The LSU football team got a painful reminder Saturday night of what a “trap game” means.The Tigers, down four starters and coming off a painful loss to Alabama, played a sloppy contest against a Louisiana Tech team with nothing to lose.No. 8 LSU (8-2, 4-2 SEC) was outplayed in almost every statistical facet of the game, but Louisiana Tech (3-7, 2-4 WAC) could not overcome the Tigers’ depth as LSU held off the Bulldogs for a 24-16 win.The close victory moved LSU to No. 10 in both the Associated Press Top 25 and USA Today Coaches’ Top 25 polls. The Tigers moved down one spot in the AP poll but moved up one spot in the Coaches’ poll and remained No. 8 in the BCS standings.”We did not play sharp,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “In the first half … they kind of felt like we weren’t going to be tested. I kept trying to tell them that this is the best in-state team that we’ve played. As much as you tell them to get ready, they don’t quite understand it until they get into the game.”Louisiana Tech got the ball to start the first half, and freshman wide receiver Lyle Fitte immediately returned the ball 24 yards to the Louisiana Tech 30-yard line.It didn’t get much better for the Tigers from there.The LSU offense, lacking sophomore quarterback Jordan Jefferson, sputtered and stalled throughout most of the first half, holding the ball for only nine minutes and gaining only 138 yards of offense. The Tigers’ defense looked sluggish, allowing Louisiana Tech to run at will for 131 yards.LSU fans weren’t pleased with the way the Tigers played, and they made sure the team knew it. Boos began to rain down from the stands with three minutes left in the first quarter and would continue throughout most of the night.LSU sophomore quarterback Jarrett Lee, starting in Jefferson’s place, temporarily silenced the boos by completing a 38-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Brandon LaFell toward the end of the first quarter, LSU’s first and only touchdown of the half.The half ended about as well as it began, as Louisiana Tech drove to LSU’s 1-yard line with two seconds left. On fourth down, Bulldog senior running back Daniel Porter, doing his best impression of Tim Tebow, took a direct snap and threw a jump pass to senior tight end Dennis Morris for a touchdown and a 13-10 lead.In a scene reminiscent of the Troy game last season, LSU went to the locker to another chorus of boos, trailing Louisiana Tech for the first time in 105 years.A much-improved LSU defense held Louisiana Tech to 93 yards of total offense in the second half. On the other side of the ball, the Bulldogs had no answer for LSU senior running back Keiland Williams, who ended the game with 116 yards and two second-half touchdowns.Miles said he was pleased with the way the backups stepped up, especially Williams.”We started a new center, a second-team quarterback, operated with new running backs and slugged through a victory,” Miles said. Miles said he was frustrated with the fans’ response towards Lee.”A certain feel that the fan base gave him is not proper,” Miles said with an edge to his voice. “That’s not the way it should be. He’s not perfect, and dang it, we didn’t play well. It wasn’t all his fault. It just seems like we are ready to jump on him, and I’m not ready to.”LSU sophomore running back Stevan Ridley also said he was disappointed with the booing coming from the fans.”Jarrett is out there just like Jordan Jefferson,” Ridley said. “He’s just trying to win a job. I really hate that people were booing him out there.”Ridley said he thought the playcalling had a good mixture of passing plays and running plays. “When we’re running the ball, it opens up the pass,” Ridley said. “The running game was what was going good for us. But with any game, you’ve got to try both. You’ve got to pass and throw. That’s what got us this win today.”Louisiana Tech coach Derek Dooley said he thought his team played its best game. Unlike the last time the teams met up, the Bulldogs didn’t play in awe of LSU on Saturday. Louisiana Tech’s 16 points in the game was the highest the Bulldogs have scored against LSU in the two schools’ 19-game series history. The most points Louisiana Tech had ever scored against LSU before Saturday was 10 in 2003 and 2007.”We played with effort. We played with toughness. We went toe to toe and we weren’t affected by the environment like we were two years ago,” Dooley said. “At the end of the day, they have a better football team than we do.”—-Contact Katherine Terrell at [email protected]