The No. 6 LSU football team earned an extra home game when Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina, couldn’t host the Tigers’ third-scheduled away game of the season.
Now, the Tigers (5-0, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) have two road games remaining — none of which are in October.
LSU’s next trip away from Baton Rouge is scheduled for Nov. 7 — more than a month removed from its last road game against Syracuse University on Sept. 26 — in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, against University of Alabama.
But that’s looking too far ahead. First, the Tigers are thinking about their matchup with No. 8 Florida on Saturday.
LSU will face a different Gator team than the one that upset then-No. 3 University of Mississippi in the nation, 38-10, as Florida announced it will be without its starting quarterback for the remainder of the season.
Freshman quarterback Will Grier was suspended for the calendar year on Monday after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. The drug Grier consumed is unknown, but Grier is set to appeal the NCAA’s ruling because he did not know he was taking an illegal substance.
The Gators are the only undefeated SEC East team remaining, and Florida and LSU are two of the three undefeated SEC teams remaining. For senior linebacker Lamar Louis, there’s an added excitement to the game beyond the rivalry that has formed between the Tigers and Gators.
“You know, it’s going to be two SEC teams that are undefeated,” Louis said. “I think that does add a little something.”
After their game against Florida, the Tigers will take on Western Kentucky University at home before a bye week, after which LSU will head to Alabama for its first road game in 42 days.
The Alabama versus LSU game is one many circle on their calendars, but to junior linebacker Kendell Beckwith, it’s just a stepping-stone.
“It’s just some more grass we have to play on,” Beckwith said. “Just another opponent we have to face to get to where we want to go.”
The game will be played in Bryant-Denny Stadium, but the Tigers said the venue doesn’t affect them; they would be prepared if a game was played in the stadium’s parking lot.
“Coaches really tell us whether it’s a parking lot, 11 a.m., 4 p.m., that we’re going to play,” said junior defensive tackle Christian LaCouture. “We love playing in Tiger Stadium. But, wherever we have to play, we’re going to play.”
After playing four-straight games at home before traveling to Tuscaloosa, junior defensive end Lewis Neal said the Tigers must treat Bryant-Denny Stadium the same as they do Tiger Stadium.
“It does matter where you play, when you play or what weather you play in,” Neal said. “If we go somewhere, we’ve got to make it our home.”