LSU Tigers

BATON ROUGE -- LSU's 19 seniors will play their final home game in Tiger Stadium on Saturday when the 18th-ranked Tigers host Ole Miss in a contest that will go a long way in determining the bowl fate for both schools.

The only thing Demetrius Byrd ever needed to be successful was a chance. The 6-2, 200-pound senior wide receiver earned his chance at LSU during an unconventional journey to becoming one of the premier receivers in the SEC.

Paul Dietzel blinked under the bright stadium lights of the Orange Bowl. Halfback Don Purvis had just snaked 51 yards through the Miami Hurricanes defense for the night's first touchdown. "Good gravy," Dietzel, then the 34-year-old coach of the LSU Tigers, recalled thinking to himself as his second string took control of the game, "this team could really be something." Was it ever.

New Britain, Conn., product Martin Pomykala has the potential to line up at both linebacker and defensive end at the collegiate level, but admits he would like to stand up and rush from the outside. So far he has already picked up his first scholarship offer, but will be waiting on other schools to step up to the plate.

How much better can the No. 1 offensive tackle in America get? Well, according to Xavier Nixon's Head Coach Richard Bailey he has improved in a number of areas since his ranking came out a while ago. Bailey also says that Nixon may be out of time for official visits other than the one he already took to Florida and four teams stand out for the big time offensive lineman.

Four star linebacker Jarvis Jones had a painful end to his senior season after he broke his left hand in three places three weeks ago. His season officially came to an end when he elected to have surgery on Monday. Jones shared his thoughts on Texas and its decision to announce that defensive coordinator Will Muschamp is Head Coach in Waiting.