Football or Baseball?

Mississippi State’s Will Clark won the Golden Spikes Award in 1985 as college baseball’s best player. He was a six-time All-Star in Major League Baseball.

When researching LSU-Mississippi State history, you’re just as likely to run across its baseball teams — on both sides — from the early 1980s through the 1990s as its football series even though the Tigers and Bulldogs have played on the gridiron 105 times.

Mississippi State’s football team hasn’t beaten LSU since 1999 and hasn’t won in Baton Rouge since 1991. However, the Bulldogs hadn’t been 7-0 since 1999 either and they accomplished that feat this year.

But they’ll face an angry Tiger squad, in the middle of the Bayou night, after last week’s last-minute loss to Alabama. As ESPN reminded us so many times last week, Les Miles’ led teams have now only lost twice under the lights in Tiger Stadium — and both of those were to the #1 ranked team in the country (Florida ’09, Alabama ’12). State sits 20 spots below that lofty perch at #21, coming off blowout losses to Alabama and Texas A&M, and kickoff is 7 pm EST. Good luck, Bulldogs.

LSU has won 19 of its last 20 games against State.

3rd ‘n 11

Will Saturday night look like this?

Alabama and LSU meet for the third time in 11 months on Saturday night. That’s something Florida and Florida State did two times over in the mid 1990s, and New Orleans hosted each postseason match-up: 1995 Sugar Bowl (Florida-Florida State); 1997 Sugar Bowl/National Championship (Florida-Florida State); and 2012 BCS National Championship (Alabama-LSU).

Florida won both “rubber matches” in the mid 1990s — both in Gainesville in ’95 and ’97. Each of those games between the Gators and Seminoles were top 10 match-ups just as today’s Alabama and LSU match-ups. In ’97, #10 Florida upset #1 Florida State to derail the Seminoles’ national championship hopes. That game is still considered by some Gator fans as the “Greatest Game Ever Played in the Swamp.”

Or will Saturday night look more like this?

LSU is 2-9-1 all-time against the AP #1, including last year’s win in Tuscaloosa. However, the Tigers are 0-2 against the Tide in Baton Rouge when Alabama is the AP #1, losing 3-0 in 1979 and 27-21 in overtime in 2008.

And if this series couldn’t get any closer, Alabama leads the past 30 meetings 15-14-1.

50 Times

LSU and Texas A&M will meet for the 51st time Saturday. LSU has met only Tulane and Rice more than A&M, a series that LSU leads 27-20-3. The Tigers were victorious in their latest meeting, the 2011 Cotton Bowl, 41-24. However, the Aggies have won the past five regular season games versus LSU, a stretch from 1991-1995. A&M also holds a 7-1-1 record against the Tigers in College Station, site of Saturday’s game.

A series that began in 1899 has had many starts and stops over the past century as LSU and A&M have been members of the same conference — the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) in the early 1900s along with many current SEC members — and played several out-of-conference games against each other during the 20th century.

1995: Freshman LSU RB Kevin Faulk, who still holds many LSU records, is swarmed by the A&M defense at Kyle Field. The Aggies won 33-17.

Texas has denied to establish A&M as a permanent out-of-conference foe after the Aggies left the Big XII. Who better than LSU to fill the void vacated by the Longhorns? A&M has played LSU more than any other out-of-conference opponent in its history.

 

The only question is, why isn’t it later in the SEC schedule?

For more coverage of the renewed LSU-A&M rivalry, click here and here.

“Sometimes You Can Win and Still be a Dummy.”

I like Les. I really do. And of course, sometimes you can win and still be a dummy. — Steve Spurrier

He’s one of those guys you enjoy seeing at the SEC meetings. — Les Miles

Enjoy more here: Steve Spurrier, Les Miles will be part of the show

Characters.

Two Games, Two Fakes, And Classic Mad Hatter

LSU has won its past two games against Florida — 33-29 in 2010 and 41-11 last year — and both featured classic mad hatter style from Les Miles. A fake field goal and run by kicker Josh Jasper in 2010 kept LSU’s game-winning drive alive and a fake punt in 2011 for a touchdown was called back for an unsportsmanlike taunting penalty on LSU’s punter Brad Wing before he scored.

2010:

 

2011:

 

Tiger Images

LSU enters league play for the first time Saturday night at Auburn. These two Tigers have played some memorable games with unlikely circumstances. LSU leads the overall series 25-20-1.

The infamous Earthquake game in 1988. LSU won 7-6 in Baton Rouge.

The Interception game in 1994. Auburn, trailing 23-9 in the 4th quarter, won 30-26 after returning three interceptions for touchdowns in Auburn.

The Fire game in 1996. The old Auburn Sports Arena, known as The Barn, burned to the ground during the game across the street from Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn. LSU won 19-15.

The Cigar game in 1999. Auburn players celebrate with cigars on LSU’s field after a 41-7 win. Many LSU fans mark this picture as the spark to the rivalry.

Auburn kicker/punter Damon Duval gets into it with the LSU band in 2001 in Baton Rouge. LSU won 27-14.

LSU WR Demetrius Byrd catches the winning touchdown in 2007 after Les Miles elects to throw for the endzone with two seconds left even though a field goal would have won the game.

Around the League — Sept. 10

Miss. St./Auburn:

Clarion Ledger: Mullen Hopes Miss. St. Can Focus on Job at Hand

Birmingham News: Miss. St. Becomes Chizik’s Signature Defeat

Florida/Tex. A&M:

Orlando Sentinel: Florida’s Defense Was Key to Win at Texas A&M

Houston Chronicle: Texas A&M a Winner, Big 12 a Loser After Another College Football Weekend

LSU/Washington:

The News Star: Washington May Have Misjudged LSU’s Edge Speed

Georgia/Missouri:

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Missouri’s Richardson Makes Amends with Richt After Georgia’s Win

Kansas City Star: This Is Just the Start of the Tigers’ Climb