South Alabama’s Major Applewhite downplays trip ‘home’ to LSU, but admits ‘I love Tiger Stadium’

South Alabama's Major Applewhite will coach his first game at LSU on Saturday night, but it will be far from the first time he's taken the field at Tiger Stadium.

The 46-year-old Applewhite grew up in Baton Rouge, where he starred at Catholic High School before he was an all-conference quarterback at the University of Texas from 1998-01. More than 25 years later, he takes his Jaguars (2-2) into a nationally televised battle with LSU (3-1) at 6:45 p.m. Saturday.

And though Applewhite grew up in a family of Alabama fans — he's named after former Crimson Tide All-America running back Major Ogilvie — has fond memories of his times in Tiger Stadium.

"I spent every Saturday that I could there over in the South end zone, watching every LSU game that I could," Applewhite said Monday. "I didn't grow up an LSU fan, but I pulled for LSU any time they weren't playing Alabama.

"I love Tiger Stadium. All my friends were LSU fans growing up. My junior and senior year in high school, I'd go over there and throw seven-on-seven with LSU players. I just loved growing up there. It was a great experience."

Applewhite has coached against LSU before, though not in Baton Rouge. He was offensive coordinator at Alabama in 2007 when the Crimson Tide lost 41-34 to the Tigers in Tuscaloosa, and also helped plan for games vs. LSU in 2020 and 2021 when he was an analyst on Nick Saban's staff (analysts do not typically make road trips with the team).

In his typical understated style, Applewhite downplayed his trip "home" on Saturday. He said he's treating it as just another game, albeit one in which his team is a three-touchdown underdog against a brand-name opponent in a 90,000-seat stadium.

"It's a great opportunity to go win," Applewhite said. "I would like to be 3-2. It's a great opportunity for our team to go into a big stadium. It's one of those memory things, but really, it's another game, another opportunity for our players to go out there and fight and get ready to go against the quality opponent.

"Yes, it's a bigger stadium, there's going to be more noise than normal, in terms of what we typically play. But that's about it. I'm 46 years old. I don't play anymore. So it's about just getting this team ready to go play and put out a good performance."

One member of the South Alabama program who has made multiple trips to Tiger Stadium is offensive coordinator Rob Ezell, who played twice in Baton Rouge (2008 and 2010) during his career at Alabama. Ezell was also a graduate assistant at his alma mater when the Crimson Tide won 10-0 over LSU in 2016.

Ezell spent a total of 11 years at Alabama as a player or staff member, so he's well steeped in LSU's football history. He called Tiger Stadium "probably one of the more exciting venues to play in."

"The chance of rain is — never," Ezell said, quoting the famous refrain about Tiger Stadium that is intoned over the public address system at every LSU home game. "If you love college football, if you like to compete, this is certainly one of the places you want to play at. "And at night, it's a little difference. It's loud regardless. My senior year (2010), we played them in a 2:30 kickoff and they ended up getting us in the fourth quarter. But at night it's a totally different atmosphere. We played a night game there (in 2016) and won the game, but it was rocking."

The South Alabama-LSU game is also something of a homecoming for Jaguars center Malachi Preciado, a New Orleans native. Preciado said he grew up a Texas fan, but was surrounded by LSU fans during his days at Warren Easton High School.

Preciado transferred to South Alabama from Purdue, where he made a trip to equally historic Michigan Stadium last season. Though he was part of a 2022 Boilermakers team that lost to LSU in the Citrus Bowl, Saturday will mark the first college football game he's played in his home state.

"Honestly, it feels amazing," Preciado said. "I played with and against a lot of guys who have played at LSU. I was not a big LSU fan growing up, but it means a lot to be able to go back to 'The Boot' and play in front of a crowd like that."

Saturday's South Alabama-LSU game will be televised live by SEC Network.

The Jaguars are 1-5 all-time against SEC programs, with the lone win at Mississippi State in 2016.