• 1958 & 2003 National Champions • 1935, 1936, 1958, 1961, 1970, 1986, 1988, 2001 & 2003 SEC Champions • LSU Tigers at Alabama Nov. 12, 2005 • 2:30 p.m. CST • CBS Tuscaloosa, Ala. • Bryant-Denny Stadium (83,818) THE LESWEEK MILES ERA 9 BEGINS • 2005 LSU FOOTBALL GAME NOTES NATIONAL CHAMPIONS #5 LSU (7-1, 4-1 SEC) LSU Set for Clash With Alabama In Matchup of Top 5 Teams For the first time since 1959, LSU will be part of a regular season game featuring a pair of top 5 teams as the fifth-ranked SEPTEMBER Tigers travel to face third-ranked and undefeated Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. Kickoff for the SEC 10 at #15 Arizona State (ESPN) W, 35-31 Western Division battle is set for 2:30 p.m. The game will be televised to a national audience on CBS. LSU, winners of six 26 * #10/11 Tennessee (ESPN2) L, 30-27 OT straight, is coming off a 24-0 win over I-AA Appalachian State on Saturday. The Tigers are 7-1 overall and 4-1 in confer- OCTOBER ence play. LSU is ranked No. 5 in all three majors polls this week - AP, USA Today, and Harris Interactive. Alabama, 17-0 winners over Mississippi State on Saturday, has won all nine of its games this season and brings a perfect 9-0 mark into 1 * at Mississippi State (TigerVision) W, 37-7 Saturday's game. The Crimson Tide lead the SEC Western Division with a 6-0 mark. Alabama is ranked No. 3 by AP and 8 * at Vanderbilt (ESPN2) W, 34-6 No. 4 in the USA Today Coaches poll and the Harris Interactive poll. Saturday's contest will feature two of the nation's top 15 * #11/13 Florida (CBS) W, 21-17 defenses as the Crimson Tide ranks No. 1 nationally in scoring defense (8.2 ppg), No. 3 in total defense (244.4 ypg), No. 22 * #15/16 Auburn (ESPN) W, 20-17OT 4 in pass defense (150.7 ypg) and No. 7 in rush defense (93.8 ypg). LSU ranks No. 6 in scoring defense (13.9 ppg), No. 29 North Texas (TigerVision) W, 56-3 12 in total defense (295.8 ypg), No. 16 in rush defense (107.5 ypg) and No. 23 in pass defense (188.2 ypg). LSU has NOVEMBER allowed only 50 points over its last 6 games. Offensively, the Tigers are No. 2 in the SEC with a 31.8 average and LSU is 5 Appalachian State (HC) W, 24-0 No. 3 in the league in total offense with 401 yards per game. LSU QB JaMarcus Russell has connected on 33 of his last 12 * at #3/4 Alabama (CBS) 2:30 p.m. 43 passes, which have gone for 452 yards and 3 TDs in the Tigers' last two games. LSU RB Joseph Addai leads the Tigers 19 * at Ole Miss TBA with 644 yards rushing and 7 TDs, while WR Dwayne Bowe has caught 24 passes for 450 yards and 7 TDs. 25 * Arkansas (CBS) 1:30 p.m. Tigers Methodical in 24-0 Win Over Appalachian State It wasn't flashy, but it was effective as LSU used a balance offense combined with a stingy defense to shutout I-AA Appalachian State, 24-0, in the annual Homecoming contest. LSU never trailed in the game as the Tigers took the open- ing kickoff and drove 72 yards on nine plays, capped on a 9-yard pass from JaMarcus Russell to Dwayne Bowe. LSU extended the lead to 14-0 with a 1-yard TD run by Justin Vincent early in the second quarter. The score remained that #3/4 Alabama (9-0, 6-0 SEC) way until early in the fourth quarter when Russell hit tight end Keith Zinger for a 9-yard TD. Chris Jackson completed the SEPTEMBER scoring for the Tigers with a 34-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter. In all, LSU accounted for 371 yards of offense, 163 on the ground and 208 through the air. Vincent led the Tigers with a season-high 89 yards rushing and 1 TD, 3 Middle Tennessee W, 26-7 while Russell connected on 16 of 22 passes for 208 yards and 2 TDs. Bowe led all receivers with 5 catches for 76 yards 10 Southern Miss (ESPN2) W, 30-21 and score. Defensively, LSU held ASU to 256 yards of offense and only 14 first downs. The Mountaineers crossed midfield 17 * at South Carolina (CBS) W, 37-14 only twice during the game as seven of their 10 possessions ended with a punt. Melvin Oliver led the Tigers with 8 tackles 24 * Arkansas W, 24-13 and 1 sack. OCTOBER 1 * #5 Florida (CBS) W, 31-3 LSU at Alabama: The Facts 15 * at Ole Miss (CBS) W, 13-10 Date/Time: Saturday, Nov. 12 at 2:30 p.m. CST 22 * #17 Tennessee (CBS) W, 6-3 Location: Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Bryant-Denny Stadium - 83,818) 29 