The last time Kentucky beat the LSU football team in Tiger Stadium, Bill Clinton was president. 
After finishing winless in the Southeastern Conference last season, Kentucky has completely turned it around in 2014 and is behind only No. 10 Georgia in the Eastern Division.
Sophomore middle linebacker Kendell Beckwith said the Tigers (5-2, 1-2 SEC) look forward to returning home and improving the defense’s performance with better communication. Playing in Tiger Stadium will be a welcome relief after playing in two hostile conference environments the last two weeks. 
“Going into Tiger Stadium, [you have to] defend it,” SAID junior linebacker Lamar Louis. “Anybody we play in Tiger Stadium we have to win at home. We have to defend our home territory.”
Improved communication has been a focus for Beckwith, who made his first start in the place of senior linebacker D.J. Welter against Florida. 
“Really just making sure we echo the calls or the check,” Beckwith said. “Make sure everyone has it.”
Against Florida, LSU’s defense improved communication which helped them hold the Gators to 123 yards on the ground. 
The Tigers come into Saturday’s game last in the SEC in run defense, allowing 241 yards per game. 
Part of LSU’s struggles stopping the run comes from the offense’s inability to control possession. LSU dominated time of possession against Florida by more than 13 minutes, giving the defense time to rest. 
In the fourth quarter against Florida, the Tigers’ offense held the ball for more than nine minutes. Being rested gave the Tigers an advantage in their goal line stand in the last few minutes against the Gators.
“It just showed the strength of our defense,” Beckwith said. “When the game is on the line, we’ve just got to man up.”
The defense’s ability to make key plays late in close games may be needed against Kentucky (5-1, 2-1 SEC). 
Both of the Wildcats’ conference wins have been by 10 points or less, and their only loss came in a three overtime game against Florida. 
Coming through in tight games is a staple of LSU teams since Les Miles took over in 2005. 
“We don’t plan it,” Louis said. “We definitely want to score as many points as possible and deny our opponents from scoring, but we’ll take a win any way we can get it.” 
According to senior running back Terrence Magee, the Tigers daily preparation allows them to play at a high level in these situations. 
Offensively, Kentucky comes in as balanced attack, averaging 184.2 yards on the ground and 264.3 yards in the air per game. 
The Wildcats are led by sophomore quarterback Patrick Towles, who has recorded only four interceptions to 10 touchdowns in 2014.
Like LSU, Kentucky depends on a rotation of running backs, including junior Braylon Heard and sophomore Jojo Kemp. Heard has tossed three touchdowns, and Kemp leads the rotation with four touchdowns. 
“I see some similarities to Kentucky with them having three backs that I’ve seen that can really run the ball,” Louis said. 
Practicing against the Tigers’ own talented rotation of seniors Magee and Kenny Hilliard and freshmen Darrel Williams and Leonard Fournette gives LSU’s defense an advantage against such a rotation. 
Coming off the Florida win, the Tigers aim to earn their first conference win at home after losing their only SEC home game against
Mississippi State on Sept. 20.
“It’s feels great [to get the first SEC win],” Louis said. “We lost a couple, and that is out of character for us. Being back on track and getting our first SEC win will hopefully start the steam to our train and we will keep on rolling.”