It’s become commonplace for an LSU football practice.
Not only are the Tigers working out earlier in the day throughout the week, but it’s customary to hear music blaring from the Charles McClendon Practice Facility.
The tunes are not intended for dancing, but instead utilized to simulate the kind of noise the team’s going to incur during any of their road trips this season.
LSU got a high-volume version of Ole Miss’ speakers at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium during the team’s 32-24 defeat on Sept. 19.
They’re expecting another such boisterous welcome when No. 10 LSU (4-1, 1-1 in SEC) visits unranked Kentucky (4-1, 2-1) at its 61,000-seat Kroger Field for Saturday’s 6 p.m. kickoff.
“Today we were out there with our equipment manager (Louis Bourgeois) driving around in a truck blasting music right behind right behind the huddle,” LSU senior center Braelin Moore said. “It was pretty much impossible to hear each other. It’s been huge for us in emphasizing communication.”
Moore said LSU received a rude awakening in trying to function offensively in an environment that compared to playing football at a rock concert.
The Tigers were penalized four times for false starts, causing a disruption in each of those series, thus affecting the operation of the offense to have to come from behind the chains to keep drives alive.
“First road game, there’s always going to be something like that,” LSU junior quarterback Sam Leavitt said. “Obviously, you don’t want to have any penalties. Some of them, you’re going to have to live with sometimes. Having that one game under our belt, in a really hostile environment, was great for us and especially to have a loss.
“It’s difficult to go through something like that, but the way that you bounce back and are able to progress is always going to benefit you in a season,” Leavitt said. “We have another opportunity this week against a really good team. We’ve got crowd noise bumping at practice. Just trying to dial things in.”
Sense of urgency
LSU is rated amongst the top offensive teams in the Southeastern Conference, but head coach Lane Kiffin continues to push the needle forward.
He knows at the level at which his offenses, along with offensive coordinator Charles Weis Jr., have functioned, he knows the role pre-snap penalties cause in inhibiting his offense’s true potential.
“We’re just striving for consistency,” Moore said. “We’ve shown bits and pieces. The second half of the Ole Miss game. Pretty clean except for the first drive of the Clemson game. Pretty clean besides a couple of drives in the Texas A&M game.
“We know there’s so much more meat on the bone for us to go achieve,” Moore said. “We’re really excited to work and achieve those things. We’re far from where we want to be on the offensive side of the ball.”
LSU is first in the conference in total offense (547.8 yards), third in both rushing (237.6) and passing (310.2) offense, and fourth in scoring (43.6).
“We walked off that field at Ole Miss, we didn’t like the way that we pass blocked that game,” said Moore, who was part of a unit that allowed two sacks, but 29 pressures. “Just too much pressure, too many sacks. We didn’t let Sam settle into the game. He just felt rushed the whole game.
“I felt like it kind of helped that he got injured,” Moore said. “And (it) put more pressure on us that we have to keep the pocket that more clean, so he can sit in there and be patient and work through his progressions and find the open dude.”
Leavitt, the SEC’s fifth-leading passer at 244.0 yards per game, was 16 of 27 passing for 158 yards with a touchdown against Ole Miss. He also had an interception in the final 58 seconds of the game that would have left the Tigers within a two-point conversion of tying the game.
Leavitt was also the team’s second-leading rusher with 17 attempts for 63 yards and a touchdown. He said his hamstring is nearly 100% and expects to be at full strength by game time against Kentucky.
“There were so many things that I felt I could have done better,” Leavitt said of the Ole Miss game. “Just having nothing but faith in myself and just seeing balls completed in games. Against Texas A&M, I was able to just let it rip and play out there with a care-free mindset.
“I didn’t really have another option,” Leavitt said. “I kind of let it click in my head. It (hamstring injury) was a blessing in a way. God works in mysterious ways. Take everything as it is and use it to your advantage.”
Offensive line growth
Moore said the Ole Miss game counted for one loss, but the offensive line has gained confidence from that game that continues to serve them well.
“It was a huge moment for us to learn and grow,” he said. “It was a competitive game, one that we would have won at the end of the day. We take it as a learning lesson and grow from that. In the SEC you can lose on any given weekend. Every team’s got dudes.
“Going to Kentucky, it’s going to be a hostile environment,” Moore said. “They’re winning right now. It’s a night game and it’s LSU. Every fan base is going to bring it when we come to town.”