Utah State W, 35-3 Television: CBS (live) - cable ch. 7 in Baton Rouge NOVEMBER Cox Sports Television (delay) - cable ch. 37 in Baton Rouge 5 * at Mississippi State (CBS) W, 17-0 Radio: LSU Sports Radio Network - 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge 12 * #5 LSU (CBS) 2:30 p.m. Sirius Satellite Radio - ch. 107 (LSU Broadcast) 19 * at Auburn TBA The Series: Alabama leads 43-20-5 The Series LSU and Alabama meet for the 69th time with the Crimson Tide holding a 43-20-5 advantage in the series that dates back to a 12-6 Tiger win in Baton Rouge in 1896 … Last year, LSU posted a 26-10 win over Alabama in Baton Rouge … The Tigers have Radio • LSU Sports Radio Network won two straight and four of the last five against Alabama … By winning four of the last five against Alabama, it marks the best 5-year stretch against the Tide in LSU history … LSU is 6-9 all-time in Tuscaloosa, however the Tigers have won two straight Jim Hawthorne, play-by-play and three of the last four on the road against the Tide … Alabama's last win over LSU came in Baton Rouge by a 31-0 count Doug Moreau, analyst in 2002 … Alabama last beat LSU in Tuscaloosa in 1999 by a 23-17 margin … Since 1996, the home team in the series has Jordy Hultberg, sideline won just three times (in 9 tries) … LSU and Alabama meet as ranked teams for the first time since 2002 when No. 10 Alabama beat No. 14 LSU, 31-0 ... This will mark LSU coach Les Miles' first game vs. Alabama. Television • CBS (live) LSU Alabama Verne Lundquist, play-by-play Record 7-1 (4-1 SEC) Record 9-0 (6-0 SEC) Todd Blackledge, analyst Ranking No. 5 Associated Press Ranking No. 4 Associated Press Tracy Wolfson, sideline No. 5 USA Today/Coaches No. 3 USA Today/Coaches Last Game Nov. 5 at Baton Rouge, La. Last Game Nov. 5 at Starkville, Miss. Television • Cox Sports (delay) def. Appalachian State, 24-0 def. Mississippi State, 17-0 Coach Mike Shula Lyn Rollins, play-by-play Coach Les Miles Career Record 19-15/third year Greg Bowser, analyst Career Record 35-22/fifth year LSU Record 7-1/first year Bama Record 19-15/third year Jordy Hultberg, sideline vs. Bama first meeting vs. LSU 0-2 LSU Sports Information Phone - 225.578.8226 P.O. Box 25095, Baton Rouge, LA 70894 Fax - 225.578.1861 Les Miles HEAD COACH • FIRST YEAR Les Miles, the 2002 Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year and former assistant with Michigan, Colorado and the Dallas Cowboys who built Oklahoma State into a force in the Big 12, became LSU's 32nd head foot- ball coach on Jan. 3, 2005. In four short years, Miles turned the Oklahoma State football program into one that was nationally com- petitive, despite competing in-state against one of the country's dominant programs. Now as the head coach of the flagship university in the state of Louisiana, it's Miles' mission to not only keep the Tigers among the elite in the nation on the playing field, but to also continue the program's success in the classroom and in the community. On the field, Miles is a proven winner and he was the obvious choice for LSU, a team that ranks second in the SEC in victories over the past five years with 48. He's a skillful manager who brings to Baton Rouge foot- ball expertise, an eye for evaluating talent, and a personality that has energized the program. All talents that are necessary for running and maintaining a top 10 college football program. Miles led the Cowboys to three straight bowl appearances, an accomplishment Oklahoma State had not achieved since Jimmy Johnson started a string of three straight post-season games beginning in 1983. In addi- tion, Oklahoma State's appearance in the Cotton Bowl to cap the 2003 season marked the first time in 55 years that the Cowboys appeared in a January bowl game. Miles' college playing and coaching career includes experience under some of the most noted coaches in college football. At Michigan, he played for legendary coach Bo Schembechler and later served on Schembechler's staff. He also worked with Gary Moeller at Michigan and Bill McCartney at Colorado. As head coach at Oklahoma State, he built a consistent winner out of a program that had recorded only one winning season since 1988, and had posted a record of 13-20 in the three years prior to his arrival at OSU.