TIGER TV SPORTS WRITER
The LSU Tiger now have a one-game winning streak in Tiger Stadium. That’s because the ninth ranked LSU Tigers scorched Auburn 31-10 in a rebound effort after losing to Florida two weeks ago in the same setting.
LSU was lead by quarterback Jordan Jefferson, who made plenty of improvement since the Florida loss.
Jefferson, who only went for 96 yards versus the Gators, went for 242 Saturday night plus two touchdowns and no interceptions.
LSU head coach Les Miles agrees that Jefferson has improved.
”I think you watched him execute pretty well,” Miles said after the game. “He’s a confident guy.”
Jefferson started his air assault early on the first drive of the night. The sophomore completed a 14-yard touchdown strike to Terrance Toliver to give the Tigers an early 7-0 lead.
A few drives later the purple and gold took the ball back after linebacker Harry Coleman forced an Auburn fumble deep in their own territory which was picked up by Danny McCray.
After LSU was stuffed on first and second down, Jefferson showed he has an impressive set of legs to go along with his arm as he scampered into the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown run.
In the second quarter, the LSU defense continued to dominate as Coleman and the bunch stopped the run and kept putting pressure on Auburn quarterback Chris Todd.
“They were bringing a lot of different blitzes, and they definitely had a lot of speed,” Todd said after being sacked four times.
The LSU defensive held Auburn to only 193 yards of total offense lead by Coleman’s nine tackles, two sacks and two forced fumbles.
“The point of emphasis this week was to tackle well and try to minimize mistakes,” Coleman said.
After a Jasper field goal near the end of the half, the Tigers took a 17-0 lead into half time.
The third quarter would start off with a bang as LSU once again capped off another long drive with a touchdown pass, this time to Brandon LaFell for 17 yards to give the Tigers a 24-0 lead.
LaFell and Toliver formed a nice 1-2 combo at receiver as they combined for 155 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
But their combo wasn’t the most dynamic of the night. That title belongs to the tandem of quarterbacks in Jefferson and true freshman Russell Shepard.
Shepard was held in check for most of the night. He lined up at quarterback, receiver or running back throughout most of the night.
But on one play, he broke loose.
“It was a 3-read,” Shepard said. “A simple play.”
The “simple” play turned into the dagger that struck Auburn in the heart, as Jefferson handed the ball to Shepard on a second down. In a blink of an eye, Shepard hit a small seam that resulted into a 69-yard touchdown run.
“I looked and said ‘This couldn’t be true.’” Shepard said. “But once I got through, there was nothing stopping me.”
Shepard’s first career touchdown run was the longest by a Tiger since Jacob Hester’s 87-yard run versus Louisiana Tech two years ago.
In the fourth quarter, Auburn would add a meaningless touchdown in the final moments to make the final score 31-10 in favor of the ‘LSU’ Tigers.
LSU now moves to 3-1 in conference play and 6-1 overall. Their next opponent will be Tulane in Halloween and in two weeks will be with No. 1 Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
Miles said his team will be ready for what’s ahead.
“We understand where we’re at,” he said. “We play a quality team (Tulane) next week, and as the season unfolds, we are going to play some of the finest teams in the country.”
