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Kyle Parker 12 reaches for a pass as Bruins defender Croix Stewart 22 as the LSU Tigers take on UCLA at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, LA. Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024.
LSU is set to host South Alabama on Saturday night. The Tigers are hoping to move to 4-1 after a 34-17 win over UCLA in Week 4. LSU gets a reprieve after three of LSU’s first four games were P4 opponents, but South Alabama presents a different challenge.
The Jaguars are 2-2 but have scored 135 points in their last two games. This could be a trap game for an LSU defense that’s struggled to play a complete game.
However, LSU should be able to handle business. Despite South Alabama’s recent scoring explosion, this is still a team that lost to North Texas and Ohio to open the year.
It’s a homecoming for South Alabama head coach Major Applewhite. The Baton Rouge native played quarterback for Catholic High School in the 90s, a place with several LSU connections.
Heading into the bye week at 4-1 would give LSU a week to rest up before its showdown with Ole Miss on Oct. 12. A win there, and LSU is right back in the playoff hunt. Kelly’s group needs to survive this one first, though.
Here’s what to watch for when LSU takes on South Alabama.
Life without Harold Perkins
LSU will be without Harold Perkins Jr. on Saturday after the junior linebacker tore his ACL last week. LSU’s defensive ceiling takes a hit without Perkins’ playmaking ability. He had the talent to be a disruptor on any given play.
With Perkins out, players like West Weeks and Xavier Atkins could see more action.
“We’ve made some changes,” Brian Kelly said, “We activated Xavier Atkins in the second group, we’ve got West Weeks back, so we feel really good about the linebacker rotation. If we need to play three linebackers, we certainly could do that.”
More will be put on Whit Weeks plate too.
“When you have an…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/lsu-vs-south-alabama-5-142204573.html
Author : LSU Tigers Wire
Publish date : 2024-09-27 14:22:04
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