BATON ROUGE – No. 8 LSU, winners of five straight, travel to Fayetteville on Saturday night for the annual Golden Boot battle against Arkansas.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 PM CT on ESPN and the LSU Sports Radio Network. Mark Jones (pxp), Roddy Jones (analyst) and Quint Kessenich (sideline) will be present.

The Tigers are coming off a thrilling win at home against No. 9 Ole Miss, where quarterback Garrett Nussmeier found Kyren Lacy in the South end zone for a 25-yard touchdown in overtime. LSU did not lead the game until the final second, when fans stormed the field to celebrate a top-10 victory and the 100th year of Tiger Stadium.

While it was a historic and exciting night, the focus now turns to another SEC road test and an opponent that has given LSU some tough final seconds in recent memory. It’s imperative, head coach Brian Kelly says, that the Tigers recalibrate their mentality before heading to Arkansas this week.

“We have to keep things in perspective, and the perspective is that we have to go on the road against a very solid Arkansas team and historically this game has been decided by three points or less,” Kelly said.

Lacy, who caught the game-winning pass, finished with a team-high 111 yards receiving on five catches, averaging 22.2 yards per touch with 19 yards after the catch. Aaron Anderson had another great game with three catches for 81 yards and a score.

A key moment in last Saturday’s win over the Rebels was Nussmeier’s 4th-and-6 touchdown pass to Anderson that ultimately sent the game into overtime. That completion — both timely and on point — marked the second fourth-down conversion of the drive to keep the Tigers’ hopes alive.

“He anticipated where he was going to be and threw the ball expecting it to be there,” Kelly said of the touchdown. “That means trusting your education, trusting that you know that guy will be there. He threw the ball so many times that he just let it go.”

Defensively, LSU posted one of its best performances in recent years behind first-year coordinator Blake Baker. Sophomore linebacker Whit Weeks led the unit with 18 tackles, one sack and a forced fumble, while Bradyn Swinson continued to flash with eight tackles, two sacks, two pass breakups and a QB rush.

Cornerback Zy Alexander received the game ball after an impressive performance that included five tackles, one interception and a pass breakup.

“We didn’t look at them consistently at any point,” Kelly said of the defensive scheme. “We felt like the most important thing was to combine the coverages.”

The Razorbacks are led by junior quarterback Taylen Green, who has 1,502 yards passing and five touchdowns to his name this season, along with 326 yards rushing and four scores on the ground. Senior running back Ja’Quinden Jackson leads the team with 566 yards and 10 touchdowns on 99 carries. Andrew Armstrong leads the Hogs in receiving with 552 yards on 38 catches, while Isaiah Sategna isn’t far behind with 312 yards and a touchdown

“Big, physical, can run,” Kelly said of Green. “Makes plays with his arms and legs. They lead the SEC in third down conversions. This is a formidable offense. Great offensive line. I think they did a great job defensively. Big and physical up front. Real, well designed and fundamentally sound. It will be a big challenge for us and one that we will have to play well on the road.”

LSU has won seven of the last eight games in the series, with the only loss during that span coming in overtime at Tiger Stadium, 16-13, in 2021. The Tigers lead the all-time series at 44-23-2, dating back to the first meeting in 1901.