LSU Tigers football

Divisional championships

Since the SEC began divisional play in 1992, LSU has won or shared the SEC West title 7 times, and is 3-1 in the SEC Championship game.

Seasons

• The Tigers did not field a team in 1918 due to World War I.

Bowl games

LSU has played in 42 bowl games, compiling a record of 22-19-1. Note that in the table below, the year references the season, and not the actual date the game was played.

Famous moments in LSU football history

• 2008 - The Comeback -- The Tigers trailed in a makeup game from Hurricane Gustav 31-3 midway through the third quarter against Troy. The Bayou Bengals came back with 37 consecutive points and rallied to win 40-31.
• 2008 - BCS national championship -- #2 LSU defeats #1 Ohio State University in the BCS national championship 38–24, becoming the first school to win two BCS national championship titles and improving their BCS record to 4–0, the best of any team. They also became the first two loss team to ever play in the BCS national championship.
• 2007 - The Greatest Game Ever Played -- #2 LSU played what was hyped as one of the most important games of the 2007 season against #9 Florida. The game is also known for the LSU students leaving thousands of messages on the phone of Florida quarterback, Tim Tebow, to which he gestured a hand signal to the LSU student section following an early touchdown. Florida began the fourth quarter with a 24-14 lead, but behind solid defense and being a perfect 5 for 5 on fourth down conversions, the Tigers were able to take the lead 28-24 with 1:06 left in the game after a Jacob Hester touchdown to defeat the Gators.
• 2006 - LSU vs Tennessee -- QB JaMarcus Russell completes a touchdown pass to WR Early Doucet with 9 seconds to go to beat Tennessee in Neyland Stadium in Knoxville after a breakout performance by Tennessee backup QB Jonathan Crompton.
• 2004 - Sugar Bowl -- LSU becomes the BCS national champion by defeating Oklahoma 21–14.
• 2002 - "The Bluegrass Miracle" -- #16 LSU survived an upset bid from unranked Kentucky by winning the game 33–30 on a miraculous 75-yard Hail Mary pass as time expired. Kentucky fans, believing they had won, had already rushed the field and torn down one goal post.
• 2001 - SEC Championship Game -- #21 LSU staged an upset victory over #2 Tennessee, winning 31–20. The victory earned LSU a spot in its first Sugar Bowl since 1986, and knocked the Volunteers out of national title contention.
• 1997 - #1 Ranked Florida Taken Down by LSU -- After nine straight losses to Steve Spurrier-led Florida, #14 LSU shocked the #1-ranked Gators 28–21 in Tiger Stadium, making the cover of Sports Illustrated. It was the first time LSU beat a #1 ranked team.
• 1995 - Bring Back The Magic Game -- Wearing its white jerseys at home in Tiger Stadium for the first time since 1982, LSU upset #5 Auburn, winning the game 12-6 as LSU DB Troy Twillie intercepted Auburn QB Patrick Nix's 11-yard pass into the end zone with no time remaining.
• 1988 - "The Earthquake Game" -- Unranked LSU staged a near literal earth-shattering upset victory over #4 AuburninTiger Stadium, winning the game 7-6 with 1:41 remaining on a TD pass from QB Tommy Hodson to TB Eddie Fuller. The reaction of the crowd was so immense that it registered as an earthquake on a seismograph in LSU’s Howe-Russell Geoscience Complex.
• 1972 - Jones to Davis;. "The Night The Clock Stopped" -- #6 LSU survived an upset bid from unranked Ole MissinTiger Stadium by winning the game on a TD pass from QB Bert Jones to RB Brad Davis. Ole Miss fans say the 1972 contest featured a few seconds of free football. The Tigers trailed the Rebels 16–10 with four seconds to play. After a lengthy incompletion by Jones, the game clock still showed one second remaining. The Tigers used the precious second to win the game on the "last play," 17–16. A song was written to commemorate the game, called "One Second Blues", (track #11) which is featured on the CD "Hey Fightin' Tigers". The alleged home-clock advantage inspired a sign at the Louisiana state line (as you left Mississippi) reading, "You are now entering Louisiana. Set your clocks back four seconds." For that year, the Ole Miss yearbook reported the score for the game as "Ole Miss 16, LSU 10 + 7 ".
• 1966 - Cotton Bowl Classic -- Unranked LSU upset #2 Arkansas, winning the game 14–7 and snapping Arkansas' 22-game winning streak.
• 1959 - Billy Cannon's Halloween Night Run -- Late in the game between #1 LSU and #3 Ole Miss, LSU was trailing 3–0. Then Billy Cannon returned a punt 89 yards for a TD, breaking seven tackles. The Rebels then drove down the field but were stopped on the LSU 1 yard line as the game ended resulting in a 7–3 victory for LSU in Tiger Stadium.
• 1959 - Sugar Bowl -- #1 LSU wins the 1958 national championship, beating #12 Clemson 7–0. The only score was a pass from Billy Cannon to freshman Mickey Mangham, one of the smallest players on the team. The game was played at the old Tulane University stadium in New Orleans.

