GAME NOTES: The 19th-ranked LSU Tigers are fresh off a heart-breaking overtime loss, and they will take a break from SEC play to host the Troy Trojans this weekend. The Trojans, who are members of the Sun Belt Conference, own a 6-3 overall record, and two of their losses have come against Ohio State and Oklahoma State, a pair of top notch non-league foes. They are coming off a 17-7 victory over Western Kentucky last weekend, the fourth win in the last five outings for the program. After this weekend's tilt, Troy will close out the regular season with two conference home games, and they are very much alive in the race for the SBC title.

As for LSU, it owns a 6-3 record, disappointing considering the fact that the team is the defending national champion and opened the season with four consecutive victories. The Tigers managed to force overtime on a blocked field goal last weekend against Alabama, but the result was a 27-21 loss to the nation's top-ranked squad. Les Miles' team has been beaten by double figures by both Georgia and Florida this season and is clearly not as good as last season.

LSU and Troy met for the first and only time back in 2004, and the Tigers needed a late score to beat the Trojans, 24-20.

During the month of October, Troy lost quarterbacks Jamie Hampton and Tanner Jones for the season with knee injuries. Fortunately, Levi Brown has been able to step in and play tremendous football as the team's new starter under center. Brown has thrown for 1,227 yards with nine touchdowns against two interceptions this season, and he has completed 69.2 percent of his passes. Jerrel Jernigan leads the club in receiving with 54 catches for 666 yards and five touchdowns, while DuJuan Harris paces the ground attack with 654 yards and seven touchdowns. Troy is racking up 31.7 ppg and 431.2 total ypg, and the team has been successful both running and passing the ball.

The Trojans racked up 429 yards and 24 first downs against Western Kentucky last weekend but were limited to 17 points. Both offensive touchdowns came on passes from Brown, who connected on 30-of-46 passes for 298 yards. Jernigan caught six balls for 88 yards, and Andrew Davis made five grabs for 101 yards and one score.

Defensively, Troy is permitting 324.0 total ypg to go along with the 21.7 ppg that the club is allowing. The Trojans have limited foes to 3.4 rushing yards per carry, and they have come up with 16 interceptions as well. Boris Lee is a key to the success of the defense, as he leads the squad with 84 total tackles. Lee has 7.5 TFLs to his credit and has intercepted two passes. Sherrod Martin has four interceptions, and Brandon Lang has posted 13.5 TFLs, including 6.5 sacks.

Judging by the fact that the Trojans allowed only seven points to Western Kentucky last weekend, it is safe to say that they played tremendous defense in the clash. They limited the Hilltoppers to 216 total yards, including 95 yards through the air on 15-of-33 completions. Four sacks clearly helped the cause.

Heading into the game against Alabama, many wondered if Jarrett Lee was capable of playing well enough under center for the Tigers to pull off the upset. The answer was no, as Lee threw four interceptions, including one in overtime that cost LSU the game. He completed 13-of-34 passes in the tilt. Charles Scott rushed for 92 yards and a two touchdowns, but that solid performance against a strong defense was not enough to offset the mistakes made by Lee.

"You have to bounce back from losses like this," said Lee. "We are going to bounce back because we have a lot of football still to play."

Overall this season, LSU is averaging 31.2 ppg and 400.2 total ypg. The Tigers are rushing for 187.8 ypg on 4.9 ypc, and they have 18 rushing scores to their credit. Scott has posted 981 yards on the ground with 13 touchdowns, averaging an impressive 6.3 ypc. Lee has only completed 53.4 percent of his passes with 13 touchdowns against 14 interceptions, numbers that simply must improve. On the outside, Brandon LaFell paces the receivers with 43 catches for 646 yards and six scores.

LSU allowed 353 total yards to Alabama as well as three touchdowns, all of which came on the ground. The Tigers came up with three takeaways and a blocked field goal at the end of regulation that forced overtime, so while the overall effort was solid, and while it simply wasn't good enough to win, the performance did not go overlooked.

"That defense, wow," said coach Miles after the contest. "That's the defense I came to appreciate, that defense right there."

Alabama was 4-of-13 on third down conversion attempts and only held the ball for 26:40, a credit to the Tigers.

Opponents are posting 24.2 ppg and 303.4 total ypg against LSU, which has not played nearly as well defensively as expected this season. Sure, the Tigers have been fairly solid against the run, yielding 109.3 ypg and 3.4 ypc, but the defensive line was expected to be far more dominant. LSU has 11 takeaways this season, far from acceptable.

Expect LSU to take out its frustration and disappointment on Troy this weekend in what should be a lopsided affair. Expect Scott to have a huge day for the Tigers.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: LSU 37, Troy 14