After facing two grind-it-out, rushing-dominated offenses in Auburn and South Carolina in its last two games, the LSU football team (7-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) faces a high-flying, fast break attack in Louisiana Tech (4-4, 2-3 Western Athletic Conference) Saturday in Tiger Stadium.
The game is at 7:00 p.m. and is available on pay-per-view through TigerVision.
The Tigers and the Bulldogs have not met since 1941 and LSU holds a 15-1 all-time advantage over Louisiana Tech.
It is a non-conference matchup right in the thick of the SEC West race, something that LSU coach Nick Saban is not a big fan of.
“Being used to the Big Ten where we never, ever played non-conference games after we started conference games, I don’t particularly like [playing non-conference games right now],” Saban said.
But since the scheduling gods dealt LSU that particular hand, the Tigers not only have to face a non-conference opponent, but face one with a history of upsetting major Division-I programs on a pretty regular basis.
The Bulldogs gave ninth-ranked Michigan State its only loss of the season earlier this year and defeated Alabama and Oklahoma State in the past five years.
Louisiana Tech brings over 450 yards of total offense per game, and quarterback Luke McCown averages 311.1 yards per game through the air, much different from the Auburn and South Carolina ground-based attacks.
“It takes a different mindset,” said cornerback Travis Daniels of the change in defensive game plans. “When you’re going against guys like Auburn, you know they’re going to run it. So you mainly got your focus on tackling and just being real aggressive. Where with somebody like Louisiana Tech who is going to throw the ball more, now we’re going to go back to the fundamentals and techniques Coach Saban has set upon us to play against guys like that.”
Daniels said a ferocious pass rush that LSU has used all year makes his and the rest of the defensive backfield’s job much easier against passing teams.
“A good defensive line makes [the] defensive backs’ jobs very easy,” Daniels said. “If they can razzle the quarterback, then he doesn’t have time to throw the ball or pick and choose who he wants to throw it to.”
But Louisiana Tech brings a weapon that many predominantly passing teams don’t have – an effective ground game.
Running back Ryan Moats averages 102.4 yards per game, giving the Bulldogs something else for opposing defenses to be concerned with.
“Most of the time they’re in formations that you’re going to think they’re about to pass the ball and they run the ball,” said linebacker Lionel Turner. “So we’re just going to have to be disciplined and stay home and keep our gaps under control. [Moats] is a great back. I’ve seen a lot of plays on film where he just gets the ball, and most people are playing the pass and he just runs with it. He’s got a lot of speed.”
Turner said it should not be hard to remain focused, even though Louisiana Tech is a non-conference opponent and a mid-major Division I opponent.