Rivals

Tulane Green Wave

LSU's oldest rival is Tulane; the first LSU-Tulane football game was played in 1893 and for the first fifty or so years of Tiger football, no team was more hated by LSU fans than the Green Wave. The series, in which they battle for the Tiger Rag, was played continuously from 1919 to 1994. The intrastate rivalry featured two teams which were geographically close (Baton Rouge and New Orleans are roughly 80 miles (130 km) apart) and drew on socio-political tensions between the state's capital and seat of government and its biggest and most culturally important city. As opponents in the SIAA, Southern Conference and SEC, the Tulane rivalry flourished for many years but slowly declined after Tulane left the SEC and de-emphasized athletics. Until 1949, the series was very competitive, with LSU leading 23–18–5; since 1949, LSU has dominated, going 45–4–2. The two teams renewed the annual series in 2006.

Ole Miss Rebels

LSU's traditional SEC rival is Ole Miss. Throughout the fifties and sixties, games between the two schools featured highly ranked squads on both sides and seemingly every contest had conference, and at times national, title implications. While the rivalry died down from the seventies to the nineties, the rivalry has again been gaining steam and publicity, due to mostly the 2003 Season when Ole Miss could have been a top ten team and go to the SEC Championship while LSU would have gone to the national championship depending on who won the game. A trophy has now been named for the LSU-Ole Miss rivalry known as the "Magnolia Bowl". Recently, the second to last regular season game has been between these two colleges. There is still a strong rivalry between both schools.

Auburn Tigers

While Auburn's rivalries against Alabama and Georgia may overshadow its rivalry with LSU, in recent years, LSU's biggest rival has been the Auburn Tigers. The two share more than just a nickname, as they have both enjoyed success in the SEC's Western Division and plenty of memorable match ups. Either Auburn or LSU has won at least a share of the SEC Western Division championship for five of the last six years. The home team won every game from 2000 through 2007, until visiting LSU defeated Auburn in 2008. Both the 2007 and 2008 games saw LSU win dramatic, come-from-behind victories with last minute touchdown passes.

Alabama Crimson Tide

LSU and Alabama have played every year since the 1960s, with Alabama holding a historic edge in the series, 43–23–5. Many trace the origins of the rivalry back to a 15-game undefeated streak Alabama had in Tiger Stadium, which is generally considered to be one of the most hostile atmospheres in college football. While their rivalries against Auburn and Tennessee may overshadow their rivalry with LSU, the significance of this rivalry increased after Alabama hired former LSU coach Nick Saban in 2007. Prior to the initial Saban season, Sports Illustrated ranked the game #13 in its "Top 20 Games To Watch In 2007" list.^[2] The 2007 game saw the LSU Tigers win a dramatic come-from-behind victory, with a final score of 41–34.

Arkansas Razorbacks

After the Razorbacks left the Southwest Conference in 1990, Arkansas joined the SEC in 1991 and began a yearly rivalry with LSU. Spurred by both the SEC and the schools, LSU and Arkansas have developed a more intense football rivalry. The winner takes home the Golden Boot, a trophy in the shape of the states of Arkansas and Louisiana that resembles a boot. The game, played the day after Thanksgiving, is usually the last regular season game for each team and is broadcast on CBS. In 2002, the rivalry gained momentum as the game winner would represent the Western Division of the SEC in the SEC Championship Game. Arkansas won the exciting game on a last second touchdown pass by Matt Jones. In 2006, the Razorbacks, who had already clinched the SEC Western Division and were on a 10-game winning streak, were beaten by LSU in Little Rock. In 2007, Arkansas stunned top-ranked LSU in triple overtime, giving them their first win in Baton Rouge since 1993, and again defended the Golden Boot trophy with a last minute touchdown drive in 2008. A 15th ranked LSU would win back the trophy for the first time in two years in 2009 after the Razorback kicker missed a field goal that would have sent the game into a second overtime, solidifying LSU's record as the third best in the SEC as well as a position to go to the Capital One Bowl.

