BATON ROUGE – LSU will play an unexpected game in Tiger Stadium on Saturday as South Carolina was forced to relocate the contest to Baton Rouge after catastrophic flooding caused devastating destruction to Columbia and surrounding communities over the past week.
LSU and South Carolina kickoff at 2:30 p.m. CT. Tickets for the contest remain on sale at www.LSUtix.net or at the LSU athletic ticket office starting at 8 a.m. tomorrow.
Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets online before arriving on campus on Saturday. However, if fans choose to wait to purchase tickets on Saturday morning, LSU has added two mobile ticket booths which are setup on the north side of the LSU Athletic Administration Building to expedite the purchasing process for fans.
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ESPN will televise the game that was originally slated for an 11 a.m. CT kickoff in Columbia, S.C. Mark Jones (play-by-play), Rod Gilmore (analyst) and Quint Kessenich (sideline reporter) will call the action for ESPN.
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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.
LSU, ranked No. 5 in the nation in the Amway Coaches Poll and No. 7 in the Associated Press poll, is 4-0 overall and 2-0 in Southeastern Conference play. The Tigers are coming off a 44-22 win over Eastern Michigan last week.
South Carolina has dropped three of its last four games after opening the season with a 17-13 win over North Carolina. The Gamecocks are 2-3 overall and fell to 0-3 in league play following last week’s 24-10 loss to Missouri.
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GameDay Info #7 LSU (4-0, 2-0 SEC) Note: As the “visiting team,” certain traditions and aspects of a typical LSU Football GameDay will not be utilized this Saturday. South Carolina is designated as the home team and will have it’s alma mater and intro video played in Tiger Stadium. The Gamecocks requested to wear white earlier this season and will do so. The Tigers will occupy the home lockeroom and sideline at Tiger Stadium, as usual. Fans are allowed to bring one 1-liter bottle of water into Tiger Stadium. Saturday, Oct. 10 GameDay Forecast Times of Interest 8 a.m. 1:20 p.m. Halftime: SEC Network Replay |
With the change in location from Columbia to Baton Rouge, LSU will play all four of its games at home during the month of October, a first during the modern era of football at the school. LSU hosts Florida next week, followed by Western Kentucky on Oct. 24 before enjoying an open date on Oct. 31.
Saturday’s game will mark the first meeting between the Tigers and Gamecocks since 2012 when LSU posted a 23-21 win in Tiger Stadium. LSU is 17-2-1 all-time against South Carolina, which includes an 11-1 advantage in Baton Rouge.
This week’s game marks the second time this year that LSU has had a game altered by weather. The Tigers season opener against McNeese in Tiger Stadium was canceled just five minutes into the first quarter after persistent lightning in the Baton Rouge area continued for three hours.
This is also the second time that LSU has been involved in a change in venue game as the Tigers were forced to move the Arizona State game in 2005 from Baton Rouge to Tempe, Ariz., due to Hurricane Katrina.
“They have certainly gone through an ordeal,” LSU coach Les Miles said. “If any fan base or state understands what it’s like to go through something like what South Carolina has had to deal with it’s LSU and Louisiana because of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the state of South Carolina and the community of Columbia for no more destruction or deaths and for safe and speedy recovery. I know that our fans will welcome South Carolina fans to our state and city and show them a good time.”
South Carolina will be officially listed as the “home” team for tomorrow’s game, however Miles said he’s counting on LSU fans to fill Tiger Stadium and make as much noise as possible
“I have a want for our fans to fill that stadium and be loud even though this is supposed to be a road game and we aren’t playing at night,” Miles said. “It’s still Tiger Stadium. Technically it’s not our home game; we are hosting another team. But, it’s still the LSU Tigers playing in Tiger Stadium so I’m hoping our fan base will be here to support us.”
LSU goes into the contest riding the strength of its running game, which leads the SEC and ranks fourth nationally. Sophomore sensation Leonard Fournette became the first running back in SEC history to rush for 200 yards in three straight games after topping the mark last week with 233 yards against Eastern Michigan.
Fournette leads the nation in rushing yards (864) and rushing yards per game (216.0) and he’s scored 11 touchdowns, which is the second-highest total in the country.
Fournette, however isn’t the only offensive weapon for LSU as sophomore quarterback Brandon Harris has rushed for 135 yards and three scores and he’s completed 54.1 percent of his passes (33-of-61) for 382 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Harris’ top target is junior Travin Dural with 10 catches for 120 yards and sophomore Malachi Dupre with eight receptions for 122 yards and a score.
Defensively, LSU has yet to allow a point in the first quarter this year as the Tigers have outscored the opposition 49-0 in the first quarter of the first four games of the season. The Tiger defense is allowing 21.5 points and 293.5 total yards (106.0 rushing, 187.5 passing) per game.
Linebackers Deion Jones (29 tackles, 2 interceptions) and Kendell Beckwith (28 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss) lead the Tiger defense. Other defensive standouts for LSU include defensive tackle Davon Godchaux (18 tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks), safety Jamal Adams (23 tackles, 2 interceptions) and safety Ricky Jefferson (23 tackles, 1.0 sacks).
LSU kicker Trent Domingue is a perfect 6-for-6 on field goals this year, while Tre’Davious White is among the most dangerous punt returners in the SEC with a 17.0 average on six returns. White returned a punt 69 yards for a touchdown in the win over Syracuse.
Against South Carolina, the Tigers will face a team that is expected to start a different quarterback for the third time this year in Perry Orth. Orth, who started in week 3 against Georgia, has thrown for 283 yards and a TD. He’s expected to replace Lorenzo Nunez, who was injured in last week’s game against Missouri.
The Gamecocks feature one of the top receivers in the SEC in Pharoh Cooper (26 rec., 322 yards, 2 TDs) along with an outstanding tight end Jerell Adams (12 rec., 164 yards, 1 TD).
Defensively, the Gamecocks have been stingy, allowing 25.8 points and 388.8 total yards per game (170.0 rushing, 218.8 passing).
“This will be a typical hard-fought SEC game,” Miles said. “South Carolina is a very talented and obviously a very well-coached football team. Our focus has been on getting better each time we step on the field. We have to earn our way, we know that nothing is going to be given to us.
“We have to cut down on our mistakes, which is something we spent a lot of time working on this week. We had a great week throwing the football and overall, it’s been a really good week of practice.”
LSU will wear this uniform combination today for the first time in the modern era. Kickoff is at 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN. Preview: http://lsul.su/1jfoYtn
Posted by LSU Football on Saturday, October 10, 2015