The LSU football team played classic Les Miles football Saturday night.
The Tigers’ (6-2, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) offense dominated Kentucky’s front seven, gaining 303 of their 423 yards of total offense on the ground en route to a 41-3 blowout victory against the Wildcats (5-2, 2-2 SEC).
“We got in a nice running rhythm tonight, which is what we wanted to do against this defense,” said LSU offensive coordinator Cam Cameron.
The Tigers’ rushing performance Saturday, along with their 195 yards against Florida last week, gave LSU’s offense new life. LSU senior running back Terrence Magee said the offense is beginning to find its identity.
“We struggled early in the season,” Magee said. “We kind of shined at times, and then it kind of went away. But I think we are getting to where we can play consistent and keep the ball rolling as an offense, so we’re just continuing to improve each and every week, and hopefully it’ll move over to next week.”
Magee abused the Wildcats up front after a quiet start to the season, rushing for a season-high 127 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries. The game was Magee’s fourth career game with more than 100 yards rushing. It was also Magee’s fourth career game with two touchdowns.
Junior offensive lineman Vadal Alexander said Magee came into the game running with determination and emotion.
“He ran with a great sense of passion and intensity,” Alexander said. “He ran down hill. He hit the hole fast, and I loved everything about Terrence today.”
Magee accounted for a career-high 220 all-purpose yards. He had a career-high 44 receiving yards and broke a career-long 49-yard kickoff return to go along with his 127 rushing yards.
“[Magee] doesn’t go down easy,” Miles said. “He’s surely not an easy tackle, and if you give him a little bit of space, he’s going to make the exact right cut and he’s going to maximize it down the field. He’s got great speed, and you’re going to want to tackle him or he’s not going down.”
The Franklinton, Louisiana native’ gave LSU back-to-back weeks with a running back amassing 200-plus all-purpose yards. Freshman running back Leonard Fournette collected 225 all-purpose yards against Florida in last week’s game against the University of Florida.
Magee said a key to his success in the trenches Saturday was the Wildcats’ defense having to compensate for the depth the Tigers have at running back.
“A lot of times when you have a guy like Leonard, he gets in there and pounds it around and runs it between the tackles real well,” Magee said. “It kind of wears them down. When you are able to put a fresh back in the game, the defense tires, and it happens like this. It could’ve been anybody. It just happened to happen to me.”
The LSU rushing attack has lately come to fruition, accounting for nine plays of 10-plus yards against the Wildcats, which brings the Tigers up to 19 rushing plays of 10-plus yards in the last two games.
Magee broke season long runs of 35 and 38 yards in the third quarter and said the key to breaking off big runs is to treat every run of his like he’s going to get in the end zone.
“You have to have that mentality,” Magee said. “If you don’t play with that mentality, then you have no business with the ball in your hand. Anytime I get the ball I want to go score. Obviously that does not happen, but you need to have that mindset.”
The LSU run game is beginning to live up to its high standard and expectations coming into the season. With top-three opponent Ole Miss visiting Tiger Stadium this Saturday night, Miles said he feels his team is picking up steam.
“We’re coming, and that’s the great thing about this team,” Miles said. “This team has got great attitude and great character. They’re tough kids. They love playing. They have a smile on their face, and they’re looking forward to playing this next stretch, I promise you.”
You can reach Jack Chascin on Twitter @Chascin_TDR.