Cowbells will be ringing inside of Davis Wade Stadium, as LSU visits the Bulldogs in an early season SEC West tilt. Both teams come in with identical 2-0 records. The last three matchups have been tight contests, and I don’t see any reason why that won’t be the case again on Saturday night in Starkville.

The Bulldogs defensively, under Todd Grantham, appear to be making strides and have improved dramatically. Cowbell completely stymied a decent passing attack last weekend when the Bulldogs beat a decent Louisiana Tech team on the road.

The Tigers are rock solid defensively. LSU welcomes back Arden Key after sitting out the first two weeks with an injury. How healthy is Key? We will find out. You can simulate football shape all you want, but until you play a game, it’s hard to be in the type of shape needed to play a lot of downs. The Tigers completely shut down a BYU offense that may not be very good. And certainly isn’t built to have success against LSU.

The key to this game will be the play of the Bulldogs offensive line. A group that has been very good to this point of the season. Mississippi State certainly will be challenged, but Nick Fitzgerald brings another dynamic to the table. Though he struggled to run it against LSU last year, Fitzgerald is talented enough to give the Tigers fits and will find success at times. The question is will it be enough?

LSU, under new offensive coordinator Matt Canada, have controlled time of possession in a big way. I still question whether the Tigers can garner any big plays through the air, but with Derrius Guice toting the rock, they are eating up yardage on the ground.

Prediction:

I expect a physical, see saw battle all night, with both team having their specific moments. LSU does enough defensively to pull out another tight one against Cowbell. Let’s make the score 24-20.