LSU jumped one spot to No. 18 in the latest BCS Standings and Associated Press and Coaches’ polls after needing a historic comeback to get a win against Troy.
The Trojans came into Baton Rouge as almost a gift for LSU.
The Tigers were celebrating homecoming against a team from the Sun Belt Conference – a league against which LSU held a 32-0 all-time record.
But the Trojans seemed to mimic the tricks the Greeks used against their mascot in Greek mythology, as they snuck into the gates of Tiger Stadium and were on their way to handing LSU its first homecoming defeat since 2000, when the Tigers fell to UAB.
“Out of all the games this year, you’ll never picture being down this bad to Troy,” said junior wide receiver Brandon LaFell.
Troy led, 24-3, at halftime, but the Tigers instead rallied in the second half to create their own legend, scoring 37 points to earn the largest come from behind victory in LSU history.   
“We weren’t able to close the book on it and get that last nail in there,” said Troy coach Larry Blakeney.
The Tigers’ offense and defense both struggled in the first half. Troy gained 255 yards in the half while the Tigers only mustered 63 total yards. LSU coach Les Miles said he blamed himself for the Tigers’ poor offense in the first half.
“We didn’t show confidence in our quarterbacks,” Miles said. “We tried to hamstring them, and we played really into our opponent’s strengths.”
The Trojans’ defense allowed only 16 passing yards in the first half and held the Tigers to 47 rushing yards.
Troy struck first with a 7-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Levi Brown to junior wide receiver Patrick Cherry to cap an 88-yard drive.
Brown finished the game 34-for-72 with two touchdowns and one interception.
The Trojans’ offense scored three more times in the half.
LSU redshirt freshman quarterback Jarrett Lee threw his seventh interception returned for a touchdown midway through the second quarter when senior defensive back Terence Moore returned a pass intended for Richard Dickson 22 yards to set the score to 24-3.
“I can tell you he was sicker than a dog after he threw it to them,” Miles said. “His teammates were always with him.”   
True freshman Jordan Jefferson finished the half at quarterback, but the Tiger missed an opportunity to chip into Troy’s lead as senior punter Brady Dalfrey mishandled a snap on an LSU field goal attempt to close the half.
Troy opened the second half with a 79-yard touchdown drive completed by a Brown touchdown pass to sophomore running back DuJuan Harris. Harris finished with 101 total yards.
 The Tigers began to rally when Lee led the Tigers on a 66-yard touchdown drive. Jefferson scored the touchdown on a 3-yard rush for the Tigers, closing the gap to 31-10 near the end of the third quarter.  
Miles said he told Lee he was Tigers’ best chance to win.
“We turned to him, and we said ‘OK, let’s do this,’ and he responds and has a great second half,” Miles said.
The Tigers scored 30 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. Lee finished the game completing 20 of 34 passes with a touchdown and an interception.
 LaFell credited the Tigers taking deep shots down the field for the offense’s better play.
“We started seeing them drop an extra guy in the box, and coach saw that,” LaFell said. “At halftime he said every time they roll down we’re going to try to take a shot, and I guess we did it.”
LSU junior running back Charles Scott gave the Tigers a 33-31 lead on a 4-yard touchdown run to cap a 20-yard drive with 4:50 left on the clock.  
“I’ve never been part of a comeback that big,” Lee said.  “That shows you a lot about our team tonight. We played hard and fought back.”
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