That infamous saying followed 117 of the 1,969 snaps LSU played in the 2007 season and made LSU the No. 23 most penalized team of the 119 Bowl Subdivision teams.But the Tigers have cleaned up their act so far this season and have risen to the middle of the pack — No. 55 — in the nation’s most penalized teams. “You can’t give your opponent penalty yards,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “We talk about that pretty routinely, and we’ll talk about that [Monday].” In the first three seasons of the Miles era, the Tigers were penalized an average of more than seven times per game for an average of 61 penalty yards per game.But LSU has improved its penalty statistics this season — they have been penalized an average of six times per game for 53 penalty yards per game.”Each day in practice if we mess up, the coaches make us redo that play,” said redshirt freshman quarterback Jarrett Lee. “We know we have to avoid those mistakes if we want to be a good football team.”One area of emphasis the Tigers have corrected are the offensive pre-snap penalties that plagued the team at times in 2007.So far this season, the Tigers have been whistled for five false start penalties and two illegal shift or illegal formation penalties.Those numbers are down from the first four games last season when LSU was flagged for seven false starts and five illegal shifts or illegal formations.”We’ve decided that we won’t give the other team anything,” Scott said. “When you give other teams yards, they will take advantage of it, and they will beat you with the yards you’ve given them.”With inexperienced quarterbacks Lee and Andrew Hatch under center, Miles agreed with Scott and said giving up free yards on offense is something LSU must avoid, especially with matchups against Florida, Georgia and Alabama in the next five weeks.”We give no gifts,” he said. “Anything free is not something that we’re willing to take.” The Tigers are also concerned with personal foul penalties.LSU has been flagged for seven personal foul penalties for late hits, facemasks or unsportsmanlike conduct penalties so far this season, totaling 105 penalty yards.Scott said cutting out those penalties is one of the next steps in LSU’s attempt to win the Southeastern Conference championship for the second-straight season.”We have to use those yards and not give our opponents a chance to get good field position,” he said. “Committing those does just the same as if we’d have thrown a pick or if we’d have fumbled.” LSU is not the only national championship contender to have had problems with penalties.USC and Georgia rank No. 2 and No. 3 respectively in most penalty yards per game with unbeaten BYU ranking No. 9 and Oklahoma ranking No. 20, causing some experts to claim penalties are sometimes unavoidable by aggressive and talented players.But Scott disagreed and said he prefers a less talented player who plays under control than a more talented wreckless player.”You can be aggressive and still be smart,” he said. “You don’t necessarily have to make a mistake just because you’re being aggressive. When you put pressure on somebody, you’re looking for them to make the mistake, not you.” —-Contact Casey Gisclair at [email protected]