The final tuneup game before the Alabama game has arrived for the LSU Tigers.
LSU will play its final game before it annual bye week before its trip to Tuscaloosa to face rival Alabama. The opponent is a rare one — the Army Black Knights. The two teams have played only once before and that was way back in 1931 at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York, when Huey P. Long was the state’s governor and Army’s nickname was still the Cadets.
Even without a ton of history, the two programs do share some interesting history. Famed LSU coach Paul Dietzel, who won a national title at LSU in 1958, left Baton Rouge to take over the Army program which he coached from 1962-65.
Kickoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. Saturday and you can listen to all the action live on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette and 104.1 Lake Charles.
THE HEISMAN CONTENDER
Jayden Daniels has had a blazing start to the season as he has led the Tigers to a school-record six consecutive games of 500-plus total yards. LSU’s senior quarterback enters Saturday’s game as a Heisman Memorial Trophy contender leading the nation in rushing yards by a quarterback (515). He also leads the nation in total offense (401 yards per game), and is No. 2 in the FBS in passing touchdowns (22). For that hot start, Daniels earned second-team honors on the Associated Press Midseason All-American team. If Daniels keeps up pace, the LSU signal caller could easily find himself in New York City for the Heisman ceremony.
KELLY LOOKING FOR 300
With a victory on Saturday, LSU’s Brian Kelly will record his 300th win as a head coach. That would put Kelly in rare company as he would be only the 13th coach in college football history (regardless of division) to reach the 300 win plateau. Kelly has 11 10-win seasons at the FBS level and 14 bowl appearances with stops at Central Michigan (2004-06), Cincinnati (2006-09), Notre Dame (2010-21) and now LSU. He began his head coaching career at Grand Valley State where he won 118 games and two Division II national titles.
NON-SEC HOMECOMING
With Army coming to town, LSU will face its first non-Southeastern Conference opponent for homecoming since 2017. The Tigers had played SEC foes the previous five seasons, including defeating No. 7 Ole Miss 45-20 last season. Who was the last non-SEC foe LSU faced for homecoming? That was Troy who stunned LSU 24-21 in 2017. The defeat to the Trojans is the lone loss suffered by the Tigers in the its past 22 homecoming contests. LSU is 68-25-3 all-time in homecoming games.
SERIES RECORD: Army lead series 1-0
Lone Meeting:
1931: ARMY 20 – LSU 0
STAT LEADERS
Army
Bryson Daily: 42-of-77, 712 yards, 6 TD, 4 INT
Bryson Daily: 100 carries, 412 yards, 3 TD
Isaiah Alston: 9 receptions, 266 yards, 2 TD
Leo Lowin: 43 tackles (17 solo), 1 FF, 1 FR
Quinn Maretzki: 7-of-8, Long of 45
LSU
Jayden Daniels: 152-of-208, 2,294 yards, 22 TD, 3 INT
Logan Diggs: 99 carries, 585 yards, 4 TD
Malik Nabers: 52 receptions, 860 yards, 7 TD
Greg Penn III: 47 tackles (17 solo), 2 TFL, 1 sack, 1 INT
Damian Ramos: 9-of-11, Long of 48