LSU dismantles Southern in Home Opener 65-17
Despite both campuses sharing the same city, LSU and Southern had never played each other in football until Saturday.
In front of a sold-out crowd in Tiger Stadium, LSU dismantled the Jaguars at a record pace on its way to a 65-17 win.
LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels led the Tigers to touchdowns on all five of his drives going 10-11 for 137 yards with three touchdowns. He added a touchdown and 18 yards on three carries.
After a blocked punt resulting in a safety, LSU took a 37-0 lead in the first quarter. This was the most points scored in a quarter in program history.
A drive later, Daniels tossed a bomb to receiver Brian Thomas for a 44-yard touchdown putting the Tigers up 44-0 with 14:20 remaining in the second quarter. This was his final snap.
“We had a couple of false starts - both of those were on me -but other than that we played a pretty clean game,” Daniels said. “Going in to SEC play now, we’ll keep building from there.”
Following Daniels’ nearly flawless performance, Garrett Nussmeier came in accompanied by most of the offensive starters - minus a few receivers.
Nussmeier went 13-23 for 187 yards and a pair of interceptions including a 96-yard interception returned for a touchdown by Southern defensive back Benny McCray.
With LSU running back John Emery Jr. still sidelined with academic issues, LSU running back Armoni Goodwin took the bulk of the carries rushing for 85 yards and a pair of scores on 12 attempts. LSU running back Noah Cain wasn’t far behind him with ten carries for 51 yards and a score of his own.
Defensively, LSU smothered Southern for most of the evening forcing five turnovers as the Tigers outgained Southern 550-262.
LSU linebacker Micah Baskerville returned an interception 29 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter and LSU recovered four fumbles.
"He's outstanding in pass coverage," LSU coach Brian Kelly said. "He really adds a dimension to our defense that's really important. The selflessness that he displays - we wanted to reward that with the game ball."
LSU freshman linebacker Harold Perkins led the team in tackles with seven.
Notably, LSU’s special teams unit had a solid night on the heels of last’s week’s disaster against Florida State with multiple muffed punts and blocked kicks.
The Tigers blocked a punt for a safety, held Southern to 1-3 on field goals, and made no critical mistakes.