On a night when the focus was supposed to be LSU alumni returning for Homecoming, sophomore running back Alfred Blue stole the show.
The Boutte, La., native led the Tigers with 119 yards on the ground and scored twice Saturday in LSU’s 42-9 victory.
In just one game, Blue eclipsed his freshman season totals of 101 yards and a touchdown.
“It’s just seizing the opportunities when you get the chance, and tonight they called my number,” Blue said. “I had one big run and I guess they saw I was hot and they kept feeding me [the ball].”
The big run Blue referenced was a 45-yard touchdown scamper, which left multiple Western Kentucky defenders in his dust. The Tiger running back wasn’t touched on his way to putting LSU ahead by 19 points late in the third quarter.
Blue said senior quarterback Jordan Jefferson had to read the tight end first on the monster gain.
“If he’s covered, he hands the ball off to me,” Blue said. “I saw the [offensive] lineman was kind of getting pushed back and I made a cut off him.”
Blue shredded the Hilltopper defense for five first down runs, two of which were rushes of more than 20 yards.
“It was just the opportunities I had,” Blue said. “[Running backs] coach Frank [Wilson] called my number and I did what I do best — run the ball.”
Blue is the third leading rusher in a backfield that ranks No. 30 this season in rushing offense.
He accounted for more than 40 percent of LSU’s rushing yards Saturday and a quarter of its total offense, despite not playing in the first half and being taken out late in the game to give freshman Terrence Magee a few carries.
Nine different Tigers recorded a rush in the win.
Sophomore running back and usual feature back Spencer Ware was noticeably limited in his carries against Western Kentucky. Ware totaled just 39 yards on six carries, which is tied for his second fewest attempts this season.
Sophomore running back Michael Ford was the most used back of the night, gaining 63 yards on 11 carries.
“I think Blue and Ford got a little late game wear down yardage,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “They deserved it, though.”
Freshman back Kenny Hilliard ran four times and scored on two 1-yard touchdown runs from the fullback position, despite gaining no net yardage on the day after taking a 3-yard loss in the third quarter.
LSU’s offensive line has the challenge of blocking for so many different backs, all of which have their own unique styles.
“We have an embarrassment of riches back there,” said senior offensive guard T-Bob Hebert. “It seems like it’s one of their nights every Saturday, and whoever it is, is going off.”
The strong play of the LSU backfield opened up the Tigers’ passing game.
Six of senior quarterback Jordan Jefferson’s eight completions were for 10 or more yards, including a first quarter 59-yard bomb to junior wide receiver Rueben Randle which put the Tigers on the board.
“It gives us a lot of man-to-man coverage when they respect our running game,” Randle said. “The defense comes in trying to stop our running game and it leaves us one-on-one with the [defensive backs].”
The deep threat the receivers posed forced Western Kentucky to decide whether to focus on the run or the pass. Blue used his speed when he found a gap in the line on his impressive 45-yard run.
Hebert also took some credit for the run, claiming that even he could have scored on that play.
“I might have gotten hawked down,” Hebert admits. “But I don’t know, I’m faster than Blue.”
 
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Contact Michael Gegenheimer at [email protected]