LSU football is about to play its first ranked-on-ranked football game in more than two seasons, and new head coach Brian Kelly isn't against people calling it what it is.
Of course, that's as long as they're using the right terminology.
"What I'm excited about is playing at home, you know, against the top 10 opponent in the SEC and at Tiger Stadium," Kelly said. "You know, it's a privilege to play in these games. It's not pressure, it's a privilege."
But that statement comes with some caveats. This is a team that enters at 4-1 and still unbeaten in the Southeastern Conference, but they've both been uneven efforts. The Tigers trailed 16-10 entering the 4th quarter against Mississippi State before rallying to win 31-16. They also trailed 17-0 against Auburn before scoring 21 unanswered points for a win, despite only throwing for 85 yards total in the game.
Kely has said he'd like quarterback Jayden Daniels to be more aggressive, even if it means a few turnovers. That's all part of the game.
THE GAME | No. 8 Tennessee (4-0, 1-0 SEC) at LSU (4-1, 2-0 SEC)
- When: 11 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 8
- Where: Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- Betting: Tennessee -3
- TV: ESPN
- Listen: WWL AM-870; FM-105.3
It's a team that has things to fix, but one that's been able to win SEC games while they're being fixed. Against Tennessee it's going to take a complete performance at the right time.
"We don't want a team that plays up and down. We want a consistency in our performance," Kelly said. "But the excitement of playing at home, the excitement of playing a top-10 team. You want all those things as long as you're in your right emotional zone and you you come to each game ready to play. And we're learning how to do that. We we haven't been consistently in that zone each and every week."
Can LSU hang with the 4-0 Vols? We'll find out starting at 11 a.m. Saturday morning (ESPN).
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CHRIS HILTON DONE FOR THE YEAR
The freshman year for LSU wide receiver Chris Hilton Jr. has ended early due to a shoulder issue and necessary surgery. Kelly said the young receiver had "subluxed" his shoulder multiple times, a medical term for a partial dislocation.
"It got to the point where, do we wait till the end of the year or do we get it done now? And I think that, you know, it just made sense to get it done now," Kelly said.
Hilton's season will end with 7 catches for 109 yards.
DELLINGER IN A CAST
Sophomore guard Garrett Dellinger broke his hand and missed the matchup against Auburn, but he's now in a cast to protect a surgically repaired fracture and ready to go against Tennessee, Kelly said.
"He's done quite well. ... There's no uneasiness from him. He's attacked it, and he's done very, very well," Kelly said. "We've got the ability to do 3D Cast renderings of the hand to make it so comfortable for him. And I think that's really helped him to find the right cast and the right fit. So he's done quite well this week. We feel comfortable with him in there."
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DID MISS. STATE MATCHUP HELP PREPARE FOR VOLS' TEMPO?
"It helps ... no doubt," Kelly said. "All those little things help in terms of being more familiar with teams that want to play fast and play up tempo. Spread the field. But they are different offenses, there's no doubt about that. Tempo will be a challenge, there's no doubt and the matchups will be what we'll have to look at each and every play. But I think we've got a pretty good sense of what to expect against a really good offense."
THOUGHTS ON TENNESSEE DEFENSE
"We know it's a really good defense," Kelly said. "Their linebackers are active. They're certainly a group I think from a talent standpoint and an execution standpoint, they do a great job. Our hands are full. It's a top 10 team, and they deserve to be. So I think when you're going up against a team of this caliber, you really have to focus on what you do and execute at a high level against a defense like this. But I've said this a number of times: You can't be one-dimensional, like we can't come into this game and think, 'well, we can't run the football. That's it. We're in trouble.' We've got to find a way to do both. We've got to throw the football. We've got to find ways to run and hopefully be efficient when it's when it's time to run the football."