Under the bright lights of Tiger Stadium and the cameras of ESPN’s national television coverage, several Tiger players posted career-best numbers in No. 2 LSU’s 48-7 rout of No. 9 Virginia Tech.
Senior quarterback Matt Flynn, senior running back Jacob Hester, sophomore running back Keiland Williams and sophomore wide receiver Brandon LaFell put up career highs in yards as the Tigers improved to 2-0 this season.
In the third start of his career, Flynn completed 17-of-27 passes for a personal best of 217 yards. He also added a first-quarter rushing touchdown that put LSU up 14-0.
Hester, who started at running back for the second straight game, rushed for 81 yards on 12 carries. He opened up scoring for the Tigers with his 3-yard touchdown run four minutes into the game.
After the game, Hester gave credit to the offensive line for the job it did against the Hokie defense, which ranked No. 1 this past season in total defense.
“The offensive line played awesome [Saturday night],” he said. “Last week, people were criticizing them. This week, they had their best game as a group.”
Hester’s previous career high was a 70-yard rushing performance against Miami in the 2005 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
His fellow “running-back-by-committee” member also had a breakout performance against the Hokies. Williams carried the ball seven times for 126 yards and two touchdowns, beating his career high 107-yard performance against Notre Dame in this past season’s Allstate Sugar Bowl.
Williams also added a career-long run to his performance against Virginia Tech. He scampered 67 yards into the end zone in the second quarter on an option play.
At the beginning of the play, Williams closed in to block for Flynn, who looked like he would carry the ball himself. Williams said he was surprised when Flynn pitched him the ball.
“It was really unexpected when I got the pitch,” he said. “Matt wasn’t sure [whether to pitch the ball or not] so he pitched it kind of hard, not knowing the distance between us.”
Williams said the Tigers’ personal-best achievements were nothing more than the result of hard work and preparation.
“It’s kind of hard to say we expected to do it, but we know the time and effort the coaches put in,” Williams said. “We had a great feeling about this game.”
The Tigers put up 598 yards of total offense, while the defense held Virginia Tech to 109 yards.
Sophomore backup quarterback Ryan Perrilloux got into the action against the Hokies, completing all five of his passes for 84 yards and two touchdowns.
LaFell arguably made the biggest individual leap from this past season, catching more balls against Virginia Tech than he had all of the 2006 season. LaFell’s seven catches and 125 yards led both teams in each category.
The Houston native caught five passes this past season, two of which were good enough for touchdowns. In the season opener against Mississippi State, LaFell’s only reception came in the fourth quarter on a pass from Perrilloux.
LaFell said the play of both quarterbacks was the reason for the Tigers offensive efficiency.
“Matt played a big time game [Saturday night],” LaFell said.
“Both him and Ryan stepped up at quarterback. [Matt] made some tight throws and made the big ones that we needed.”
—-Contact Tyler Batiste at [email protected]