Louisiana State Tigers
Tiger Stadium (92,400/Natural Grass)
Baton Rouge, La.
Television
ESPN2 — Ron Franklin, Ed Cunningham and Jeannine Edwards
West Virginia Radio
Mountaineer Sports Network
Sirius 113
THE GAME
Saturday’s game will be the first meeting between West Virginia and Louisiana State on the gridiron … West Virginia’s last game against an opponent from the Southeastern Conference was last year’s 41-30 loss at Auburn … LSU hasn’t faced a BIG EAST opponent since a 23-10 loss to Syracuse in the 1989 Hall of Fame Bowl.
No. 22/21 WEST VIRGINIA (3-0)
Head Coach
Bill Stewart (Fairmont State ’75)
22-8, third season at West Virginia
30-33, sixth year as collegiate head coach
NOTES
West Virginia is 3-0 for the first time since 2007 after the Mountaineers took a 31-17 win against Maryland at Milan Puskar Stadium … West Virginia began the 2010 season with a 31-0 win against Coastal Carolina before rallying past Marshall 24-21 in overtime … West Virginia leads the BIG EAST in passing offense (266.7 ypg), pass efficiency (149.8), punt return average (15.8 ypr) total defense (255.7 ypg), rushing defense (62.7 ypg) first downs (23.3 per game), third-down conversions (52.8 percent) and time of possession (34:18) … QB Geno Smith has completed 71 of 101 passes for 800 yards and seven touchdowns against just one interception … Smith leads the BIG EAST in pass efficiency (157.7) and passing yards (266.7 ypg) … RB Noel Devine is second in the conference in rushing at 118.0 yards per game … Devine has rushed for at least 100 yards in all three games … WR Jock Sanders has 19 receptions for 214 yards and a touchdown … LB Anthony Leonard is fifth in the BIG EAST in tackles (7.7 per game), while DE Bruce Irvin registered three sacks against Maryland and ranks third in the conference in that category.
No. 15/12 LOUISIANA STATE (3-0, 2-0 SEC)
Head Coach
Les Miles (Michigan ’76)
54-15, sixth season at Louisiana State
82-36, 10th season as collegiate head coach
NOTES
Louisiana State opened the season with back-to-back wins away from home before scoring a 29-7 win against Mississippi State in Baton Rouge, La., last Saturday … LSU opened the 2010 season with a 30-24 win against North Carolina in Atlanta and followed with a 27-3 win at Vanderbilt … LSU’s strength thus far has been its ability to both run the ball (203 rushing yards per game) and stop the run (80.3 rushing yards allowed) … RB Stevan Ridley has rushed for 318 yards and two touchdowns and is averaging 106 yards per game … QB Jordan Jefferson has thrown for 344 yards and two touchdowns and has proven to be a capable runner as well … WR Rueben Randle has 10 receptions for 135 yards and a touchdown … LB Kelvin Sheppard has a team-high 27 tackles … DT Drake Nevis leads the team with 3.5 sacks and five tackles for loss … CB Patrick Peterson and CB Morris Claiborne have two interceptions each … K Josh Jasper has made seven consecutive field goals, including five in the win against Mississippi State … LSU has won at least 11 games three times in Les Miles’ first five seasons as head coach, including the 2007 season, when the Tigers won the BCS National Championship.