"He's a tremendous talent”, Miles said of Mallett. “He does a great job of running their offense and spreading the ball around.He's thrown for over 3,100 yards and 28 touchdowns with just 6 interceptions so he makes good decisions with his hands."
The Tigers will counter the Hogs' offense with a defense than ranks third in the SEC and No. 8 in the nation in scoring at 14.7 point per game. The Tigers are allowing 322,2 total yards per game -- 132,9 rushing, 189.3 passing.
Offensively, LSU is down to its fourth tailback this week because of season-ending injuries to Charles Scott (clavicle), Keiland Williams (broken ankle) and Richard Ridley, a sophomore will get his first start against Arkansas. In spot duty, Ridley has rushed for 119 yards and 2 touchdowns on just 19 carries this season.
"Steven will get the bulk of the reps at running back," said Mikes. "I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do."
Down to his final home game, Brandon LaFell, who put his name in the draft pool last year, can't seem to imagine his life after LSU.
"I'm used to walking out of the stadium knowing that the next week I'm going to play there again," said the wide receiver. "All the emotions are going to be built up. It's going a weird feeling, but I'm going to go out there and play one of my best games."
The Tigers go into the game with an 8-3 over-all record, while the Razorbacks have won four straight and stand 7-4 over-all.
WEEK 11 POWER INDEX: The Saints remain No. 1 in the weekly Power Index. The Power Index measures offensive and defensive efficiency and uses a formula to calculate an over-all rating of a team's quality. Next week's index should be interesting as the two top teams, he Saints and the Patriots, meet on Monday night.
___________________________________________________________________________ Team Off. Index Def .IndexOver-all Last Week
THIS WEEK'S FEARLESS PREDICTIONS: NFL--Colts -3 over Texans; Bengals -14 over Browns (best bet); Vikings -11 over Bears; Eagles -9 over Redskins; Dolphins -3 over Bills; Cardinals -3 over Titans; Seahawks -3 over Rams (lock); Falcons -12 over Bucs; 49ers_3 over Jaguars; Chargers -13 1/2 over Chiefs; Steelers +1 over Ravens; Saints -3 over Patriots. Last week: 10-4.
College--LSU -3 over Arkansas; SMU -17 over Tulane; South Carolina +3 over Clemson; Ole Miss -8 over Mississippi State; New Mexico +44 over TCU; East Carolina -6 over USM; Miami -5 over South Florida; UCLA + 13 over USC; Stanford +10 over Notre Dame; Kansas +7 over Missouri; Florida -24 over Florida State; Arizona -3 over Arizona State; and Georgia Tech -10 over Georgia. Last week: 12-6.
Former LSU quarterback Ryan Perrilloux, now with JacksonvilleState, has been named the Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year.. Perrilloux, a finalist for the Walter Payton Award. He was won offensive player of the week honors seven times this season. Perrilloux ranks first nationally in passing efficiency (172.58) and fourth nationally in points responsible for (18.8 points/game). The senior from LaPlace also set several other single-game school records, including touchdowns responsible for (31), total offense per game (279.3) and total offense per play (8.36). he finished his two-yer career as JaxState's career leader in passing yards per game (222.3) and total offense per game (280.9) and had a career passing efficiency of 154.9. He will play in the NFL next season. LSU could have used a quarterback with these skills this season...
Cornerback Tracy Porter (knee) was the only Saints who didn't practice on Thursday.
Safety Darren Sharper (knee) and running back Bush were among the Saints who returned to practice. Also practicing on a limited basis were cornerback Jabari Greer (groin), cornerback Randall Gay (hamstring), center Jonathan Goodwin (ankle), defensive end Bobby McCray, receiver Lance Moore and linebacker Jon Vilma (knee).
Saints safety Darren Sharper on the deafening noise he expects at the Superdome on Monday night: "I can be touching facemasks with you and you're yelling. I still can't hear you. It gets pretty loud, and that's one of the things that's a home-field advantage for us. We definitely have to use that." Sharper is in his first season in the Superdome after playing in Green Bay and Minnesota. Lambeau Field for its passion, and the Metrodome, for its echoing noise, are unique venues. Neither of them, Sharper said, forces a visitor to focus quite like the Superdome."
Former Saints draft choice, quarterback Tyler Palko, is on the Steelers' practice squad. Dennis Dixon is ailing Ben Rothisberger's backup. Ex Tulane quarterback Patrick Ramsay and former Saint Todd Bouman tried out on Thanksgiving for the No. 3 spot...Trivia time:After the Lions and the Cowboys, which NFL team has played the most games on Thanksgiving?...SI'sMichael Rosenberg on what Thanksgiving means to football fans: "This is the week for two storied NFL traditions: the Lions playing playing on Thanksgiving, and people complaining about the Lions playing on Thanksgiving."...
Does NFL Films ever miss anything? In the "being in the right place at the right time category," NFL Films wired Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford for sound Sunday against the Browns for a segment featured on Wednesday on the NFL Network and Showtime. Stafford led the Lions to victory with a last-second pass, but had an injured shoulder. NFL Films president Steve Sabol told the Detroit Free Press that Stafford's performance "strips you down to your essence as a competitor and a man. What will you do when it count, when you're hurting, when you're tired?" Sabol added. "In the NFL, being a hero is not a permanent condition, but rather a moment one rises to."...Trivia answer: The Packers. They made their 31st Thanksgiving appearance on Thursday against Detroit. From 1951 to 1963, Green Bay played Detroit every year on Thanksgiving...
"He's a tremendous talent”, Miles said of Mallett. “He does a great job of running their offense and spreading the ball around.