Florida Gators

LSU is Florida's permanent inter-divisional rival from the SEC Western Division. Florida leads the series 30-23-3. The winner of the Florida-LSU game has gone on to win the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) national championship game the last three consecutive years. With a few exceptions, this rivalry has been known for close games in recent years, with both teams usually coming into the match-up highly ranked.

Other SEC opponents

LSU has played Mississippi State more often than any other opponent. However, the series is hardly considered a rivalry, as the Tigers hold a commanding lead and have won 10 consecutive games in the series and 17 of 18 since 1992. Until the 1970s, the game was played far more often in Baton Rouge to allow MSU to reap the benefits of the larger gate at Tiger Stadium (which seated 67,500 at the time, more than twice the 32,500 of Scott Field in Starkville).

LSU and Kentucky played every year between 1949 and 2001, but the yearly meeting was ended when the SEC changed its scheduling format in 2002. Longtime LSU coach Charles McClendon (1962–79) was an All-American at Kentucky from 1948-51 under legendary coach Bear Bryant, and Tiger coaches Paul Dietzel and Bill Arnsparger were also assistants with the Wildcats. LSU has generally dominated the series, although Kentucky won the last meeting, ousting the then-No. 1 Tigers 43-37 in triple overtime in 2007 at Lexington. In the previous game at Lexington in 2002, the Tigers won 33-30 on the Bluegrass Miracle, a 75-yard touchdown pass from Marcus Randall to Devery Henderson on the last play of the game.

Traditions

Geaux Tigers — A common cheer for all LSU athletics, Geaux Tigers, pronounced "Go Tigers", is derived from a common ending in French Cajun names, -eaux. Acknowledging the state’s French heritage, it is common for fans to issue LSU newcomers an endearing “French” name. Intended to be more humorous than grammatically correct, coaches are especially targeted. Gerry DiNardo became “Dinardeaux”, Nick Saban became “Nick C’est Bon”.

Tailgating — Throngs of Tiger fans from across the region descend on LSU's campus for every home game, setting up motor homes and tents for Louisiana's biggest party other than Mardi Gras.

March Down The Hill - The LSU players, coaches, cheerleaders, and finally The Golden Band from Tigerland march down the hill between Tiger Stadium and the Pete Maravich Assembly Center (AKA, the PMAC) prior to each game. Thousands of fans line up on both sides of the road to watch and cheer for their beloved Tigers. The band plays their drum cadence while marching and just before entering the stadium, "Pregame" is played.

The LSU Band's Pregame Show — The LSU pregame show was created in 1964, and revised over the next nine years into its current format. The marching band lines up along the end zone shortly before kick off. Then the band strikes up a drum cadence and begins to spread out evenly across the field. When the front of the band reaches the center of the field, the band stops and begins to play an arrangement of "Pregame" (Hold that Tiger). While it does this, the band turns to salute the fans in all four corners of the stadium. Then the band, resuming its march across the field, begins playing "Touchdown for LSU." At this point, the LSU crowd chants "L-S-U, L-S-U, L-S-U..."

White Jerseys — LSU is notable as one of the few college football teams that wears white jerseys for home games as opposed to their darker jerseys (in their case, purple). Most other NCAA football teams wear their darker jerseys in home games, even though football is one of the few college sports that do not require a specific jersey type for each respective team (for instance, college basketball requires home teams to wear white or light-colored jerseys while the away team wears their darker jerseys), and is similar to the NFL in letting the home team decide what to wear. The tradition started in 1958, when Coach Paul Dietzel decided that LSU would wear white jerseys for the home games. LSU went on to win the national championship that year. Since then, LSU continued to wear white jerseys at home games. Then in 1982, new NCAA rules prohibited teams from wearing white jerseys at home. Because of this, LSU wore purple jerseys during home games from 1983 to 1994. The team's fans believed wearing purple jerseys brought bad luck to the team and complained often from 1983 and through the 1994 seasons. In 1995, LSU's new coach, Gerry DiNardo, was determined to restore LSU's tradition of white home jerseys. DiNardo personally met with each member of the NCAA Football Rules Committee, lobbying LSU's case. DiNardo was successful, and LSU again began wearing white jerseys at home when the 1995 season began. In LSU's first home game with the white jerseys, unranked LSU prevailed in a 12-6 upset victory over #6 Auburn. In 2000, LSU's new coach, Nick Saban, altered the tradition of the white home jerseys: now LSU only wears white jerseys for the home opener and for home games against SEC opponents. Saban's successor, Les Miles, has continued this pattern. For non-SEC home games other than the home opener, LSU wears purple jerseys at home.

