LSU’s Kelly hoping to keep Golden Boot in Baton Rouge for a fifth straight off-season

BY DUDLEY E. DAWSON

FAYETTEVILLE – Although he has only been on the sidelines for four of the Battle for the Golden Boot meetings with Arkansas, LSU head coach Brian Kelly is well aware how close most of the 28 previous trophy games have been.

LSU is coming off a big overtime 29-26 win over visiting Ole Miss, but must now travel to Arkansas for a 6 p.m. contest on Saturday and then head to Texas A&M the following weekend.

The matchup between the No. 8 Tigers (5-1, 2-0) and unranked Razorbacks (4-2, 2-1) will be televised by ESPN with Mark Jones handling the play-by-play, Roddy Jones  the analysis and Quinn Kessenich reporting from the sideline.

“The perspective is now, we got to go on the road consecutive weeks, (first) against a very solid Arkansas team,” Kelly said. “A team that as you know, historically over the past four years, we’ve played games where they’ve been decided by three points or less.”

LSU has a 19-9 advantage over Arkansas an has won four straight contests in the trophy game began in 1996 with the winner taking home a trophy molded from 24-karat gold.

The trophy, made in the shape of the states of Arkansas and Louisiana, stands four feet in height, weighs nearly 200 pounds, and is valued at $10,000 and is believed to be the heaviest trophy awarded in a college football rivalry.

Arkansas was off last week after upsetting visiting No. 4 Tennessee 19-14 at Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Oct. 5.

“…I have a great deal of respect for (Arkansas head coach) Sam Pittman, what he’s done, the way his team is playing,” Kelly said. “Great victory last week against Tennessee. They had the week off obviously, the week before. But, again, an annual battle for the boot.”

Kelly believes his team will handle its emotional victory last weekend in the right way.

“We’re pretty transparent about what the current situation is relative to how they think,” Kelly said. “This team has some experience in terms of overall, having been through it and knowing what it looks like.

“But that doesn’t mean everybody understands how to think about it so we’ll talk about how they need to think going into this week of preparation.”

Kelly is wary of Arkansas offense and its quarterback Taylen Green, who has passed for 1,502 yards and rushed for 376 more.

“This football team is led by Taylen Green, the quarterback,” Kelly said. “Big, physical, can run. Makes plays with his arm and legs. I think that the balance on offense, 480 yards in total offense, rushing, passing, they lead the SEC in third down conversions.

“This is a formidable offense. Love the tight end, Luke Hasz. Big offensive line, they work well together and that’s Coach Pittman’s specialty, the offensive line.”

Kelly expounded on Green, the Boise State transfer that was injured late against Tennessee.

“The quarterback is a unique player in that, first of all, I mean he is long-speed, as fast as anybody that we’ll see,” Kelly said. “So, he’s got great speed. He’s got escapability and I think he throws it better than the quarterback from South Carolina.

“So, this is a guy that is a real threat and we’re going to have to really do some things to take away what he likes to do. This is a quarterback that, when he’s on, he’s difficult to defend. So, this will be a great challenge for our group.”

Kelly notes it is hard to prepare for an offense led by first-year Arkansas offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino, the former Razorback head coach.

“Bobby Petrino makes a big difference in their offense,” Kelly said. “It is diverse in its running game. I don’t know if I’ve seen as many schemes offensively in terms of — like, you can’t rep all the run schemes that they have. I mean, it is diverse. So, he has made a big difference in what they do offensively.

Kelly is also impressed with Arkansas’ defense, which is led by defensive lineman Landon Jackson, who started his college career at LSU.

“Defensively, I think they’ve done a great job,” Kelly said. “They’re physical up front, big and physical. Landon Jackson, I think many of you know played here at LSU, great motor. I mean, the guy just plays hard. He’s a three-year starter there, he is kind of the energy on that defense.

“But again, really well-designed, fundamentally-sound, they run to the football, play with a lot of energy. This is going to be a great challenge for us and one where we’ll have to play on the road at Fayetteville.”

Photo courtesy of LSU athletics