Tigers’ offense erupts in 2nd half to take down Bulldogs in SEC opener
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - The LSU Tigers (2-1) opened up Southeastern Conference play with a big 31-16 win against the Mississippi State Bulldogs (2-1) on Saturday, Sept. 17, in Tiger Stadium.
LSU’s offense got off to a slow start and only managed 71 yards on its first 23 plays of the game before Jayden Daniels and the offense got going late in the second quarter.
Daniels led a seven-play, 75-yard drive that resulted in an eight-yard touchdown reception by Jaray Jenkins, his third of the season, to cut the Mississippi State lead to 13-7 before halftime.
In the third quarter, LSU was able to cut the lead to 13-10 on a Damian Ramos 35-yard field goal. The Tigers struggled all game on third down, going 6-for-15, while Mississippi State was just as bad, going 3-for-14.
LSU finally converted its first third down early in the fourth quarter on a Jayden Daniels three-yard touchdown run to give the Tigers their first lead of the game at 17-16.
After the Tigers forced another three-and-out, Daniels and the offense marched down the field on a 14-play, 85-yard drive capped off by a seven-yard touchdown run by Josh Williams to extend the Tigers’ lead to 24-16.
Wide receiver Malik Nabers was a key piece on the long scoring drive, catching four passes for 51 yards, including a key fourth down catch for 27 yards.
LSU then forced another three-and-out and Armoni Goodwin scored from 47-yards out to give the Tigers a commanding 31-16 lead.
The Tiger defense held Mike Leach’s air raid offense to just 289 yards and sacked quarterback Will Rogers four times.
Daniels led LSU in rushing with 93 yards on 16 attempts and a touchdown. Nabers finished the game with six catches for 76 yards.
The Bulldogs took a 6-0 lead on a 37-yard touchdown run from Jo’quavious Marks. Mississippi State added another touchdown as Rogers connected with RaRa Thomas on a 13-yard touchdown reception to make it 13-0.
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