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LSU looks for revenge at Tennessee on Saturday

Oct 31, 2006 - 9:48 PM No. 13 LSU (6-2) at No. 8 Tennessee (7-1), 3:30 pm EST

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) - Louisiana State coach Les Miles does not have fond memories of his first Southeastern Conference meeting with Tennessee.

Miles' 13th-ranked Tigers hope to avenge a heartbreaking defeat when they visit the eighth-ranked Volunteers on Saturday.

Last year, Miles' first as LSU's coach, the Tigers blew a 17-point fourth-quarter lead at home and lost to the Volunteers in overtime, 30-27. Miles also faced Tennessee while serving as Oklahoma State's offensive coordinator, coming away with a 31-0 defeat in 1995.

LSU has had little success in the series, going 5-20-3 all-time, including just 1-11-1 in Knoxville.

The Tigers are 0-2 on the road this season, but those defeats came at Auburn and Florida.

"This is a team that got us last year at home," Miles said. "This game is awfully important for this team. We need to establish who we are in the (SEC) West, and again play ourselves into contention."

However, the Tigers (6-2, 2-2 SEC West) have had an extra week to prepare for this matchup, as they have not played since a 38-6 home rout of Fresno State on October 21, while the Vols (7-1, 3-1 East) are coming off a 31-24 win at South Carolina last Saturday.

Tennessee junior quarterback Erik Ainge injured his right ankle in the fourth quarter against the Gamecocks but is expected to play. Ainge completed 21-of-29 passes for 254 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Bret Smith, including the go-ahead score with 13:10 to play.

"We're really happy to get the win at South Carolina, where we did not play our best," Vols coach Phillip Fulmer said. "We need to control the line of scrimmage against a strong LSU team. We are protecting the passer, but need to improve our run blocking. That will be a focus."