Sam Houston State @ Louisiana State preview

Fresh off a rousing season-opening win, No. 12 Louisiana State faces a significant drop in level of competition when it hosts Sam Houston State on Saturday night. The Tigers scored the final 21 points in a come-from-behind 28-24 win over then-No. 14 Wisconsin last Saturday in Houston. A series of big plays, including Kenny Hlliard's 28-yard run for the go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter, kept alive a rather phenomenal trend under head coach Les Miles.

Since 2005, LSU is 22-21 when trailing in the fourth quarter, making it the only FBS program in the country with a winning record in such affairs over that time period. "Regardless of the score, regardless of who we're playing, until the clock says zero we're always going to fight our heart out," Miles said after the comeback. The Bearkats enter ranked 13th in the FCS Coaches Poll after a 51-20 win over Alabama State and won't be completely overwhelmed by a night game in Baton Rouge; they were within nine points early in the second half at Texas A&M last season and led in the second half at Baylor the previous year.

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network. LINE: None

ABOUT SAM HOUSTON STATE (1-1): Quarterback Jared Johnson is off to a fast start for the Bearkats with an average of 351.5 passing yards and five touchdowns to five different receivers through the first two games. Overall, Sam Houston State ranks third in FCS play with 613.5 yards per game and second in first downs (57). The Bearkats, who reached the FCS title game in 2011 and 2012 before a playoff loss last season, have defeated three FBS teams in their existence, the last being a 48-45 overtime win against New Mexico in 2011.

ABOUT LOUISIANA STATE (1-0): The big plays made the highlight reel, but the grunt work done by the defense late in the win over Wisconsin made the difference. The Badgers rolled up big yardage on the ground for much of the game but managed just 65 total yards in the fourth quarter against a defense that ranked third in the SEC last season in terms of total yardage. Safety Jalen Mills had the biggest play with a scrappy interception that gave the Tigers the ball back with less than 12 minutes remaining, setting up Hilliard's go-ahead 28-yard score.

EXTRA POINTS

1. LSU, which is 9-0 all-time against FCS teams, will be playing its first game at the expanded Tiger Stadium, now with a capacity of 102,321.

2. Tigers QB Anthony Jennings completed 9-of-21 passes for 239 yards and a touchdown against Wisconsin in his second career start.

3. LSU owns the nation's longest regular-season nonconference winning streak at 46 games.

PREDICTION: Louisiana State 49, Sam Houston State 17