LSU-Mississippi State history doesn't impress Saban

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA - LSU should be in pretty good shape as it begins the defense of its Southeastern Conference title Saturday against Mississippi State. <br> <br> The 23rd-ranked Tigers (2-1, 0-0) are on a two-game winning streak and a five-game home winning streak. In addition, LSU has a four-game SEC winning streak going and has beaten Mississippi State (1-2, 0-1) nine of the last 10 times they&#39;ve played, including five straight times in Tiger Stadium. <br> <br> ``I don&#39;t really believe in that stuff,&#39;&#39; LSU coach Nick Saban said. ``Some people might, but I don&#39;t. It doesn&#39;t have a determination on this game unless you remember the things that made you successful in all those games.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Saban would rather have his team concentrate on what he sees as a really talented team with a defense that can cause problems for the Tigers. <br> <br> ``This is really a team that is not capable of being about as good as any football team we will play this year,&#39;&#39; Saban said. ``I think our players need to realize that and understand that in terms of their preparation for this particular game.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Mississippi State will certainly be a step up from The Citadel and Miami of Ohio, the two victories for LSU this season. The Tigers lost the season opener to Virginia Tech. <br> <br> The Bulldogs lost to Oregon and Auburn. Their victory was against Jacksonville State. <br> <br> While Saban is hoping his players will ignore history, Mississippi State coach Jackie Sherrill might want his team to give some thought to the recent past. <br> <br> LSU&#39;s last victory was a 42-0 whipping on State&#39;s home field last year, which certainly should provide inspiration for the Bulldogs. <br> <br> ``It is still on our minds,&#39;&#39; said Mississippi State defensive tackle Ronald Fields. ``We have a plan to go get them this year. We are stepping it up every game and we want to continue to get better.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Beating LSU in Baton Rouge, something Mississippi State hasn&#39;t done but 18 times since 1896, would be especially sweet, said linebacker T.J. Mawhinney. <br> <br> ``I don&#39;t really know anything about the streak,&#39;&#39; Mawhinney said. ``That is all in the past. A football game is a football game, home or away. It doesn&#39;t matter who you are playing. You have to play well to win.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The game will have a rare 11:30 a.m. start, going against the LSU tradition of night games so it can be televised. The move wasn&#39;t popular with the fans, but it should not bother the Tigers, running back LaBrandon Toefield said. <br> <br> ``It doesn&#39;t matter what time the game is,&#39;&#39; Toefield said. ``It could be three in the morning. We&#39;re going to be ready. We&#39;re going to be up for the game.&#39;&#39;

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