LSU Athletic Communications
BATON ROUGE – A lot can change in three years and when it comes to the LSU-UCLA game on Saturday, a lot has.
Since the teams first met in 2021 in the opening game of a home-and-home arrangement between the schools, both programs have changed coaches, and for UCLA – they have even switched leagues, moving from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten.
With the Bruins now representing the Big Ten, it marks the first time a team from that league has ventured into Tiger Stadium since 1987 when then-No. 4 LSU and then-No. 7 Ohio State went to the wire in a 13-13 tie in late September in Death Valley.
That day, LSU defensive lineman Karl Dunbar blocked a potential game-winning Ohio State field goal with five seconds left to preserve the tie. LSU quarterback Tommy Hodson completed 25-of-45 passes for 267 yards and a touchdown. Down 13-10 in the fourth quarter, LSU’s David Browndyke kicked a 40-yard field goal to tie the score at 13-13. LSU got inside the Ohio State 10-yard line late in the game, but an interception halted the drive.
Prior to that, only twice had Tiger Stadium served as host to a team from the Big Ten, both coming during the 1970s.
In 1978, a Lee Corso-coached Indiana team dropped a 24-17 decision to the Tigers on a night when LSU played its first game with the new west side upper deck – the first addition to Tiger Stadium since 1953 when the south end was enclosed to turn the horseshoe into a bowl.
With a record crowd of 78,534 on hand, the 13th-ranked Tigers used a Tommy Frizzell interception late in the fourth quarter to preserve the victory.
Corso, now the popular ESPN College Gameday personality, said following the game, “This is Tiger Stadium. Remember Notre Dame when they came down here?” Corso, despite the loss, was more than happy with the performance of his team, saying in the post-game press conference, “we played a helluva game, didn’t we?”
In 1972, LSU welcomed Wisconsin to Baton Rouge for the first-ever matchup with a Big Ten opponent in Tiger Stadium.
LSU held Wisconsin to 196 total yards and running back Chris Dantin rushed for 115 yards and a TD as the Tigers raced out to a 13-0 lead and never looked back in the 27-7 victory. Bert Jones passed for 64 yards, including a 17-yard TD pass to Gerald Keigley to open the scoring for the Tigers as LSU won the third of what would be seven straight games to start the season.
Now 37 years later, UCLA with first-year head coach DeShaun Foster – a former All-America for the Bruins – makes its first trip to Death Valley. The Bruins are 1-1 overall following last week’s 42-13 loss to Indiana in their Big Ten debut.
The Tigers will look to even the series with the Bruins, who broke open a tight game with a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to win, 38-27, in the 2021 season-opener for LSU at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
Five LSU players who appeared in that game – including safety Major Burns who started against the Bruins – remain on the Tiger roster for this year’s contest. Other on the list include running back Josh Williams, linebacker Greg Penn, offensive lineman Garrett Dellinger, and wide receiver Chris Hilton.
LSU has won two-straight, including last week’s thrilling 36-33 victory over South Carolina in Columbia. The Tigers bring an 11-game Tiger Stadium winning streak into the contest. The Tigers are 14-1 in Death Valley since Kelly took over in 2022.
Kickoff on Saturday is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. with ABC televising the contest.