Louisiana State @ Arkansas preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 25, 2011 ) Arkansas 17, Louisiana State 41

When Louisiana State and Arkansas met last season on the day after Thanksgiving, it was a battle between the No. 1 and No. 3 teams in the country. While the Tigers are still one of the best teams in the nation, there is slightly less at stake for the Razorbacks when they host LSU on Friday. The No. 7 Tigers still have a shot at a BCS bowl game while Arkansas is just hoping to play spoiler. The Razorbacks’ season took a bad turn early with a four-game losing streak in September and they officially fell out of bowl eligibility with a 45-14 loss at Mississippi State last Saturday. LSU should have no problem stopping an Arkansas team that ranks 90th in the nation in scoring offense but its vaunted defense is coming off its worst performance of the season last week at home against Ole Miss.

TV: 2:30 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: LSU -12

ABOUT LOUISIANA STATE (9-2, 5-2 SEC): The Tigers likely won’t have a return trip to the BCS championship game this January but have a good chance to play in a BCS bowl if they can get past the Razorbacks and finish with a higher BCS rating than one or two of their highly ranked conference mates. Keeping that dream alive will require fixing a secondary that allowed Bo Wallace of Ole Miss to pass for 310 yards last week. The Rebels also rushed for 147 yards in that contest and held a lead until Odell Beckham returned a punt back 89 yards in the fourth quarter. LSU ended up pulling out the 41-35 victory but gave up more points than they had to any opponent.

ABOUT ARKANSAS (4-7, 2-5): Going up against that suddenly suspect secondary will be Razorbacks quarterback Tyler Wilson, who leads the SEC in passing yardage at 302.8. But Wilson’s strong passing game has been hurt by turnovers and a rushing attack that ranks last in the SEC. On the other side of the ball, Arkansas has allowed 83 points in back-to-back losses. The Razorbacks gave up 505 total yards to Mississippi State in a 45-14 loss last weekend, including 203 on the ground. Wilson threw for 207 yards and a touchdown at LSU last season but Arkansas could not stop the Tigers on the ground in a 41-17 loss.

EXTRA POINTS

1. LSU is 50-4 against unranked teams under coach Les Miles.

2. The schools meet annually but will be playing in Fayetteville, Ark., for the first time since 1992. The Razorbacks had been holding their home games in the series in Little Rock.

3. Wilson need 88 yards to break Arkansas’ career record, currently held by Ryan Mallet (7,493).

PREDICTION: LSU 35, Arkansas 17