Every dog may have its day, but it didn’t come Saturday for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. Then-No. 2 LSU (9-1) piled on the points with a 58-10 Homecoming win against the Bulldogs (4-6). The 58-point total marks the highest score the Tigers have posted since 2003, when LSU beat Arizona 59-13. LSU has now outscored La. Tech by 616-49 in the all-time series. But the 92,512 LSU fans in attendance had more to celebrate than just the dominating victory, as losses from Auburn and Alabama ensured that the Tigers clinched the Southeastern Conference Western Division title. LSU will face the SEC Eastern Division champion Dec. 1 in Atlanta, regardless of the outcome of the previous two games. “It’s obviously our first goal that we wanted to accomplish this year … winning the SEC West,” said senior quarterback Matt Flynn. “We feel good about that, but we understand that we have to keep playing if we want to achieve the goals that we set forth at the beginning of the season. We can’t take any week off.” The Tigers compiled nearly 600 yards of total offense, more than doubling the Bulldogs’ total of 256 yards. Flynn completed 14-of-26 passes with three touchdowns and two interceptions. La. Tech coach Derek Dooley said he was disappointed with his team’s lack of defensive pressure and abundance of mistakes, including three fumbles and two interceptions. “I’ll be shocked if [the LSU Tigers] are not the national champions at the end of the year,” Dooley said. “They have a lot of good football players, and they put it to us tonight.” The Tigers took some time to find their rhythm, ending the first quarter with just a 10-0 lead. The Bulldogs’ sole touchdown came near the 13:00 mark in the second quarter when senior quarterback Zac Champion threw a 37-yard pass to sophomore receiver and Baton Rouge native Brian Jackson. The touchdown narrowed the Tigers’ lead to 10-7, but it was as close as La. Tech would get, as LSU ended the half with a 27-7 lead. “When you get beat 58-10, it’s tough to find any positives,” Champion said. “They’re a good team. If they smell blood, they come after you.” Senior running back Jacob Hester led the Tigers with 115 rushing yards, averaging 10.5 yards per carry. His 87-yard touchdown run in the third quarter was the longest LSU run since 2003, when then-freshman running back Justin Vincent ran for the same distance in the SEC Championship game. “When I saw a hole that big between the tackles, I knew I had to hit a second gear,” Hester said. “It’s fun to have a run like that in my career.” Sophomore quarterback Ryan Perrilloux returned to play after sitting out Nov. 3 against Alabama because of his involvement in an altercation at the Varsity Theatre on Oct. 26. Perrilloux entered the game near the end of the third quarter and threw 2-of-4 with one touchdown. True freshman receiver Terrance Toliver had a career-high night with 119 receiving yards, his longest coming on a 71-yard pass from Flynn. The pass was the longest since 2002’s “Bluegrass Miracle,” when Marcus Randall threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to Devery Henderson to defeat Kentucky. LSU fans may have also noticed some fresh faces on the LSU defensive squad. True freshman defensive tackle Drake Nevis started for the first time in his career, replacing junior defensive tackle Marlon Favorite. Sophomore linebacker Jacob Cutrera started in place of injured junior linebacker Darry Beckwith. Cutrera recorded the first interception of his career when he picked off a pass tipped by senior linebacker Luke Sanders.
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