Edwards-Helaire and Brossette lead LSU to 38-21 victory against La. Tech

Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Nick Brossette combined for five rushing touchdowns as LSU defeated Louisiana Tech 38-21 in a non-conference game at Tiger Stadium on Saturday night.

HOW THEY SCORED

First Quarter

LSU 7, Louisiana Tech 0

Score: Brossette 1-yard run. Cole Tracy kick. Time Remaining: 9:20. Drive: 78 yards in11 plays. Time of Possession: 3:23. Key Play: On first-and-ten, Joe Burrow completed a 21-yard pass to Ja’Marr Chase for a first down at Louisiana Tech’s 1.

Second Quarter

LSU 14, Louisiana Tech 0

Score: Brossette 1-yard run. Tracy kick. Time Remaining: 14:57. Drive: 3 yards in 3 plays. Time of Possession: 1:05. Key Play: Devin White returned a fumble by Adrian Hardy 29 yards to Louisiana Tech’s 3.

LSU 17, Louisiana Tech 0

Score: Tracy 24-yard field goal. Time Remaining: 9:17. Drive: 68 yards in 9 plays. Time of Possession: 4:17. Key Play: On first-and-ten, Burrow completed a 27-yard pass to Dee Anderson for a first down at Louisiana Tech’s 12.

LSU 24, Louisiana Tech 0

Score: Edwards-Helaire 28-yard run. Tracy kick. Time Remaining: 8:22. Drive: 28 yards in 1 play. Time of Possession: :09. Key Play: Ed Paris intercepted a deflected J’mar Smith pass at Louisiana Tech’s 28.

LSU 24, Louisiana Tech 7

Score: Hardy 20-yard pass from Smith. Bailey Hale kick. Time Remaining: 4:23. Drive: 75 yards in 11 plays. Time of Possession: 3:59. Key Play: On third-and-eight, Smith completed a 33-yard pass to Javonte Woodard for a first down at LSU’ 40.

Third Quarter

LSU 24, Louisiana Tech 14

Score: Bobby Holly 1-yard pass from Smith. Hale kick. Time Remaining: 9:10. Drive: 75 yards in 13 plays. Time of Possession: 5:50. Key Play: On first-and-ten, Smith completed a 30-yard pass to Hardy for a first down at LSU’s 16.

Fourth Quarter

LSU 24, Louisiana Tech 21

Score: Hardy 42-yard pass from Smith. Hale kick. Time Remaining: 12:57. Drive: 71 yards in 7 plays. Time of Possession: 2:58. Key Play: On third-and-six, Smith completed a 13-yard pass to Hardy for a first down at LSU’s 42.

LSU 31, Louisiana Tech 21

Score: Brossette 2-yard run. Tracy kick. Time Remaining: 8:06. Drive: 70 yards in 12 plays. Time of Possession: 4:38. Key Play: On third-and-eight, L’Jarius Sneed was called for pass interference against Anderson in the end zone to give LSU a first down at Louisiana Tech’s 2.

LSU 38, Louisiana Tech 21

Score: Edwards-Helaire 1-yard run. Tracy kick. Time Remaining: 2:23. Drive: 46 yards in 7 plays. Time of Possession: 4:31. Key Play: On first-and-ten, Edwards-Helaire ran 14 yards for a first down at Louisiana Tech’s 5.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME

After seeing its 24-point advantage trimmed to three points, LSU needed the offense to deliver a fourth-quarter scoring drive. The offensive unit did just that as it drove 70 yards in 12 plays for a touchdown to make it a two-possession game. Anderson made a 28-yard reception to get the drive going. Then, Anderson set up the touchdown when he drew a pass interference call against Sneed in the end zone. Brossette’s third touchdown of the game put the Tigers on top 31-21 with slightly more than eight minutes remaining in the game.

LSU OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME

Edwards-Helaire had his best game in a Tigers uniform as he rushed for 136 yards on 20 carries. The 100-yard game was the first of Edwards-Helaire’s career. Edwards-Helaire had scoring runs of 28 yards and one yard. He averaged nearly seven yards per attempt.

LSU DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME

White had his best game of the season by registering 11 tackles. White tied his career best with 2½ tackles-for-loss and broke up a career-high three passes. White also recorded one sack. White picked up a fumble and returned the ball 29 yards to Louisiana Tech’s 3 to set up the Tigers second touchdown.

KEY TEAM STATISTICS

Rushing first downs: LSU 16, Louisiana Tech 5

Passing first downs: Louisiana Tech 14, LSU 8

Rushing yards: LSU 218, Louisiana Tech 87

Passing yards: Louisiana Tech 330, LSU 191

Punting average: LSU 45.8, Louisiana Tech 35.6

Time of Possession: LSU 32:46, Louisiana Tech 27:14

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICAL LEADERS

LSU

Clyde Edwards-Helaire: 20 carries, 136 yards, 2 touchdowns

Joe Burrow: 28 attempts, 16 completions, 191 yards

Dee Anderson: 5 catches, 80 yards

Jacob Phillips: 13 tackles, 1½ tackles-for-loss, 1 quarterback-hurry, 1 pass breakup

Devin White: 11 tackles, 3 pass breakups, 2½ tackles-for-loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery

Glen Logan: 3 tackles, 2 quarterback-hurries

Kristian Fulton: 2 tackles, 2 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble

LOUISIANA TECH

Jaqwis Dancy: 7 carries, 31 yards

J’Mar Smith: 50 attempts, 27 completions, 330 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception

Adrian Hardy: 10 catches, 181 yards, 2 touchdowns

Collin Scott: 11 tackles

James Jackson: 9 tackles, 2 tackles-for-loss

NOTES

Derrick Dillon joined Justin Jefferson and Anderson as the starting wide receivers. Badara Traore started at left tackle. When Garrett Brumfield left the game in the second quarter with a knee injury, true freshman Chasen Hines took his spot in the lineup. Brumfield did not return. . .Todd Harris and Kary Vincent were the starting safeties. Harris made a career-high nine tackles. Safety John Battle entered the game on the second series of the second half. Battle was suspended for the first half because of a targeting call against him in the second half of last week’s Auburn game. . .Anderson’s five receptions were a career high. Foster Moreau caught a career-high four passes. . .Brossette rushed for 78 yards on 23 carries. Brossette ran for three touchdowns for the first time in his career. . .Burrow completed more than 50 percent of his passes (16-of-28) for the first time this season. . .LSU committed its first turnover of the season when Burrow lost a fumble in the second quarter. . .Phillips’ 13 tackles were a career-high. . .Linebackers Michael Divinity and White had the Tigers’ only sacks. Ed Paris had the first interception of his career. . .LSU is 4-0 for the first time in three seasons. Louisiana Tech is 2-1. The Tigers have a 31-game winning streak against Louisiana schools. . .The paid attendance was 102,321.

FROM THE LOCKER ROOM

Coach Ed Orgeron’s comments: “This was a hard-fought battle. We got up 24-0 and couldn’t put them away. Louisiana Tech kept on fighting. We didn’t come out ready to go in the second half. The tale of the game was our 218 yards rushing. Anytime we do that, we are going to win. Dee Anderson was the MVP of the game. Thank God we had him. Because of his height, he could make some plays. Louisiana Tech protected their quarterback. They had a great game plan and kept us off balance. We need more pressure. We need to know if we are rushing the right way and we need to find out which coverages we need to run. I liked our offensive line and we have two pretty good backs.”

UP NEXT

LSU will play host to Ole Miss at Tiger Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. Central. The game will be available on either ESPN. The Rebels (3-1, 0-1) defeated Kent State 38-17 in Oxford on Saturday afternoon.