Baton Rouge, LA - The nation's second-ranked team will be on display Saturday evening as the mighty LSU Tigers welcome the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders to Baton Rouge for a non-conference clash.
Middle Tennessee is still in search of its first win of the season, as it dropped the opener to Florida Atlantic by 13 points before suffering a 58-42 setback to Louisville last weekend. The fact that the Blue Raiders put up 42 points against one of the nation's top teams was surprising, but repeating that task against the LSU defense seems impossible. The Tigers are the highest-ranked opponent for Middle Tennessee in the FBS era and the sixth top 10 foe for the program since 2000.
LSU looks the part of a legitimate national title contender, as it has won its first two games this season by a combined score of 93-7. Last Saturday, the Tigers welcomed the powerful Virginia Tech Hokies to town and cruised to a 48-7 victory. These next three games for Les Miles' troops all figure to be rather easy wins, and it is hard not to look forward to an October 6th date with Florida.
LSU won its only previous meeting with Middle Tennessee by a score of 30-14 in 2001.
Middle Tennessee only scored 14 points against Florida Atlantic in the season opener. Therefore, it was a major shock that the Blue Raiders posted 21 points in the first quarter alone against Louisville last weekend. There was no shortage of big plays, as DeMarco McNair scored on a 78-yard pass play and Phillip Tanner had a 79-yard touchdown run as well. The Blue Raiders finished the clash with 265 rushing yards and 290 receiving yards, as the offense clearly did more than its share to try and steal a victory on the road. Joe Craddock made some big plays from the quarterback position, but his two interceptions proved costly. Tanner rushed for 144 yards and three touchdowns on only nine carries. Through two outings, Craddock has completed 58.6 percent of his passes for 489 yards with three touchdowns and four interceptions. Tannner has only carried the ball 13 times, and it will be interesting to see if his workload increases this weekend.
It is hard to put into words how poorly the Middle Tennessee defense played against Louisville. The numbers speak volumes, as the Blue Raiders were victimized for 35 first downs and 729 total yards. They permitted 328 rushing yards on 6.2 yards per attempt as well as 401 passing yards without registering an interception. Middle Tennessee failed to record a sack and appeared helpless for much of the contest. Clearly, the defense did not play nearly as bad in the opener against Florida Atlantic, but the fact that Middle Tennessee permitted 27 points in that tilt suggests that the effort wasn't stellar by any means. The Blue Raiders surrendered 411 total yards, including 216 yards on the ground.
LSU drove up an down the field against Virginia Tech on Saturday with very little resistance, rolling up 28 first downs and 598 total yards. The Tigers posted 297 rushing yards on 41 attempts, an average of 7.2 yards per carry, and four of their touchdowns came on the ground. Also, the passing game was responsible for 301 yards on 22-of-32 completions. Matt Flynn, the team's starting quarterback, completed 17-of-27 passes for 217 yards, but he was forced out of action with an ankle injury. His backup, Ryan Perrilloux, made the most of his time late in the contest but completing all five of his throws for 84 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Flynn is listed as questionable for this weekend, so Perrilloux may get his chance to run the show. Brandon LaFell led the receivers with seven catches for 125 yards, and Keiland Williams posted 126 rushing yards and two scores. Williams, a sophomore, has four touchdowns this season and has rushed for 144 yards, five behind team leader Jacob Hester. Flynn has been a steady force under center, and Early Doucet paces the receivers with 15 catches, 153 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
It is hard to find a another defense that is on the level of the unit for LSU, as the Tigers have surrendered seven points in eight quarters of football thus far. Virginia Tech managed only 149 yards on 57 offensive plays, and the Hokies completed 9-of-29 passes on the night. Chevis Jackson had two TFLs, and Kirston Pittman paced the squad with eight tackles. LSU opened the season with a shutout victory over Mississippi State, and there are a number of players on the defensive side of the football who will play ball in the NFL. Opponents are making good on just 18 percent of their third down conversion attempts, as the Tigers have absolutely no weakness defensively.
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