LSU Bounces Back, Blowing-Out Southern, 65-17

Photo By: David Chivatero

Da Boot Sports
9/10/2022
By: Terrill J. Weil


   BATON ROUGE, LA - It was a historic event in Baton Rouge on Saturday as the Fighting Tigers of LSU (0-1) played host to the Southern University Jaguars (1-0) for their home opener of the 2022 season in Death Valley. It marked the first time that both schools have ever played each other in football.
   LSU looked to bounce back from last week's 24-23 disappointing loss to Florida State and get Brian's Kelly his first victory as LSU's head coach. The Tigers accomplished both in blowout fashion, dismantling the Jaguars 65-17 in front of a sellout crowd of 102,321..  

   LSU took to the field with focus and purpose, steering themselves back into the right direction with their head coach Brian Kelly sported a purple LSU visor for his first game in Tiger Stadium. 

   The Tigers totaled 550 yards of total offense, (230 yards rushing, 320 yards passing), while the defense held the Jags to 61 yards passing and 262 overall with most of that coming late in the contest against the LSU second and third team defenses. 

   Jayden Daniels finished 10-11, 137 passing yards with three touchdown passes, while adding 26 yards and a score on the ground. 

   Armoni Goodwin lead the Tigers in rushing with 93 yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns. Noah Cain finished with 53 yards on 10 carries with one touchdown, while Josh Williams added 17 tough yards and a touchdown run. 

   Malik Nabers lead the team in receiving with three grabs for 81 yards and a touchdown. Brian Thomas Jr. had two catches for 55 yard and a score. Chris Hilton Jr. had a nice game grabbing five balls for 47 yards, followed closely by Kayson Boutte with 42 yards on five catches and Jack Bech finished with one grab for a 17 yard touchdown. Eleven different Tigers had at least one catch in the contest as the Tiger quarterbacks spread the ball around nicely. 

   The LSU defensive starters suffocated the Jaguars over the first quarter and a half while the Tigers build a commanding 44-0 lead. The defense finished the game with three sacks and forced four turnovers (three fumbles & an Interception that was returned for a TD). True freshman Harold Perkins lead the team in tackles with seven, followed by West Weeks, Sai'vion Jones and Desmond Little with six tackles each. Micah Baskerville had a great game, returning an interception 29 yards for a score and blocking a punt. Coach Kelly rewarded Baskerville for his play and leadership with the game ball.


   Southern won the toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff. Reginald King took in Damian Ramos' kick at the three and was drilled at the 18 yard line where he fumbled. Sage Ryan recovered the ball at the Southern 21 yard line for the Tigers. 

   The LSU offense waisted little time, going 21 yards in three plays in 1:29, culminating with an 18 yard touchdown scramble by Jayden Daniels. Ramos' point after gave the Tigers an early 7-0 lead. 

   LSU added to their lead on their next possession, scoring on a five yard run by Josh Williams after an explosive 38 yard run by Armoni Goodwin. The scoring drive went 62 yards in four plays, eating 1:13 off the clock. 14-0 LSU with 11:46 left in the first quarter. 

   After the LSU defense forced another Southern three and out, Jayden Daniels led the Tigers on another scoring drive, going 71 yards in five plays ending with a 17 yard touchdown pass from Daniels to Bech in the student section corner of the North end zone. The nice diving catch by Bech extended the LSU lead to 21-0 with 7:16 to go in the period. 

   On Southern's next offensive possession, Micah Baskerville intercepted a BeSean McCray pass on the first play and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown to put LSU up 28-0 and the embarrassing route was on. 

   The LSU defense continued to dominate as they forced another turnover on Southern's next possession. On 3rd and two, Jerodd Sims fumbled and the ball was recovered by Desmond Little at the Southern 24 yard line. 
   
   Five plays later, the LSU offense increased their lead to 35-0 on a five yard touchdown pass from Daniels to Malik Nabers with 4:44 left in the first quarter. 

   The Tigers quickly added to their lead on the Jaguars next possession. Southern went three and out then on 4th down, Micah Baskerville blocked the punt which scooted out of the back of the end zone for a safety. With 1:31 left in the opening period, LSU now lead 37-0. 
   The 37 first quarter points set a school record for the most points ever scored in a period.

   LSU continued to poor it on the outmanned Jaguars as they took their next possession and drove 65 yards on five plays, ending with Jayden Daniels hitting Brian Thomas Jr. on a 44 yard touchdown. The point after put the Tigers up 44-0 with 14:20 to go in the first half. 

   After both teams traded punts, Southern had their best offensive drive of the night, driving 52 yards on 11 plays, but ended up finishing empty handed as their kicker, Joshua Griffin missed a 43 yard field goal attempt. 

   LSU finished off the first half with a nice scoring drive that went 80 yards in six plays, highlighted by a 60 yard completion from Garrett Nussmeier to Malik Nabers. The Tigers ended the drive with a two yard touchdown run by Noah Cain.
   We would go to the half with LSU leading 51-0.


   The Tigers scored their first points of the second half at the 8:42 mark in the third quarter as Armoni Goodwin scored on a two yard touchdown run increasing the LSU lead to 58-0. The drive went for 59 yards on eight plays in 3:26.

   The Jags finally got on the scoreboard late in the third quarter when Benny McCray intercepted an errand Nussmeier pass and raced 94 yards up the far sidelines for the touchdown. It was a reckless pass by Nussmeier who rolled out and was under pressure. Instead of taking the sack or simply throwing the ball out of bounds, he desperately flipped the ball under handed right into McCray's hands. The score now stood at 58-7 with 3:45 left in the third period.

   Garrett Nussmeier would shake off his costly mistake marching LSU on their next possession into the fourth quarter, finishing it off with a one yard touchdown by Goodwin. The Tigers drove 75 yards in ten plays for the score, eating 4:44 off the clock. The Tigers now lead 65-7 with 14:01 left in the contest. 

   Southern answered the LSU score with a nice 79 yard drive in ten plays, ending with a one yard touchdown by Karl Ligon. The drive went 79 yards in ten plays as the Jags were finally able to move the ball on the LSU defensive reserves to cut the lead to 65-14 with 8:15 left.

   The Jags would add a 29 yard field goal on the final play of the contest to make the final score, LSU 65, Southern 17

   With the win LSU improves to 1-1 on the season.

   Next up the Tigers will host Mississippi State in their SEC season opener. Kickoff is set for 5pm CST and will televised
on ESPN.  

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Photos Below By: Jonathan Mailhes

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Photos Below By: Michael Bacigalupi

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