College Football: Five teams on upset alert in Week 2

Sep 20, 2014; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs defensive back Taveze Calhoun (23) talks with LSU Tigers wide receiver Malachi Dupre (15) following the game at Tiger Stadium. Mississippi State defeated LSU 34-29. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /

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Sep 5, 2015; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU Tigers quarterback Brandon Harris (6) against the McNeese State Cowboys during the first quarter of a game at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /

Unlike nearly every other team across the country last week, LSU didn’t have an opportunity to knock the rust off following a long off-season. After only five minutes of time ran off the game clock Saturday night against McNeese State, the Tigers were forced back to the locker room because of heavy lightning in the Baton Rouge area. After roughly four hours of waiting for storms to pass, the game was cancelled.

It doesn’t necessarily matter that LSU didn’t get to play McNeese State, in particular. The Tigers were likely to roll over their in-state FCS opponents by 30 or 40 points. However, the uncooperative weather hurt LSU in its preparations for this week’s matchup against No. 25 Mississippi State in Starkville. Head coach Les Miles and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron were disappointed they didn’t get a chance to see starting quarterback Brandon Harris in action – as were LSU fans that have been worrying themselves silly over the questions surrounding the team’s QB position.

On the other hand, the Bulldogs weren’t able to get much out of the five minutes of film from LSU’s opener. Therefore, Mississippi State is nearly as in the dark in terms of preparation for their SEC opener as they would be if it were the actual season opener. From a coaching perspective, that is a major challenge – especially since the LSU coaching staff had an opportunity to dive into MSU’s Week 1 tape. Of course, there is still plenty to glean off the film of last year’s 34-29 upset at Tiger Stadium.

As for their Week 1 performance, the Bulldogs struggled early with Southern Miss, but recovered for a 34-16 victory. There are no questions concerning MSU quarterback Dak Prescott, who had 237 passing yards, 72 rushing yards and three total touchdowns last week, but the new-look Bulldogs defense did allow 413 yards of offense to the Eagles from Conference USA.

Because this game will be played in front of more than 61,000 screaming Mississippi State fans armed with cowbells, and because the Tigers may still be a little rusty following their Week 1 non-game, expect this matchup to be very, very close.

Next: Michigan State

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