GREEN BAY, Wisc. – LSU opens its 12th season under head coach Les Miles on Saturday afternoon when the fifth-ranked Tigers face Wisconsin in what will be the first major college football game ever played at historic Lambeau Field.
Kickoff between the Tigers and Badgers is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on ABC with Steve Levy (play-by-play), Brian Griese (analyst) and Todd McShay (reporter) on the call.
The game will also mark the LSU football debut on the new Voice of the Tigers Chris Blair. Blair will be joined on the LSU Sports Radio Network broadcast by Doug Moreau (analyst) and Gordy Rush (sideline reporter). The game can be heard in the Baton Rouge area on Eagle 98.1 FM or on the internet for free exclusively at www.LSUsports.net/live.
LSU is 3-0 all-time against Wisconsin, which includes a 28-24 win over the Badgers to open the 2014 season in Houston. LSU also won in Madison, 38-28, in 1971 and then followed that with a 27-7 victory in Tiger Stadium the following year.
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Miles enters the 2016 season as the Dean of SEC Coaches and as the second-winningest coach in LSU history with 112 victories and just 32 defeats.
This year, LSU returns 17 starters from last year’s team that posted a 9-3 overall mark, capped with a 56-27 win over Texas Tech in the Texas Bowl. LSU goes in the Wisconsin game with an 11-0 mark in season-openers under Miles and the Tigers have the longest non-conference regular-season winning streak in FBS history at 52 straight wins.
Leading the way for the Tigers is Heisman Trophy candidate and returning All-American Leonard Fournette, who is just 13 yards shy of reach 3,000 for his career. Fournette led the nation in rushing last year with 162.8 yards per game as he shattered the school record for rushing yards in a season with 1,953.
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GameDay Info #5 LSU vs. Wisconsin – GameDay Central: Video, Social & More Saturday, Sept. 3 Listen Free (12:30 p.m. CT): LSUsports.net/live | Apps SEC Network Replays: GameDay Forecast Times of Interest Friday Saturday 11 a.m. CT 2:36 p.m. CT Next Game: LSU vs. Jacksonville St. |
The Tigers also return junior quarterback Brandon Harris along with their top two receivers from last year in junior Malachi Dupre (43 rec., 698 yards, 6 TDs) and senior Travin Dural (28 rec., 533 yards, 3 TDs).
Harris, who is 9-4 as LSU’s starting quarterback, completed 149-of-277 passes for 2,165 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2015.
Defensively, the Tigers have added a new defensive coordinator in Dave Aranda, who held the same position last year at Wisconsin where he helped the Badgers led the nation in scoring defense and rank No. 2 nationally in total defense.
Aranda has installed a new defensive scheme this year as the Tigers will go with a 3-4 base defense, switching from the 4-3 set LSU has used in the past under Miles.
Aranda will put an LSU defense on the field against the Badgers that returns eight starters from a year ago, including preseason All-America safety Jamal Adams. Other standouts that return on defense for the Tigers include linebacker Kendell Beckwith, defensive ends Davon Godchaux and Lewis Neal and cornerback Tre’Davious White.
Wisconsin is led by second-year head coach Paul Chryst, who guided the Badgers to a 10-3 mark in his first season in Madison last season. Chryst, a former Badger quarterback, joined Wisconsin after serving as the head coach at Pittsburgh for three years.
The Badgers will counter LSU’s defense with an offense that features first-time starter at quarterback in senior Bart Houston. Houston played in seven games a year ago and threw for 281 yards and three touchdowns, all in a backup role.
The Badgers return senior running back Corey Clement, who missed all but four games last year with a knee injury. Clement rushed for 221 yards and five touchdowns a year ago before suffering the season-ending injury.
Defensively, Wisconsin is led by All-America candidate linebacker Vince Biegel, who had 66 tackles, 14.0 tackles for loss and 8.0 sacks a year ago.
LSU opens the 2016 home slate next Saturday when the Tigers welcome Jacksonville State to Tiger Stadium for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff.