The No. 1 LSU Tigers have defeated their opponents this season by winning the all-important battle in the trenches. LSU entered Saturday’s contest against Tulane with the No. 1 rushing defense in the nation, but what is often overlooked is the Tigers’ efficiency running the football. After rushing for 290 yards against South Carolina and entering Saturday’s contest as No. 9 in the nation in rushing, the Tigers carried the ball 38 times for 134 yards in their 34-9 win against the Green Wave (1-3).
MORE GAME COVERAGE: Check out our blog Those numbers may not look extraordinary upon first glance, but the stats are impressive considering the fact that LSU (5-0, 2-0) rushed for minus 11 yards on 12 carries in the first half. LSU coach Les Miles said the Tigers’ first-half rushing woes were attributed to offensive penalties. “When you start first-and-10 and then it’s first-and-15 or second-and-20, it’s an issue,” Miles said. “When you’re behind in the chains as regularly as we were, you throw the football a little bit more than maybe you’d like.” The Tigers were flagged for 11 penalties in the first half, and many of those were holding and false start calls on the Tigers’ offensive line. Running back Charles Scott said the Tigers became more aggressive after going into halftime with only a 10-9 lead. “We came in the locker room and decided we weren’t being physical enough,” Scott said. “Coach [Miles] came in and said ‘We’re going to run it. We’re going to use every back we’ve got.’ And that’s what we did.” Scott was the catalyst of LSU’s rushing attack against a Tulane defense that entered the rivalry matchup allowing 176 rushing yards per game. The Saline native carried the ball six times for 53 yards and two touchdowns. Redshirt freshman Richard Murphy also carried six times and gained 35 yards, while the Tigers’ starter, senior Jacob Hester, gained 33 yards and scored twice. Scott has taken a liking to the Green Wave in his young career. As a freshman this past season, he rushed for 101 yards and two touchdowns in LSU’s 49-7 win against Tulane on Sept. 23, 2006 in Tiger Stadium. Scott said his freshman-year performance was something he thought about during the game. “It was kind of in the back of my head,” he said. “But I just came out and said I was going to get my own wherever I can.” Miles said giving Scott playing time was something he wanted to do after halftime. “He’s too talented of a [running] back not to get some snaps, and boy, he came in and gave us a couple of nice, powerful runs,” he said. Junior wide receiver Demetrius Byrd, who finished with a career-high three catches for 69 yards, said the productivity of the rushing attack complemented the passing game late in the contest. “We came back after halftime, and we noticed that [the defensive linemen] were twisting everything so we decided to run dives and powers and stuff,” Byrd said. “[Coach Miles] really wanted to stick it down their throat. As we did that, it opened up the passing game.” With Scott’s two scores and Hester’s two touchdowns, LSU is tied for No. 4 in the country with 16 rushing touchdowns this season.
—-Contact Tyler Batiste at [email protected]