No. 18 LSU vs Nicholls

Time: Saturday, September 7th at 6:30pm CT

Place: Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

TV: SEC Network+

Radio: 98.1 (Baton Rouge), 870/105.3 (New Orleans), 790 (Houston)

Both LSU and Nicholls enter this game 0-1 and are trying to find anyway to avoid falling to 0-2 on the young season. The Tigers are looking to get a statement win over an in-state foe while the Colonels are trying to pull off one of the biggest upsets in their program's history.

Surprisingly, this is the first time these two programs have every faced off. They were scheduled to play back in 2020, but the game was cancelled due to COVID.

With the game tonight, we at DeathValleyInsider are going to give you our predictions for how this game will go.

The biggest question with this game is how much if any impact the weather will have. We've been getting constant rain locally in the Baton Rouge area for multiple days, though the forecast as of Friday morning is calling for just a 10% chance of rain at kickoff for Saturday night.

I think the weather is about the only thing that could keep this game close, but I don't even see that happening. Brian Kelly and LSU will use this game as nothing more than a tune-up heading into SEC play next week against South Carolina. I like the Tigers to roll big in their home opener for 2024 and the coaching staff should dig deep into the depth chart for this one.

Prediction: LSU 59 - Nicholls 12

The Tigers need to use this game to get back on track. They didn't have an awful outing against USC, but they fell apart late in the game and couldn't hang on to their third quarter lead.

I think the offense is going to put a heavy emphasis on running the football. If you remove John Emery's third quarter drive where he rushed for 50+ yards, LSU averaged under three yards per carry. Emery is out for the season now too, so they're going to need to figure out how to improve in the run game.

Defensively, LSU played a pretty good game against USC. They held the Trojans to 13 points in the first 54 minutes, but unraveled in the end, surrendering 14 in the final six minutes. I just want to see them have good technique and discipline in this game and hopefully hold Nicholls to 10 or fewer points.

Prediction: LSU 52 - Nicholls 10

After a heartbreaking loss last week, the Tigers will bounce back in a big way this week against Nicholls. It's almost unfair how lopsided this game will be. LSU's offense will dominate at home in Tiger Stadium especially in the run game, something they struggled with last week against USC. I expect them to start fast, and improve on executing in the red zone, another issue they struggled with Sunday night.

Already needing a confidence game, this one will fuel the fire and see LSU come out on top.

Prediction: LSU 47- Nicholls 13

After a disappointing week one loss to USC, the Tigers are back on the field on Saturday night against Nicholls. LSU should clean some things up this weekend and it should be a good tune up game. Hopefully they can see a lot of younger guys get involved in some action.

I think LSU will have no problem winning this game and will easily take care of business. It will be interesting to see which quarterback goes into the game first assuming Garrett Nussmeier sits out for the back portion of the game. The reason I say that is because Brian Kelly didn’t name a “second string” quarterback. He listed Rickie Collins and AJ Swann both as the backup. There is a possibility we will see both make an appearance.

Prediction: LSU 62 - Nicholls 13