The state of Texas has been good to coach Les Miles and the LSU football program.
For starters, the Tigers recruit a bevy of Lone Star-state talent yearly. Fourteen players on the current roster are Texans, and four of Miles’ 17 verbal commitments for the 2016 class hail from Texas.
Even when the Tigers have played against Texas opponents or within the borders of the state, they’ve been perfect over the last 11 years. Under Miles, LSU is 10-0 versus schools from Texas and is 6-0 when playing in cities such as Arlington, Houston or College Station.
Fortunately for Miles and the purple and gold, they drew a Texas team for their 2015 bowl game in Houston. But LSU’s opponent in the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl, Texas Tech, could also be exactly what sophomore quarterback Brandon Harris and the sliding LSU passing game need.
Even sophomore wide receiver Malachi Dupre agrees the Red Raiders, who rank No. 124 in points allowed per game, don’t stop many teams from scoring.
“I’m excited,” Dupre said at local media session two weeks ago. “I’m hoping I can score a couple.”
Regardless of the contrasting styles between the power-run offense of LSU and aerial attack of Texas Tech, Tiger offensive players are realizing they could be in for a back-and-forth affair.
Dupre, for instance, was confident in his fellow defensive teammates’ ability to make stops. But he understands the Red Raiders score the second most points per game in the nation, having not scored less than 20 points in any game this season.
While Miles has recently talked of integrating new concepts into the offensive scheme in the offseason, he is hoping the time between the regular season finale and tonight’s game at 8:00 p.m. at NRG Stadium could be another springboard for Harris’ development heading into 2016.
“The key is to being balanced certainly and spending a little more time on the passing game,” Miles said at press luncheon Monday. “It seems to have paid dividends to have a couple extra practice going into game week, and we’re kind of looking forward to seeing how it looks Tuesday night.”
With sophomore running back Leonard Fournette just 259 yards shy of 2,000 yards, the Tigers will likely stick to their ground-game philosophy early and often facing a rush defense that allows 271.8 yards per game. Harris, though, is at least coming into the game having won his previous game under center.
In LSU’s last four games, Harris has tossed five interceptions after not throwing an interception in his first seven games. On top of that, he had just three touchdowns in November while completing just 48 percent of his passes in that span.
For Dupre, though, the 19-7 win against Texas A&M on Nov. 28 was as big for his confidence as it was for the team.
“I feel like our last win was good for him,” Dupre said. “Just breaking that losing streak because that wasn’t going well for anybody but especially for him at the quarterback position. He has to carry load probably more than anybody just because of the position he plays. Mentally, getting that victory last game for him was good, even though we didn’t have a great game passing. It gave him a positive mindset going into these practices.
“He’s been practicing with a clear mind and not afraid to make mistake, which I feel like is a good thing at the quarterback position, in my opinion.”
Like Dupre, senior offensive tackle Vadal Alexander said getting back to the fundamentals that fade over the course of season were critical in bowl game preparation for Harris and every other position group.
“It’s just like I said with the O-line,” Alexander said at the media session two weeks ago. “It’s the little things. Small, technical things that you do every day that you sometimes get away from a little bit. It’s something we know we can fix, he knows he can fix and the whole offense can fix.”