The Louisiana Tech running backs rushed a combined 31 times for 131 yards in the first half of their game Saturday against LSU, while the Tigers only had 10 attempts on the ground.But LSU (8-2, 4-2 SEC) held Louisiana Tech (3-7, 2-4 WAC) to 47 rushing yards in the second half, and the Tiger running backs carried the ball 20 times for 70 yards.The Tigers scored 14 points on the ground after halftime to give LSU a 24-16 win against its in-state foe in Tiger Stadium.LSU senior running back Keiland Williams only carried the ball five times for 54 yards in the first half, but Williams got his chance to explode in the second half.”Keiland Williams came to life,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “That’s what he’s supposed to do. We couldn’t get him the ball enough.”The senior running back gained 62 yards on 10 carries after halftime and scored the Tigers’ two second-half touchdowns. He averaged 7.7 yards per rush on 15 touches in the game.Williams got help from sophomore running back Stevan Ridley and freshman quarterback Russell Shepard. The two young backs combined for 50 yards on 12 carries to help the running game recover from the absence of senior running back Charles Scott.”Throughout the week at practice, we talked about what Charles [Scott] brought to this team,” Williams said. “That was something that Stevan Ridley and I wanted to do. We could’ve been better at times, but I think we did a good job.”
Scott wasn’t at Tiger Stadium on Saturday night, but he had some advice for Williams before kickoff.”[Scott] sent me a text message before the game,” Williams said. “He said, ‘Tote it like you stole it.'”Williams took that advice and stole the show in the second half.Williams was cheered by the Tiger faithful when he touched the ball to begin LSU’s fourth quarter drive with 11 minutes to play. He finished off the drive with a 9-yard rushing touchdown to give LSU a 24-13 lead.”The O-line gathered and backs gathered on the sideline,” Williams said. “We just wanted to run down there and push it down their throat and get in the end zone.”The Louisiana Tech running game was hot to start the game. The Bulldogs racked up 98 yards on the ground in the first quarter. Louisiana Tech also dominated time of possession in the first half. The Bulldogs had the ball for 11 more minutes than the Tigers.”We saw a lot of breakdowns in the defense when we watched film,” said Louisiana Tech senior running back Daniel Porter. “We saw a lot of overpursuit, which is why we ran a lot of plays to the outside.”Miles said the LSU defensive players felt like they weren’t going to get tested against Louisiana Tech.”I kept trying to tell them that this is the best in-state team that we’ve played,” Miles said. “As much as you tell them to get ready, they don’t quite understand it until they get into the game.”LSU’s defense tightened its belt in the second half. The Tigers’ defensive line stifled Porter and Bulldog freshman running back Tyrone Duplessis as Louisiana Tech played from behind  — the two backs combined for only 38 yards in the second half.”We came out for the second half and calmed down and played our ball,” said LSU senior defensive tackle Al Woods. “We executed like we were supposed to and came out with a great victory.”The Tigers had five sacks in the game, three from the defensive line and two from the linebackers. “We did a lot of arm tackling and expected people to go down, but that just didn’t happen,” said LSU junior safety Chad Jones. “We made adjustments. Our team got more physical.”Louisiana Tech coach Derek Dooley, a former LSU assistant coach from 2000-04, acknowledged the significance of the running game.”LSU did a good job of stopping the run in the second half,” Dooley said. “The more we can’t run, the more limited we got.”- – – -Contact Michael Lambert at [email protected]