Come Saturday afternoon, the turkey may not be as succulent as it was Thursday, but it’s still a covetable meal.
Much like Thanksgiving leftovers, the No. 5 LSU football team’s game Saturday against No. 12 Arkansas may have lost some of its juice after No. 2 Auburn clinched the Southeastern Conference Western Division a couple of weeks ago, but the Bayou Bengals still have much to be thankful for.
The Tigers (10-1, 6-1) can win 11 games for the sixth time in school history and the first time since the 2007 national championship season — an enviable position.
It would be the fourth time LSU coach Les Miles has won 11 games during his tenure in Baton Rouge but the first time he has accomplished the feat in the regular season since 2005. Video: Sheppard Interview Video: Jefferson Interview
“[An 11-win season] would be huge. It would go down in the record books,” said sophomore wide receiver Russell Shepard. “A 10-win season is successful, and it’s a success anywhere, period. But to play the schedule we play, the West Virginias, the Alabamas, the Floridas — this season is probably one of the most memorable seasons in LSU history.”
But a win against the Razorbacks (9-2, 5-2) is by no means a given.
Arkansas features star junior quarterback Ryan Mallett, who has thrown for 3,272 yards and 27 touchdowns this season versus only nine interceptions.
“He knows where he is going to go with the ball, and he makes a very accurate and very strong throw,” Miles said. “His ability to put air under the ball at the right times and give his receiver an opportunity to work, and the times that he needs to drive the throw in, he has that also.”
After the Tiger defense surrendered 420 yards and 36 points to Ole Miss last weekend, Miles plans to tidy up the unit before taking on Mallett.
“There were a couple places where we missed the line on defense, a couple signals that just didn’t quite get accomplished on the field, and it led to some big plays,” Miles said. “These things are definitely correctable, and the issue that I enjoy is I like how our defense plays. They are fast, and they are hard-hitting guys that tackle.”
On the other side of the ball, LSU hopes to keep up the momentum it generated last weekend.
The Tigers put up 43 points — a season high in SEC games — and gained 470 total yards.
Junior quarterback Jordan Jefferson was as consistent as he’s been all season, connecting on 13 of his 17 passes for 254 yards and a touchdown.
“We all noticed [the defensive] struggles, and we just had to come through for them,” Jefferson said. “They’ve been coming through for us. At the beginning of the season they were holding our weight, and we had to hold theirs Saturday.”
But with Thanksgiving Day just around the corner and a game on Saturday, the players living out of the area will not be able to see their families before the game.
“It’s not fun at all, but that is one of the things you risk when you commit to a school that’s so far away from home,” said senior offensive tackle Joseph Barksdale, who’s from Detroit. “Luckily, there are things like Skype and other things now so you can at least see your parents. You never get used to it, but it gets more tolerable.”
Though Arkansas is on the menu for Saturday, the Tigers have not forgotten about the spread on Thursday.
“We get together [on Thanksgiving Day] ’cause not everyone is able to get home,” Shepard said. “So we all get together and get some of the fat boys to cook.”
 
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Contact Rob Landry at [email protected]