Offensive coordinator Matt Canada introduced a new section of his playbook during Saturday’s 45-10 win against Chattanooga. 
A crowd of 97,289 in Tiger Stadium got a glimpse of the deep ball offense executed by senior quarterback Danny Etling. 
Etling said the plan coming in to the game was to throw long balls with the defense that Chattanooga was running. 
“[Chattanooga] was coming up and stopping the run really well and that’s credit to them, so we decided to open up a little bit,” Etling said. 
Etling threw 8-for-14 with 227 yards looking more comfortable taking snaps and throwing the long passes to his wide receiver unit. 
“Danny seems like a different player to me this year,” Orgeron said. “He’s confident in the pocket, he can do some things. You see him scramble in the long run. There’s some times [Mississippi State] is going to give him some trouble and he’s going to have to make some plays with his feet. He can do it. 
Of his eight completions, five of them were for at least 25 yards. 
Etling opened the Tiger’s offensive drive with a 36-yard play action pass to sophomore wide receiver Drake Davis in the end zone. 
Etling executed the play with a fake dive play followed by a fake end-around, leaving Davis wide open behind Chattanooga’s defense. 
“There’s some guys we’ve been hoping would come along and have been pushing them to come along and they had a great night tonight,” Etling said of the young receiver group. 
Etling connected long ball passes with four different receivers, including freshman JaCoby Stevens who saw action for the first time. 
The others were Davis for 36 yards, Stephen Sullivan for 46 yards and DJ Chark for 46 and 48 yards. 
“Our receivers are running a lot better routes this year,” Oregon said. “They worked on their feet all summer with Mickey. They’re very precise in their routes and they’re catching the ball. I think the receivers are the most improved unit on the football team because of the coaching.”
LSU’s offense carried the ball just 26 times versus the 57 carries in the win against BYU. 
“This is going to be a great film to watch for me to watch and learn from and move on from it when it comes to Mississippi State,” Etling said. 

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Caroline Magee

LSU senior quarterback Danny Etling (16) prepares to throw the ball during the Tigers 45-10 victory over Chattanooga on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017 in Tiger Stadium.