November 13, 2009

Louisiana Tech is LSU's opponent in the annual homecoming game at Tiger Stadium tomorrow night.  LSU's overall record in homecoming games is 56-25-3.

The Tigers are coming off an emotional loss at Alabama, a game that saw LSU suffer multiple key injuries, and more than one bad call.

I'm going to leave the bad calls alone.  That horse has been beaten senseless, but yes, I do believe they missed quite a few.  Nothing can be done now, and LSU made their case to the SEC behind closed doors, which is the way it should be.

It isn't always easy to take the high road.

The Tigers will be without Charles Scott for the rest of the regular season, paving the way for additional carries for the rest of the LSU backs.  Keiland Williams, Russell Shepard, and Trindon Holliday will probably see additional reps, but the main beneficiary should be Stevan Ridley, who has scored a touchdown in each of the past two games.

Ridley runs exceptionally hard, and almost always north-south.  He makes precise cuts, has nice speed, and I expect him to be the main ball carrier in this game and beyond.

Jordan Jefferson was also injured against the Tide, and 24-hours before gametime it's still up in the air as far as if he will play.  ESPNU has reported that he wouldn't, and that is my feeling as well, but nothing has been confirmed.

That would mean Jarrett Lee would get his first start of the season.  Lee did OK against Alabama considering he was overmatched by a ferocious defense while making his first meaningful appearance of the season.  It was Lee who last year led LSU to a huge comeback win over Troy the week after the Bama game.  Tiger fans hope that won't be necessary this time around.

Tech will play without a slew of starters as well (could be as many as nine), and the Bulldogs are coming off three disapointing losses.  Against Utah State, they missed a 2-pt conversion that could have tied the game and sent it to overtime.  Against Idaho, Tech blew a 13-point fourth quarter lead, and a missed extra point ended up being the difference in a 35-34 loss.

Last week may have been the toughest.  Tech pulled to within two points of #5 Boise State in the fourth quarter before losing by ten.

Homecoming or not, the team and the stadium will likely be flat, but the Tigers should win easily.