When fans walked into a wet Tiger Stadium on Saturday night, they noticed three familiar faces on the cover of LSU’s official Gameday Program: seniors Dwayne Bowe and Craig Davis and junior Early Doucet.
The trio of wide receivers lived up to expectations against the Fresno State Bulldogs; they were responsible for 21 points in LSU’s 38-6 victory.
Davis struck first for the receivers with a 77-yard punt return for a touchdown with 8:37 to go in the opening quarter, giving LSU a 14-0 lead.
The return marked the longest since former LSU wide receiver and current Dallas Cowboys rookie Skyler Green returned a punt 83 yards against the University of Florida in 2003.
Davis has been the Tigers’ punt returner for only two games since replacing junior defensive back Chevis Jackson.
“It’s starting to get fun,” Davis said. “I feel like I can break one anytime I want now.”
Jackson said he is pleased to see Davis doing well in his new role.
“Craig’s doing awesome back there,” Jackson said. “We can just stand back there and watch the highlight reel.”
Davis also was responsible for the Tigers’ final score with a 30-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter on fourth down, ending all hopes for a Fresno State comeback.
“They weren’t looking for it [on fourth down],” Davis said. “It was just a great play call.”
With his four catches Davis has extended his streak of games with a reception to 31-straight games, which spans every game of his collegiate career.
Bowe’s performance Saturday etched his name in the LSU record books.
With his 58-yard touchdown catch with 13:25 to go in the fourth quarter, Bowe tied former LSU and current Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Michael Clayton with 21 career touchdown receptions.
“Dwayne Bowe…what a wonderful night for him,” LSU coach Les Miles said. “He made some nice plays late in the game.”
Bowe said he is looking forward to breaking more records throughout the rest of the season.
“It’s great, but that’s over now,” he said. “Now it’s time to move onto the bigger goal. I ran a great route and made some great moves. I didn’t know I had [the moves] in me.”
Junior quarterback JaMarcus Russell said Bowe should be proud of his accomplishments.
“That’s a great guy [Clayton] to compare Dwayne with as far as catching touchdowns,” Russell said. “They both did a great job while they were here. I think Dwayne has a lot more to come.”
Bowe finished the game with four catches for 107 yards, marking the fourth time in his career he ran for more than 100 yards in a game.
Fresno State coach Pat Hill said Bowe is as good a receiver as the Bulldogs have seen this season.
“Just watching him in the open field was a sight to be seen,” Hill said.
Bowe also eclipsed 2,000 receiving yards for his career, moving him into sixth place on the school’s all-time receiving yards list.
Bowe just needs 163 yards to surpass Tony Moss for fifth place in the record book.
Doucet did not have the big numbers that Bowe and Davis had, but he still helped LSU when the outcome of the game was questionable.
During the first offensive drive for the Tigers, Doucet was showcased as a decoy, gaining 9 yards on a bubble screen and 5 yards on a quarterback draw, setting the stage for true freshman Trindon Holliday’s 38-yard touchdown run on the following play.
Doucet also helped LSU take control of the game in the third quarter with his kick returning.
With the Tigers leading 17-6, Doucet returned Fresno State’s kick off 26 yards to the 33-yard line, giving LSU good field position en route to a six-play touchdown drive.
Hill said LSU’s receivers kept his secondary off balance the entire game.
“That No. 9 [Doucet] and No. 3 [Davis] and No. 80 [Bowe] – I don’t really remember names that well, but I sure do know numbers,” he said. “They’ve got a lot of skilled athletes.”
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—–Contact Casey Gisclair at [email protected]