The rule allowing LSU to wear white at home has one stipulation: the visiting team must agree for non-conference games. On two occasions, LSU was forced to wear colored jerseys at home. The first time was in 1996 against Vanderbilt, who was still angry at LSU for hiring Gerry DiNardo, who left Vanderbilt to become LSU's head coach after the 1994 season. LSU wore gold jerseys for that game (a 35-0 LSU victory), and fans were encouraged to wear white in an effort to "white out" the Commodores. The next season, the SEC amended its rule to allow the home team its choice of jersey color for conference games without prior approval of the visiting team.

In 1998 and 2000, Florida coach Steve Spurrier exercised this option and forced LSU to don a colored jersey at Gainesville. The Tigers wore gold in 1998 under Gerry DiNardo (lost 22-10) and purple in 2000 under Nick Saban (lost 41-9). In 2009, LSU wore its purple jerseys at Mississippi State.

In 2004, Oregon State did want not to suffer in its black jerseys in the humid weather of Louisiana in late summer, forcing LSU to wear its purple jerseys for a nationally-televsied game on ESPN. However, by this time, LSU had worn its purple jerseys at home several times under Saban.

In 2009, the NCAA relaxed its rule that previously required most away teams to wear white. The rule now states that teams must simply wear contrasting colors^[3].

Chinese Bandits – Whenever LSU forces a turnover or gets the ball back via a defensive stop, the LSU band plays the Chinese Bandits tune. Tiger fans bow to the defense while the tune is played. The term "Chinese Bandits" originated as the nickname that LSU Coach Paul Dietzel gave to the defensive unit he organized in 1958, which helped LSU to win its first national championship. The next season, the 1959 Chinese Bandit defense held their opponents to an average of only 143.2 yards per game. No LSU defense since has done better.

Geaux to Hell Ole Miss — When LSU is playing their rival, Ole Miss, LSU fans shout "Geaux to Hell Ole Miss. Geaux to hell" frequently, and signs with the same saying can be seen throughout the stadium. Ole Miss fans typically respond with "Go to hell, LSU!"

Hot boudin - LSU's famous cheer before games and during about famous food in Louisiana. It goes " Hot boudin, cold coush-coush, come on tigers, push push push." Push is pronounced poosh to rhyme with coush-coush [koosh-koosh]. Coush-coush is a Cajun dish generally served for breakfast.^[4]

H style goal posts — LSU's Tiger Stadium sports "H" style goal posts, as opposed to the more modern "Y" style used by most other schools today. This "H" style allows the team to run through the goal post in the north endzone when entering the field.

Yard lines — Tiger Stadium also is notable for putting all yard line numbers on the field, not just those that are multiples of 10. However, the 10-yard-line numbers are the only numbers that get directional arrows, as the rules make no provision for 5-yard-line numbers.

Tiger Bait - LSU fans will yell "Tiger Bait, Tiger Bait" at visiting fans who wear their team colors.

First Down cheer - When the Tigers earn a first down, the Golden Band from Tigerland plays the "Geaux Tigers" cheer. The band also has a specific cheer for second and third downs.

Hall of Famers

The following LSU players and coaches are members of the College Football Hall of Fame.

Players

Coaches

Individual award winners

Coaches

• Paul "Bear" Bryant Award

Paul Dietzel - 1959

Nick Saban - 2003

Heisman Trophy voting history

Retired numbers

• 20Billy Cannon^[5]
• 37Tommy Casanova^[5][6]

LSU All-Americans

Head coaches

Future schedules

2010 schedule