I approach this game by securing a victory and win. Let’s see what happens after that.”
That approach has worked for the Tigers as LSU is 40-0 in non-conference regular season games under Miles since taking over in 2005.
Those 40 wins by Miles has stretched LSU’s winning streak in non-conference regular season games to an FBS record 50 straight. LSU hasn’t lost a non-conference game during the regular season since September of 2002 when Virginia Tech beat the Tigers, 26-8, in the season opener.
With Fournette and quarterback Brandon Harris leading the way, the Tigers bring a high-powered offense into the Eastern Michigan contest as LSU is averaging 33.3 points and 415.7 total yards (315.0 rushing, 100.7 passing) per game.
Harris is second on the team with 117 yards rushing and a pair of TDs to go along with 302 passing yards and two scores. LSU has yet to commit an offensive turnover through three games as the Tigers represent the only team in the nation without a turnover this year.
Defensively, the Tigers have been dominant in the first half of games, allowing only two field goals in the first half this year. LSU has outscored opponents 35-0 in the first quarter and 45-6 in the first half.
Linebacker Deion Jones leads the Tigers with 25 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and an interception. He’s followed by linebacker Kendell Beckwith (20 tackles), defensive tackle Davon Godchaux (12 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks) and safety Jamal Adams (15 tackles, 1.0 sacks, 1 interception).
One area of focus for LSU this week has been penalties as the Tigers are coming off a 14-penatly, 120-yard outing last week against Syracuse. LSU currently stands last in the SEC with an average of 86.0 penalty yards per game.
“It took some time to go over (the penalties) in the team meeting because I went over every one of them,” Miles said. “I think our team recognizes the opportunity to do the things we want to do and need to get better at. We talked technique and loud environments. We are going to run into loud environments. The guys took the credit for penalties and did it in front of their team. We talked about it. I think they have great awareness and recognize it now.”
Against Eastern Michigan, the Tigers will face an Eagles squad that is averaging 33.8 points per game and 435.5 total yards a contest. The Eagles rely on running back Darius Jackson, who is averaging 101.8 yards per game. Jackson is coming off a 141-yard, 2-TD effort last week against Army.
When the Eagles go to the air, quarterback Brogan Roback has been effective, completing 61 percent of his passes (73-of-119) for 877 yards and five touchdowns. Roback has thrown four interceptions during the first four weeks of the season.
“We have great respect for Eastern Michigan and coach Creighton,” Miles said. “He’s doing a great job building a program there. We expect them to come in here and compete hard for four quarters. You watch their film and you see that they have good players who are competing and playing hard from whistle to whistle.
“Our focus this week has been improvement in all areas of the game, cutting down on penalties and playing a complete game. Practice has gone very well this week. I like our mindset and the attitude and competitive nature of this team. We are excited to finally get back in Tiger Stadium for a night game.”