The LSU Tigers will square off against the Penn State Nittany Lions on New Years Day in the Capital One Bowl.  The Nittany Lions (10-2, 6-2 Big Ten) were passed over as the Big Ten’s No. 2 BCS team, as Iowa, which had the same record as Penn State, was chosen over the Lions for the FedEx Orange Bowl. “Anybody that knows college football knows of Coach Paterno,” LSU coach Les Miles said of the 82-year-old Penn State coach. “I had visited with him briefly on a couple of occasions. I have great admiration and respect for not only his longevity, but how he’s guided that program through different times and how well he’s done.”

The LSU Tigers hoping for a 10-win season. Penn State is hoping for its first win in this game since Jan. 1, 1994. Players to watch are LSU QB Jordan Jefferson and Penn St. LB Navorro Bowman. Jefferson has been a wild card for the Tigers this season, while Bowman is the best defensive player for the Lions.

LSU will be looking for its fifth bowl win under coach Les Miles in five seasons. His 2007 team won the BCS national title, beating Big Ten champion Oho State.

Here are some statistics for both teams:

Total Yards
PSU 412.5 / 36th
LSU 309.7 / 108th

Passing Yards
PSU 246.6 / 43rd
LSU 199.8 / 94th

Rushing Yards
PSU 173.6 / 39th
LSU 129.6 / 84th

Points Scored
PSU 29.7 / 44th
LSU 25.5 / 74th

History of the Capital One Bowl:

The Capital One Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Orlando, Florida at the Citrus Bowl, and previously known as the Tangerine Bowl (1947-1982) and the Florida Citrus Bowl (1983-2002). Financial services company Capital One has been the title sponsor of the bowl since 2001 when it was the Capital One Florida Citrus Bowl but with the exclusive Capital One Bowl moniker since 2003. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group which also organizes the Champs Sports Bowl and Florida Classic.

Since becoming one of the premier bowls, the Capital One Bowl is traditionally held at 1 p.m. EST on New Year’s Day, immediately before the Rose Bowl, both of which are televised on ABC. In 2004, the Capital One Bowl bid to become the fifth BCS game, but was not chosen, primarily due to the stadium’s aging condition. On July 26, 2007 the Orange County Commissioners voted 5–2 in favor of spending a total of 1.1 billion dollars on building a new arena for the Orlando Magic, building a performing arts center and upgrading the Citrus Bowl.

Former Names:

-Tangerine Bowl (1947-1982)
-Florida Citrus Bowl (1983-1993)
-Ourhouse.com Florida Citrus Bowl (2000)
-Capital One Florida Citrus Bowl (2001-2002)

This Saturday in Tuscaloosa, AL, the LSU Tigers will face off with the Alabama Crimson Tide in hopes of clinching the SEC West. Both teams are only one win (this one) away from receiving that title and meeting the Florida Gators for a chance at the SEC Championship. From there its a shot at the BCS Championship, so yes, this is a HUGE game for LSU and Bama alike.

LSU vs Alabama has always been a key game in the schedule, mainly because they have always both been contenders for the SEC Championship. Lately, however, the rivalry has grown hotter simply because Nick Saban, ex-LSU coach, is now the head coach of the Tide. Saban left LSU to takeover the head coaching position at Miami, but didn’t do so well there. Once he took the top spot at Alabama, he immediately made lots of enemies, namely LSU fans.  Saban coached LSU in 2003 when we won the BCS Championship.

Here is a comparison of the 2 starting quarterbacks for this match up:

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Jordan Jefferson – LSU

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Greg McElroy – Alabama

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Overall Team Stats

Game Time 3:30PM EST, Tuscaloosa AL shown on CBS

The LSU Tigers rolled past the Tulane Green Wave in Tiger Stadium, 42-0 The story was easily told by viewing the total yards. LSU nearly doubled the number of yards that Tulane racked up, although Tulane’s passing yards were 2 more than LSU. The ground was definitely LSU’s niche tonight.

Charles Scott had over 100 yards on the ground with 2 rushing touchdowns, while Brandon Lafell caught 2 touchdown passes. Russell Shephard had one touchdown, bringing his career touchdowns to 2.  Quarterback Jordan Jefferson threw for 150+ yards with 2 touchdowns, both to Lafell.

As you are probably aware, tonight’s game was the 50th anniversary of the Billy Cannon famous 89 yard run back of the Ole Miss punt. Cannon appeared in the halftime show and talked about the return. Also appearing were past members of the Tiger Band and LSU Golden Girls who were all on the field for the halftime show.

Stats for the night:

Next week the LSU Tigers (7-1) travel to Alabama to take on the top ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. The winner of that game will secure a spot in the SEC Championship game.

The LSU Tigers(9)  prove once again to be too much for the Auburn Tigers by blowing them out of the water Saturday night in Tiger Stadium 31-10. Quarterback Jordan Jefferson completed 21/31 with no interceptions for a career-high 242 yards including 2 passes for touchdowns. Jefferson also scrambled for his first ever touchdown on the ground, resulting in 6 more points for LSU.

Terrance Toliver had 9 receptions for a career high 86 yards with 1 touchdown for the night while Brandon Lafell had 6 receptions for 67 yards, also scoring 1 touchdown. Jarrett Lee was put in for the 1st time in 4 games and completed 1 out of 3 for 12 yards.  Russell Shepard also contributed to the victory with a 69 yard run for a touchdown late in the 3rd quarter.

The Auburn Tigers remained scoreless until about 6 minutes into the 3rd quarter when Wes Byrum kicked a 24 yard field goal, making the score 24-3, LSU. The only other play resulting in a score for Auburn came with only 3 seconds left in the game from the 1 yard line  with Philip Lutzenkirchen receiving a 1 Yd Pass From Neil Caudle for 6. Bynum completed the extra point as the last second ticked off the clock, making the final score LSU 31, Auburn 10.

Auburn came out smoking, but unfortunately not in the points department. They accumulated 64 yards in penalties and had 3 turnovers which contributed to LSU’s 17-0 shut out in the first half. Prior to playing LSU, Auburn’s offense was ranked in the top 10 nationally and averaged 465 yards. The strong LSU defense held them to only 193 yards in all 4 quarters, 81 passing and 112 on the ground.

Stats for the night:

LSU (6-1) hosts Tulane (2-5) at home on Halloween night next week and then takes on the Alabama Crimson Tide on the road the following week.

LSU vs Auburn Photos: