INSIDE SLANT
After complaining about his team's running game in the 31-3 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette, LSU coach Les Miles had to do some re-evaluating after looking at the stat sheet.
"We rushed for 175 yards," Miles said. "I'm sitting there going, 'Wow! When did we do that? Was I there?'
"The reality of it is that we need to rush the football maybe a little bit earlier and a little bit better and more efficiently, but we're still running the football pretty well, and I can't lose sight of that."
Still, Miles is looking to get more out of his offensive line as the Tigers head to Mississippi State for their second SEC game.
"I think there is not one piece that's broke," Miles said. "If it was, it would be easy, but it's a combination, and we have to settle in and just execute better."
Miles did have praise for senior running back Charles Scott, who is averaging only 55 yards a game, about 35 yards under his 2008 pace.
"The great news is that Charles Scott runs hard, and that's consistent," Miles said. "We just have to give him the opportunity in several different personnel groups to do so."
After the game at Starkville, the Tigers are back on the road to face another bunch of Bulldogs, this one at Georgia. LSU's next home game is Oct. 10 against top-ranked Florida.
NOTES, QUOTES
--LSU's defense hasn't given up a touchdown in the last six quarters, going back to the second quarter of the 23-9 win over Vanderbilt. For the season, the Tigers have given up only one touchdown rushing and two passing.
--There might not be a better pair of brothers playing defense in the country than LSU starters Chad Jones and Rahim Alem (formerly Al Jones). Alem, a senior defensive end, leads the team in tackles for losses with 3.5 and sacks (2.5). Jones, a junior free safety, leads in interceptions with two and is fifth in total tackles (13).
SERIES HISTORY: LSU leads Mississippi State 66-33-3 (last meeting, 2008, LSU 34-24).
SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: Coach Les Miles talked about the need for more consistency out of his ground game as RBs Charles Scott and Keiland Williams haven't really hit high gear yet. QB Jordan Jefferson is completing 64.4 percent of his passes, but the Tigers are averaging only 162 yards a game passing. That's a surprisingly low figure with receivers like Brandon LaFell and Terrance Tolliver and TE Richard Dickson in the lineup.
SCOUTING THE DEFENSE: The 478 yards the Tigers gave up to Washington in their opener doesn't look quite as awful after what the Huskies beat USC, and the Tigers did keep a good offensive team out of the end zone in the 31-3 win over Louisiana-Lafayette. DE Rahim Alem is a good pass rusher, LB Harry Coleman is enjoying the move from safety, and S Chad Jones has two interceptions.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I have not mentioned that. That hasn't been an issue to me. The issue is the improvement and development." -- Coach Les Miles, asked if he had mentioned last year's 4-0 start to his Tigers, who are 3-0 going to Mississippi State.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
THIS WEEK'S GAME: LSU at Mississippi State, Sept. 26 -- Both teams earned a victory over Vanderbilt in their conference openers, LSU by 23-9 and Mississippi State by 15-3. The Tigers have a nine-game winning streak in the series and have won 16 of the last 17 meetings.
KEYS TO THE GAME: The Tigers will look to control things with their running game against a Bulldog defense that gave up 390 yards rushing in a loss to Auburn earlier in September. The defense needs to stop MSU RB Anthony Dixon, who ran for 123 yards in the win over Vanderbilt; State is 8-2 in games in which he has gone over the 100-yard mark.
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
WR Terrance Tolliver -- Tolliver is taking advantage of the attention defenses are giving senior Brandon LaFell and has 13 catches to LaFell's 14. Tolliver's receptions have produced 206 yards to LaFell's 129.
RB Charles Scott -- Scott rushed for a season-high 63 yards in the win over Louisiana-Lafayette, a sign he may be ready to resume the pace he showed last year when he ran for 1,174 yards.
LB Harry Coleman -- Moved from safety for his senior year, Coleman leads the Tigers in tackles with 25, with his average of 8.3 stops ranking eighth in the conference. He has two tackles for losses, has broken up two passes, and has forced a fumble.
ROSTER REPORT:
--Starting DE Lazarius Levingston (knee) likely will miss the next game, but his injury is looked at as "short-term," according to coach Les Miles.
--Backup DLs Josh Downs (undisclosed) and Akiem Hicks (knee) likely will miss the Mississippi State game.
--TE Richard Dickson, who left the win over Louisiana-Lafayette with what was called a mild concussion, is expected to play at Mississippi State.
Previous Report: 09/20/2009
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