Another case of a helmet-less Tiger irks Les Miles

BATON ROUGE – “Buckle your chin strap,” is a popular phrase often heard before a particularly big football game because there are likely to be a lot of hard hits.

LSU coach Les Miles wants his Tigers to buckle their chin straps for that reason and for another very important one. He is tired of getting penalized for his players continuing to play – which comes naturally – after their helmet is dislodged.

Defensive end Lewis Neal did it last week, and the penalty helped Syracuse to a score. Miles jumped all over Neal. Over the weekend, it happened again in the Eastern Michigan game as offensive tackle Jerald Hawkins kept playing after his helmet came off.

So now, Miles is switching his wrath from the helmet wearer to the helmet.

“Surprised to get a second player without a helmet playing,” he said at his weekly press luncheon on Monday. “This is a real interesting thing. I’m going to insist that our equipment man fit our team yet again. Because to me, I think this has to be that the helmets are loosely fitted. We have to tighten them up. It’s pretty simple that way.”

INJURY REPORT: Starting defensive end Tashawn Bower (leg) was held out of the win over Eastern Michigan on Saturday as a precaution and is expected to play Saturday when the No. 5 Tigers (4-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) play at South Carolina (2-3, 0-3 SEC) at 11 a.m. on ESPN.

“We would expect Tashawn to be back,” Miles said. “It’s kind of a minor nick.”

Starting outside linebacker Lamar Louis (concussion) was held out of the second half against Eastern Michigan also as a precaution. “It’s not as serious as him missing the half might seem,” Miles said. “We think he’ll return to play very quickly. We think Lamar will be fine for game day.”

Starting free safety Jalen Mills (ankle) remains day-to-day. He has not played this season. Starting tight end Dillon Gordon (Achilles) is also day-to-day after getting hurt in the Auburn game. “I’m going to see where they’re at and see if we can mark a day on the calendar for those guys,” Miles said.

FLORIDA AT LSU AT NIGHT: The Tigers will host No. 11 Florida (5-0, 3-0 SEC) at 6 p.m. on Saturday Oct. 17 on ESPN, it was announced on Monday. The CBS game at 2:30 p.m. that day will match No. 8 Alabama and No. 9 Texas A&M (5-0, 2-0 SEC).

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Oh absolutely, there’s nothing better than SEC play.”

— LSU wide receiver John Diarse when asked about returning to conference play after two non-conference games in which LSU won, but did not play well.