Senior tight end Richard Dickson will play Saturday against Mississippi State after leaving LSU’s game against Louisiana-Lafayette with slight dizziness, LSU football coach Les Miles said Wednesday.”Dickson is 100 percent,” Miles said. “He didn’t miss a beat this practice week.”Miles said Sept. 14 that junior defensive end Lazarius Levingston should return against Mississippi State, but Miles said Wednesday his status for Saturday is uncertain.”[Levingston] is so much better,” Miles said. “It’s hard for me to tell you he’ll play in this one.”Miles said freshman defensive lineman Josh Downs is “doubtful” for Saturday, and junior defensive lineman Akiem Hicks did not practice Wednesday.”There’s still some word out on [Hicks],” Miles said.On the offensive side, Miles said he wants to increase the team’s production in the running game, particularly with seniors Charles Scott and Keiland Williams.”We had 175 yards rushing last week,” Miles said. “That’s not a bad number, but we’re striving for better. We want to get Charles Scott and Keiland Williams up and running; we’d like to see them have some 100-yard games.”Mississippi State’s rushing attack is No. 20 in the nation so far this season, averaging 221.67 yards per game behind senior running back Anthony Dixon. Miles said he is “a big, physical back” who will be a formidable force against LSU’s defense, which allows 129.33 rushing yards per game, No. 64 in the nation.”Anthony Dixon is one of the best running backs in the Southeastern Conference,” Miles said. “They run him out of the I-formation occasionally, but more often than not it’s a one-back attack for him.”In the passing game, the Bulldogs employ a two-quarterback system with senior Tyson Lee and sophomore Chris Relf. Miles said the quarterbacks are a dual threat both running and throwing, and he said Mississippi State appears to “prefer one over the other.””They’re probably running more of the whole offense with one guy,” Miles said. “The other guy probably can run the offense but doesn’t. Those tendencies seem to be pretty evident, but it’s nothing you can really use.”LSU’s game against Mississippi State will kick off at 11:21 a.m. CT in Starkville, Miss. The last time LSU played an SEC game that early in the morning was at home against Mississippi State in 2006.Miles said the team will be well-rested and prepared to play no matter what time the game begins.
“I talked to the sleep doctor again, and he said to get them 8 1/2 to 9 hours [of sleep],” Miles said. “He said … tell them no mental stimulus and to turn it all off.”–Contact Rachel Whittaker at [email protected]