To see a video on the highlights from the LSU vs Mississippi State game, click here.
Five teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 lost in week 5 of the 2007 season.That year, the upsets helped propel LSU to the top spot in the poll after the Tigers’ 34-9 win against Tulane.Same week, different season, and the college football world was turned upside down again. And again, LSU fought off the upset bug and saw a jump in the polls as a result.The Tigers (4-0, 2-0) defeated Mississippi State (1-3, 0-2) on Saturday, 34-24.With four top-10 teams losing this week, LSU jumped to No. 2 and No. 3 in the USA Today Coaches’ and AP polls, respectively.Division rival Alabama also gained ground in the polls. The Crimson Tide beat then-No. 3 Georgia, 41-30, on Saturday and moved to No. 2 in the AP poll. Alabama sits two spots behind LSU in the coaches’ poll.LSU coach Les Miles said after Saturday’s win that players were well aware of the craziness that surrounded the weekend’s games.”We went through the USC [game] very specifically, and I’m certain that without mention that the Florida-Ole Miss [upset], the guys understood that,” Miles said.But unlike the Gators, the Tigers held off the conference’s other Mississippi school and won their ninth straight game against Mississippi State.Redshirt freshman quarterback Jarrett Lee got the start for LSU in just his fourth collegiate game.Sophomore Andrew Hatch, who sustained a concussion in the previous game against Auburn, had started LSU’s first three games but didn’t play Saturday.”Not one time this week did they tell me I was the starter,” Lee said. “But I’ve been working with the ones since spring, so I knew it was not anything I couldn’t handle.”And Lee delivered on Saturday, going 18-of-27 for 261 yards.”That’s all we wanted from Jarrett Lee,” Miles said. “To get the ball to the guys that the play calls for. Read it and throw it, and he did.”Like Jarrett Lee, Bulldogs junior Tyson Lee made the first start of his career Saturday.The Columbus, Miss., native passed for 176 yards and a touchdown but said he didn’t make enough plays down the field to stay in the game.”We made some good plays,” he said. “But not enough good plays.”Bulldogs senior linebacker Dominic Douglas said the team’s inability to contain junior running back Charles Scott, who ran for 141 yards and two scores, made defending LSU’s other weapons tough.But some of LSU’s mistakes were self-imposed, as the Tigers committed two turnovers — not including Brandon LaFell’s third quarter fumble which teammate Richard Dickson recovered in the end zone. Miles said LSU will emphasize ball protection and fixing small mistakes in its upcoming bye week.”We have to play better than that,” Miles said. “And that will be the push [in the bye week].”With eight games left on the schedule, the last thing the Tigers are concerned with is their ranking.”Right now, it’s just a number next to your team’s name on the bottom of the screen on ESPN,” said senior Ricky Jean-Francois. Miles agreed, saying if LSU handles its conference schedule, everything will take care of itself.”If we win all of those in front of us, I guarantee we’ll conquer the rankings,” Miles said.
 
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