A must read on Steve Gleason

Former Saint Steve Gleason was the honorary captain for the Saints vs. Texans game. Gleason is battling ALS and the Times-Picayune had a must read piece on him this weekend.

LSU at Mississippi State

Tonight on Thursday night football, LSU takes on the Mississippi State Bulldogs, who are coming off a tough loss at Auburn. After LSU's opening win against Oregon, they had a cake walk last week against Northwestern State.

The short week will be tough for both teams, but LSU is more rested and is the better team.

Prediction: LSU 34 Miss St. 20

LSU Unveils Pro Combat Uniforms

So what do you think?

Here's the official unveiling article on LSUSports.net. And here's UniWatch's take on all the Pro Combat uniforms released this year.

LSU vs. Northwestern St. Prediction

Not much of a game here. LSU will get some playing time for lots of backups and newcomers. Fans should be excited to see Zach Mettenberger in the second half and be on the lookout for LSU alum Shaquille O'Neal roaming Tiger Stadium.

Prediction:
LSU 48
Northwestern St. 0

Ready for some football?

The NFL season kicks off tomorrow night with the Saints and Packers. What better way to start the season than with some inaccurate predictions:

NFL Playoffs:
AFC North: Pittsburgh Steelers
AFC South: Houston Texans
AFC East: New England Patriots
AFC West: San Diego Chargers
Wild Cards: Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets

NFC North: Green Bay Packers
NFC South: New Orleans Saints
NFC East: Dallas Cowboys
NFC West: St. Louis Rams
Wild Cards: Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta Falcons

AFC Championship: Chargers over Patriots
NFC Championship: Saints over Cowboys

Super Bowl: Saints over Chargers

#1 Pick in 2011 Draft: San Francisco 49ers

League Awards:
MVP: Drew Brees, QB, Saints
Offensive Player of the Year: Mike Vick, QB, Eagles
Defensive Player of the Year: Ndomakong Suh, DT, Lions
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Mark Ingram, RB, Saints
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Von Miller, LB/DE, Broncos
Comeback Player of the Year: Tony Romo, QB, Cowboys
Coach of the Year: Steve Spagnuolo, Rams

LSU Helps Former NFL Players Transition to Life Off the Field

This summer, more than a dozen former NFL players attended "Personal Branding for Athletes" at LSU. The program is put on by LSU Executive Education, in partnership with NFL Alumni. Check out the story at LSU.edu.

LSU Moves up to 2nd in AP Poll, Stays 3rd in Coaches

The AP Top 25

Record Pts Previous
1. Oklahoma (32) 1-0 1,4481
2. LSU (17) 1-0 1,415 4
3. Alabama (9) 1-0 1,409 2
4. Boise St. (2) 1-0 1,310 5
5. Florida St. 1-0 1,196 6
6. Stanford 1-0 1,154 7
7. Texas A&M 1-0 1,033 8
8. Wisconsin 1-0 1,031 11
9. Oklahoma St. 1-0 981 9
10. Nebraska 1-0 947 10
11. Virginia Tech 1-0 906 13
12. South Carolina 1-0 843 12
13. Oregon 0-1 828 3
14. Arkansas 1-0 752 15
15. Ohio St. 1-0 606 18
16. Mississippi St. 1-0 594 20
17. Michigan St. 1-0 530 17
18. Florida 1-0 382 22
19. West Virginia 1-0 357 24
20. Baylor 1-0 284 NR
21. Missouri 1-0 242 21
22. South Florida 1-0 221 NR
23. Penn St. 1-0 147 NR
24. Texas 1-0 135 NR
25. TCU 0-1 130 14

Others receiving votes: Arizona St. 119, Auburn 85, Southern Cal 69, Georgia 52, Northwestern 40, Maryland 34, BYU 33, Iowa 29, Houston 27, Utah 24, Notre Dame 22, Michigan 17, Air Force 11, Pittsburgh 11, UCF 10, NC State 8, Hawaii 6, Tennessee 6, Arizona 5, N. Illinois 5, Southern Miss. 4, Clemson 1, Georgia Tech 1.

USA Today Coaches Poll
Sept. 6, 2011

Rank, Team (first-place votes), Record, Points, Last week's poll
1, Oklahoma (43), 1-0, 1,454, 1
2, Alabama (9), 1-0, 1,412, 2
3, LSU (7), 1-0, 1,366, 4
4, Florida State, 1-0, 1,198, 5
5, Boise State, 1-0, 1,197, 7
6, Stanford, 1-0, 1,180, 6
7, Oklahoma State, 1-0, 1,038, 8
8, Texas A&M, 1-0, 997, 9
9, Wisconsin, 1-0, 988, 10
10, Nebraska, 1-0, 910, 11
11, Virginia Tech, 1-0, 863, 13
12, South Carolina, 1-0, 827, 12
13, Arkansas, 1-0, 786, 14
14, Oregon, 0-1, 752, 3
15, Ohio State, 1-0, 686, 16
16, Michigan State, 1-0, 584, 17
17, Mississippi State, 1-0, 497, 20
18, Florida, 1-0, 375, 23
19, Missouri, 1-0, 309, 21
20, Penn State, 1-0, 247, 25
21, Texas, 1-0, 231, 24
22, Auburn, 1-0, 197, 19
23, Arizona State, 1-0, 189, NR
24, West Virginia, 1-0, 185, NR
25, TCU, 0-1, 140, 15

Dropped out
No. 18 Notre Dame (0-1, lost to South Florida 23-20), No. 22 Georgia (0-1, lost to then-No. 7 Boise State 35-21).

Others receiving votes
Baylor 117; South Florida 97; Iowa 44; Utah 42; Georgia 35; Houston 31; Northwestern 30; Arizona 28; Central Florida 18; Hawaii 17; Michigan 15;North Carolina 15; Clemson 13; Northern Illinois 13; Southern Mississippi 12; Air Force 10; Notre Dame 8; Tennessee 5; Brigham Young 4; Maryland 4; Georgia Tech 3; Washington 3; California 1; Cincinnati 1; Texas Tech 1.

LSU vs. Oregon Prediction

The LSU-Oregon game could be called the "Distractions Bowl" with both teams having faced off the field issues over the summer, but all that can be put behind them with a win this weekend. Both teams have national championship hopes with LSU being ranked #4 and Oregon ranked #3. A win on Saturday could propel either team for a special year.

LSU will be starting senior QB Jarrett Lee after Jordan Jefferson was suspended. Lee can sling it, but mistakes have proven costly in the past. If he can take care of the ball and rely on his talented running game, the LSU offense should be fine. On defense, LSU will have to deal with Oregon's fast-paced offense and the new faces stepping into more prominent roles don't get a cupcake game to get acclimated to the new season.

Les Miles is an x-factor in every game he coaches. He has the ability to get his players up for big games and his teams perform for the stage they are playing on and the college football world will be watching this game. Give Miles weeks to prepare for an opponent (just look at his bowl record at LSU), and he has his team ready to play. He's been preparing for Oregon all offseason, so LSU will come ready to play, despite the off-the-field distractions.

Prediction:
LSU 23
Oregon 13