It’s been a long time coming, but game week has finally arrived for the LSU football team.
The No. 13 Tigers are mere days away from a showdown with No. 14 Wisconsin this Saturday at NRG Stadium in Houston for the Advocare Texas Kickoff, and they can’t wait.
“It’s going to be a great game,” said sophomore defensive tackle Christian LaCouture. I’m really excited for this. It’s a great opportunity. …I’ve always dreamed of playing big-time games like that.”
The contest marks the fourth time in five seasons LSU has opened its season against a top-25 opponent at a neutral site.
Still no word on starting quarterback
LSU coach Les Miles indicated that he has decided who will start against Wisconsin but did not reveal who it would be Monday at his weekly press luncheon.
Miles said both sophomore Anthony Jennings and true freshman Brandon Harris would get playing time, but would not say who will take snaps on the opening drive.
“I think eventually one of them is going to end up separating himself, but right now I think they’re on an equal playing field,” said LSU senior running back Terrence Magee. “Both have had success throughout fall camp and in scrimmages.
Jennings and Harris have been battling for the quarterback job since Harris’ arrival on campus this spring, and Miles and his staff have remained silent on the topic.
Magee said there might be a short period of adjustment for the offense when switching quarterbacks mid-game, but he remained confident that most of the wrinkles have already been ironed out.
“The biggest adjustment will be for the offensive line getting used to hearing a different voice within the cadence and the receivers with timing,” Magee said. “But [offensive coordinator] Cameron has a great package put together for both of them, and they’re going to be able to execute it on game day.”
More experienced secondary
The Tigers often take pride in their talented corps of defensive backs, so much so that they even refer to themselves as “Defensive Back University”.
But LSU saw a significant drop in production from its defensive backfield in 2013 as opposing quarterbacks completed more than 56 percent of their passes for almost 200 yards and 1.15 passing touchdowns per game against the Tigers.
This year, LSU’s secondary is a year older and wiser, something sophomore defensive back Tre’Davious White said should lead to significant improvement in 2014.
“Having that extra year under our belts and coming back as sophomores, I feel that we gained a lot of knowledge just from the mistakes that we made last year,” White said. “We’re going to try to capitalize on those things this year.”