The No. 14 LSU football team showed no side effects of having its first game cancelled in the first half of Saturday night’s matchup against No. 25 Mississippi State, going into the locker room with a 14-3 lead.
The Tigers, led by sophomore running back Leonard Fournette, sputtered on their first drive, going three and out after running three plays in a row. But Fournette got into a groove and scored on consecutive LSU drives.
Fournette’s first score came out of the wildcat formation on the one-yard line. He took the direct snap and jumped over the pile for his first touchdown on the season.
LSU led at the end of the first quarter after Fournette dinked and dove his way to 26 of his 60 yards, capping the play off with a touchdown with 1:58 on the clock.
The Tiger defense gave the offense manageable field position throughout the first quarter, forcing Mississippi State to go three and out twice and 0-3 on third down. LSU continued stifling the Bulldogs’ attack in the second quarter as they finished the half 0-for-7 on third down conversions.
However, LSU couldn’t take advantage. Junior wide receiver Travin Dural took a handoff around the left corner and went the distance for a 79-yard touchdown, but the play was called back due to a holding call on sophomore wide receiver John Diarse.
It was LSU’s only taste of the end zone in the second quarter, and the defense managed to keep Mississippi State out of its end zone as well. The Bulldogs got down to LSU’s 26-yard line, where they were forced to settle for a 43-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Westin Graves.