It’s time to turn the page.
The No. 5 LSU football team (8-1, 5-1) welcomes Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday for Homecoming.
This marks the third consecutive year LSU has stepped out of conference for Homecoming after playing Alabama the previous week.
Those Homecoming games haven’t looked too good for LSU in the previous two seasons.
Two seasons ago LSU fell in overtime at home when Nick Saban returned to Tiger Stadium, and the Tigers followed that game with a flat performance against Troy.
LSU inexplicably fell behind the Trojans, 31-3, in the third quarter before mounting a furious comeback, resulting in a 40-31 victory against the eventual Sun Belt Conference champions.
The Tigers dropped another game to the Crimson Tide last year, this time in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Louisiana Tech came calling the following week and took a 13-10 lead in to the locker room at halftime. LSU would rally once more to claim a 24-16 win against the Bulldogs.
Return to the present.
Les Miles’ squad is riding a wave of momentum this time after taking down the defending BCS champion Crimson Tide, but the euphoria that surrounded campus early this week takes a back seat to the focus on the final three games this season.
“It has been addressed for sure,” said junior quarterback Jarrett Lee, speaking about non-conference letdowns. “Those in-state schools, those small schools like that, they come in ready to fight. McNeese came in a couple of weeks ago and gave us all we could handle, so we have to step up to the challenge and stay focused.”
Following LSU’s win against Florida in Gainesville, Fla., McNeese State led LSU 10-7 with 11:26 to play in the first half before the Tigers’ ground game wore the Cowboys down. LSU eventually won, 32-10, in a largely unimpressive fashion.
ULM (4-5, 3-3) is no stranger to the big stage. The Warhawks went into Tuscaloosa and upset the Crimson Tide, 21-14, in Nick Saban’s first year on the job. In 2008, Arkansas slipped past ULM, 28-27, in Little Rock, Ark.
LSU is the third Southeastern Conference Western Division opponent for ULM this season. Arkansas knocked off ULM, 31-7, in the season opener for both teams, and Cam Newton and company took care of the Warhawks, 52-3, in Auburn.
“They understand what it means to go into a stadium,” Les Miles said. “Our football team needs to understand we need to improve, and we need to be ready to play a very quality ULM team.”
The Warhawks are led in both passing and rushing by quarterback Kolton Browning. Browning has carried the ball 139 times for 524 yards and three scores. He also has a 63.5 completion percentage and has thrown for 2,080 yards and 12 touchdowns.
“I think [ULM Head Coach] Todd Berry has done a great job with their offense,” Miles said. “He’s always had a real knack for moving the chains, and their passing game certainly reflects that. We’ll be challenged there, without question.”
On the other side of the ball, the Tiger offense showed signs of life in the second half against Alabama. The Tigers mixed a steady ground attack with some big plays through the air en route to 338 yards and 21 points after the break.
“I think our offense played really well this past weekend,” said junior guard Josh Dworaczyk. “We put a lot of things together as players and coaches. To go out there and execute against ULM, that’s something that we want to do.”
The outburst was a welcome sight for Miles, but the head man is not content.
“I think we need to execute better and continue to press in the same direction,” said Miles.
The Tiger defense will be without the services of junior strong safety Brandon Taylor for the rest of the season. Defensive coordinator John Chavis hasn’t batted an eye in throwing his true freshman defensive backs into the fire, specifically Tyrann Mathieu and Eric Reid.
“At first I was a little nervous because it was Bama,” Reid said. “But the intensity that we practice with every week, I think I was ready without even knowing that I was.”
LSU welcomes back three national champion Tigers to Death Valley Saturday night. Superbowl champions Devery Handerson and Randall Gay will be honored on the field, and Green Bay Packers quarterback Matt Flynn will be a guest captain.
 
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Contact Hunt Palmer at [email protected]