On Tuesday night, Syracuse offensive coordinator Tim Lester said Zack Mahoney was “the guy” at quarterback for the Orange. On Saturday, the sophomore walk-on will likely be under center against No. 8 LSU (2-0, 2-0 Southeastern).

Tigers head coach Les Miles discussed facing the once-fifth-stringer on Wednesday’s SEC coaches’ teleconference, expressing that his preparation won’t be any different facing a signal-caller making his first career Division-I start.

“We expect him to be able to operate their offense as well as any and we’ll prepare for the best,” Miles said.

Mahoney, who completed all four of his passes for 19 yards against Central Michigan, also ran for 12 yards and pitched the game-winning touchdown to freshman running back Jordan Fredericks in overtime.

The LSU defense will be a different animal, but on Tuesday Mahoney said there are no nerves, just excitement.

“So many times the cream rises to the top and the opportunity for a guy to step on the field and do what he did last week gives people a lot of confidence,” Miles said. “We would guess that he can operate the Syracuse offense, that all the best stuff Syracuse has done will still be there.”