Stephen Lew
By Hunt Palmer
Senior Night is here for the 2025 LSU Tigers.
It comes in the form of a non-conference matchup with Western Kentucky from Conference USA. The Hilltoppers are a solid CUSA squad with an 8-2 overall record and a shot at playing for the league title. They’ll have to beat an unbeaten Jacksonville State team to have a shot.
Meanwhile, LSU is playing out the season without its head coach and now with a quarterback questionable to return. Garrett Nussmeier won’t play on his Senior Night. Instead, Michael Van Buren will take the snaps for LSU.
It’s one more chance for Tiger fans to tailgate and find their seats in Tiger Stadium. One more chance for the Golden Band from Tigerland to march down Victory Hill. One more chance for Garth Brooks to sound as the fourth quarter begins.
It’s more Saturday Night in Death Valley.
WESTERN KENTUCKY QB RODNEY TISDALE VS. LSU CORNERBACKS
Western Kentucky had to go to backup quarterback Rodney Tisdale when starter Maverick McIvor went down a month ago. Tisdale has run the Hilltopper air raid well since his insertion into the lineup. Last week against Middle Tennessee State, he was 29-for-41 for 371 yards and three touchdowns.
Western Kentucky ranks 11th nationally in passing offense and eighth in passing attempts. They complete 68.1% of their throws for 17th in the country. It’s an air raid offense predicated on timing and run after the catch. LSU’s cornerbacks have played very good football this season. Mansoor Delane is an All-American candidate, and PJ Woodland and DJ Pickett have really grown up on the other side.
Part of the assignment for the cornerbacks on Saturday night is to make Tisdale’s throws tough. The other part is making sure tackles on the short, easy completions that Western Kentucky enjoys. This is a good matchup for LSU and is clearly the best secondary the Hilltoppers have played.
WESTERN KENTUCKY’S DEFENSIVE FRONT VS. LSU’S OFFENSIVE LINE
It’s time to bully someone.
LSU’s offensive line has not blocked well for the run all season. There was some positive production in the first half against Texas A&M. Last week against Arkansas was okay. But for the most part, LSU has really struggled to run the ball. The Tigers are 124th in the country in yards per game on the ground and 110th in yards per carry.
That needs to change on Saturday.
Western Kentucky is very poor in run defense at the CUSA level. They’re 11th of 12 CUSA teams, and they haven’t played a Power Four opponent yet. Toledo ran for 307 on this bunch. Nevada ran for 207. Missouri State ran for 214. FIU ran for 249. You get the picture.
LSU may not be able to shove Alabama’s sub-standard SEC run defense around, but this is a different story. The Tigers need to feature Harlem Berry and Caden Durham early and often in this game
DAMIAN RAMOS VS. RECORD BOOK
This season Damian Ramos has rewritten the record book. He’s now LSU’s all-time leader in field goals (65) and points (390). He had already set the record for consecutive extra points last season in the Texas Bowl.
He’s still got one more record to chase — career extra points.
He’s six shy of Colt David’s mark (201) and has three games to get there. Only two teams in the nation have allowed fewer touchdowns than Oklahoma where LSU travels next week. That means the Tigers need to make some hay against Western Kentucky to get into striking distance.
Ramos has had an incredible four-year run as LSU’s placekicker. He’ll be honored before the game with his classmates, and hopefully there’s one more record in his grasp by the end of the season.
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