HOUSTON – A pair of teams with contrasting offensive styles will face one another in the 10th-annual AdvoCare Texas Bowl here at NRG Stadium on Tuesday night when 20th-ranked LSU and its powerful running attack goes against Texas Tech and the nation’s top-rated passing offense.
Kickoff between the Tigers and Red Raiders is set for 8 p.m. on ESPN with Joe Tessitore (play-by-play), Jesse Palmer (analyst), David Pollack (analyst) and Maria Taylor (sideline reporter) calling the action.
The game can also be heard on the LSU Sports Radio Network (98.1 FM in Baton Rouge) and in the Geaux Zone on LSUsports.net where legendary Voice of the Tigers Jim Hawthorne will call his final LSU football game. Hawthorne will be joined on the broadcast by former Tiger great Doug Moreau (analyst) and former LSU special teams sensation Gordy Rush (sideline reporter).
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LSU, which is making its school-record 16th consecutive bowl appearance, brings an 8-3 overall mark into the contest. The Tigers beat Texas A&M, 19-7, to cap the regular season on Nov. 28. Texas Tech, winners of its last two games, is 7-5 overall.
Tuesday’s game will be just the third between LSU and Texas Tech, and the first since a 19-14 win by the Tigers in 1957 in Tiger Stadium. LSU won the first meeting between the teams, 20-13, in Lubbock, Texas, in 1954.
While this will be the first time the Tigers and Red Raiders have meet in football in nearly 60 years, they do have one common opponent this season – Arkansas. Texas Tech beat the Razorbacks in mid-September, 35-24, while the Tigers lost to Arkansas, 31-14 in mid-November in Tiger Stadium.
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GameDay Info #20 LSU (8-3, 5-3 SEC) vs. Texas Tech (7-5, 4-5 Big 12) Tuesday, Dec. 29 Kickoff: 8:10 p.m. CST (possible 5-minute slide) NOTE: NFL Bag Policy will NOT be in effect for the Texas Bowl. Listen Online (6 p.m. CT): Geaux Zone (FREE) | Apps GameDay Forecast Times of Interest Saturday 3 p.m. 8:10 p.m. CT LSU will return to campus on Wednesday, departing approximately 11:30 a.m. CT and arriving on campus approximately 12:30 p.m. Next Game: LSU vs. Wisconsin |
“I’m not big on comparables when you talk about games, particularly one that was in September,” Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury said of the one common opponent between the two teams. “So much happens over a season with injuries and players getting better, players not playing as well at certain times. So we don’t take much away from that.
“We watched the film. We know how talented this (LSU) team is. A couple tough breaks here or there and they’re right in the National Championship picture. That’s not lost upon us. So our hands will be full. We’re going to have to play our best game to hang in there.”
The Tigers and Red Raiders bring two differing offensive strengths into the matchup as LSU led the Southeastern Conference and ranked among the top 10 in the nation in rushing with 245.9 yards per game, while Texas Tech leads the nation in passing offense with 391.3 yards per game.
LSU coach Les Miles said that despite the Tigers ability to run the football, balance on offense will be critical to their success against the Red Raiders.
“The key is to being balanced certainly,” Miles said. “We’ve spent additional time working on the passing game (in bowl practice). It seems to have paid dividends to have a couple extra practices going into game week, and we’re kind of looking forward to seeing how it looks Tuesday night.”
The Tigers bring the nation’s leading rusher in Leonard Fournette into the contest. Fournette is averaging a nation’s best 158.3 yards per game and he broke the LSU single-season rushing record this year with 1,741 yards. He’s also rushed for 18 touchdowns, just one shy of tying the school mark of 19 held by LaBrandon Toefield.
“I think he’s as good a back as I’ve seen in the last ten years,” Kingsbury said. “He could be Sunday ready already, I know he’s got to wait another year, but he’s that type of talent. We’ve had our struggles against the run, so we’ll have to play our best game. We know he’s going to get his yards. There is no doubt about it. He’s done that against everybody. We just have to try to slow him down enough to give ourselves a chance.”
Texas Tech goes into the LSU game ranked among the worst in the nation in rush defense, allowing 271.8 yards per game. Overall, the Red Raiders are giving up 42.6 points and 540.2 total yards per game.
The Tigers will try to take advantage of the Red Raider defense with quarterback Brandon Harris, who is coming off two good weeks of bowl prep. Harris, in his first full season as a starter, has thrown for 1,904 yards and 12 touchdowns. He’s completed 53.1 percent of his passes (135-of-254) with just five interceptions.
“Brandon has had some really good bowl practices leading up to this game,” Miles said. “I think they key for him is just getting more snaps and being comfortable with his decision making. I think you’ll see an improved quarterback against Texas Tech.”
While the LSU offense appears to have an advantage against the Red Raider defense, it’s the LSU defensive unit that will challenged by what may be the most explosive offense in college football. The Red Raiders are averaging 46.6 points and 594.5 total yards per game. They are easily the most dynamic offense LSU has faced all year.
“They are as talented and as explosive an offense that you will find in college football,” Miles said. “They can beat you through the air or on the ground. They have a quarterback who threw for over 4,200 yards and a running back with over 1,400 yards rushing. It’s going to be a challenge for us to try to slow them down.”
Red Raiders quarterback Patrick Mahomes has completed 65 percent of his passes (336-of-517) for 4,283 yards, 32 touchdowns and just 14 interceptions, while running back Deandre Washington has 1,455 yards rushing to go with 14 touchdowns. He’s rushed for 100 yards or more six times this year.
The Tigers will attempt to neutralize the Red Raider offense with a defense that is led by linebackers Deion Jones (92 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks) and Kendell Beckwith (76 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sacks). As a unit, LSU is allowing 24.0 points and 342.5 total yards per game.
“I don’t think one this athletic,” Kingsbury said when asked about how the LSU defense compares to those his team has faced this year. “You look from the front, linebackers are as good as I’ve coached against since I’ve been coaching. They’re on the field in passing situations and run situations. Secondary had some younger guys that they fly around and up front, they’re up field and get after it. So it will be the best defense we’ve seen and the biggest challenge offensively.”
Miles said that it’s important that LSU use this game to set the tone for a positive offseason, one that the Tigers can use to carry momentum into 2016.
“You want to finish with a very positive experience,” Miles said of a bowl victory. “You want to go into the off-season with — each program has goals. It’s a great way to spawn some very significant goals with a victory in a late-in-the-year bowl game.”