The No. 14 LSU Tigers (4-2, 1-2) will attempt to shake off the team’s second loss of the season when it takes on the University of Kentucky (3-3, 1-2) at 7 p.m. in Tiger Stadium. Sloppy offensive play, which resulted in five turnovers by LSU in the 23-10 loss to the University of Florida, on Saturday in Gainesville, Fla., is something LSU coach Les Miles has emphasized during practice this week. “I think the attention to detail that was paid to this week’s practice has paid dividends,” Miles said. “I think there’s no question that we’ve improved.” LSU senior offensive tackle Peter Dyakowski said the team has used the mistakes it made in last week’s game as a starting point in preparing for this weekend’s Southeastern Conference showdown. “No one likes to lose, but it’s a part of the game,” Dyakowski said. “We just need to learn from our mistakes and learn what not to do against Kentucky. I think the hard work we did on the practice field this week will show on Saturday.” LSU is not the only team entering this weekend’s game after suffering an SEC loss. The Wildcats are coming off a 24-17 loss to the University of South Carolina. The 17 second-half points they scored just were not enough to push them past the Gamecocks. UK senior defensive end Durrell Smith said the Wildcats take pride in knowing they have stuck with teams such as South Carolina and the University of Florida, but said the team has to finish out the close games. “I guess some people may call the losses we’ve had moral victories because we played close, but on this team we know we should have won those games, and we don’t really believe in moral victories any more,” Smith said. “You either win or you lose, there is no in between.” LSU enters the contest leading the nation in total defense, giving up just 209.2 yards per game. For Kentucky coach Rich Brooks and the UK offense, which ranks fourth in the SEC in scoring offense with 28.2 points per game, that means preparing for one of the better defenses they have seen this year. “They have one of the top offenses in the nation and in the league,” Brooks said in the SEC teleconference. “You look at it, and you ask, ‘How did they lose two games?’ They have great personnel, and they do not have a weakness. We have our work cut out for us because this is an excellent football team.” Kentucky’s high-scoring offense will be one man short this week. Junior running back Rafael Little underwent arthroscopic surgery Monday to repair a lateral cartilage tear in his left knee. Little leads the Wildcats with 286 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Brooks announced during a Monday press conference that the star tailback is expected to miss approximately four weeks. The coach did not name a definite starter for Saturday’s game but said freshman Alfonso Smith and sophomore Tony Dixon will see more action. “Obviously Alfonso will get more action, and Tony is going to have to pick up the slack,” Brooks said in a press release. “Tony is going to have to do a better job at finding the open hole if there is one. When [Dixon] gets into the open field he is very dangerous. We need to get him the ball in those situations like we have been able to with Rafael.” The injury to Little will not help Kentucky’s chances of beating the Tigers, who lead the series 37-15-1 all-time and have not lost to the Wildcats in Baton Rouge since 1988. Smith said numbers like this should not affect the team’s performance and said he cannot wait to play in Death Valley. “I’m excited for the chance to go to Louisiana and play,” Smith said. “It’s going to be hostile obviously, but I think we are ready for the challenge. We have to keep our heads in this game and not be overwhelmed by the stadium and the fans and the fact that we are playing LSU. We need to stay focused and have to play whistle to whistle, and we’ll just have to see what happens.”
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