Take two for the first game of the LSU football season — Mississippi State edition.
The No. 15 LSU football team will travel to Starkville, Mississippi, this weekend to face No. 25 Mississippi State at 8:15 p.m. on Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium.
After lightning bombarded Baton Rouge last Saturday, LSU had its first game wiped away and now has a season-opener against MSU.
LSU football coach Les Miles has yet to lose the first game of the season at LSU, and he has now extended preparation time to keep the streak alive.
Sophomore quarterback Brandon Harris does too.
“I sat in my locker for about five or 10 minutes,” Harris said about what he did during the weather delay on Saturday. “Then, I watched the entire Southern Miss. and Mississippi State game. Once the game was over, I went to say hey to my family, then I went to watch the entire game. Again.”
On a night Harris was supposed to be on the field competing in his first game of the season, he already watched his next opponent play a complete game. Twice.
Mental preparation is what LSU will need to be ready for Mississippi State, mainly because the Tigers now know what the Bulldog offense is capable of on the field.
Last year, Mississippi State defeated LSU, 34-29, ending a 14-game winning streak for the No. 8 LSU Tigers against the Bulldogs.
LSU allowed a season-high 570 yards against the Bulldogs. Senior quarterback Dak Prescott alone ripped off 105 rushing yards and 268 passing yards. Prescott, a relentless runner, made life difficult for members of the LSU defense during the game, said LSU junior defensive lineman Tashawn Bower.
“Dak is a tough runner,” Bower said. “He can hurt you with his feet and with the ball in his hands. You really have to respect that, but if every man does their job, I think we will be alright.”
Bower vividly remembers tackling Prescott because of his unnatural, athletic stature, which is normally a trademark of fullbacks or tight ends — not quarterbacks.
“I tackled him in the middle of the field,” Bower said. “I remember bringing him down, and he’s a heavy guy. I remember asking myself, ‘Jeez, he’s a quarterback? Really?’”
Prescott led the Bulldogs to a quick 34-10 lead last season against the Tigers. LSU pressured Mississippi State with a late offensive surge, closing the lead to 34-29 in the fourth quarter with three touchdowns in the final twelve minutes.
Harris, who emerged as a substitute for junior quarterback Anthony Jennings, led the belated siege. After two touchdowns during the same minute to sophomore wide receiver Malachi Dupre, Harris threw a goal-line interception, giving LSU its first blemish of the 2014 season.
Although the interception smothered the Tigers in the loss, LSU junior defensive lineman Christian LaCouture said lapses in effective defensive communication initiated the demise against the Bulldogs.
Bower, who plays beside LaCouture, agreed.
“We had some issues with communication last year,” Bower said. “It can cause us giving up a huge run or a huge pass. It can really change the momentum of a game.”
Bower, LaCouture and the rest of the LSU defense said they believe they will be ready for Prescott and the rest of Mississippi State’s high-powered offense on Saturday.
“We have already started watching film from Southern Miss.,” LaCouture said. “We have to make sure we can prevent those big-time plays. We have to collapse the pocket and get back there. If we do that, then we are going to have a great game plan this week.”
You can reach Christian Boutwell on Twitter @CBoutwell_TDR.