LSU’s offense struggled for 30 minutes on Saturday.
For the first half-hour of football versus Southern Miss, LSU ran 22 plays for 121 yards — 56 rushing and 65 passing.
Then, offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger “let it rip.”
Because of it, the Tigers (4-2, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) defeated Southern Miss by 35 points.
“He’s not going down without a fight,” junior wide receiver D.J. Chark said. “It was 10-10, nobody was really worried. Nobody was yelling. [Ensminger] said, ‘We’ve just got to execute.’ We really came out, ran a lot of the same plays and they started breaking.”
In a 35-point, 338-yard second half, LSU’s offense hammered the Eagles (4-3, 2-1 Conference USA) in the final two quarters, scoring on five of its second second-half drives.
“We wanted to put the game to rest,” Chark said.
How? D.J. Chark played a role in LSU’s big-play night versus Southern Miss, and, junior receiver Malachi Dupre seeped out of a slump for two touchdowns by way of junior transfer quarterback Danny Etling’s season-high night.
“This is always what we ask for,” Chark said of the receivers’ big-play opportunities on Saturday. “They always say be careful what you ask for. This is what we’re getting now. So it’s up to us to execute so we can keep doing it.”
Etling completed 11-of-18 passes for 276 yards, a season-high three touchdowns and one interception — his first in 103 consecutive attempts without a turnover.
But, it all began with Chark.
“When you get your moments, you have to make the most of them,” he, a junior who had started a mere two games prior to Saturday in his career, said.
Chark quick-stepped in LSU’s sole touchdown in the first half on a 19-yard end around for his first rushing touchdown this season.
The junior receiver, like the scoring play on Saturday, notched his first rushing touchdown during his three-season career as a Tiger on a 79-yard scoring jet sweep, like Saturday’s, in LSU’s 56-27 Texas Bowl win last season versus Texas Tech.
Why? Well, he’s fast. And he has a nickname to show for it.
“Flash” LSU wide receiver coach Dameyune Craig calls the 6-foot-3, 187-pound junior.
Additionally, near the start of the third quarter, Etling connected with Chark for 80 yards in his longest pitch-and-catch touchdown in his five-game LSU career — and his longest since 2013 at Purdue. Etling’s 276 passing yards are his season high, too.
With it, Chark marked a new career long catch and touchdown reception.
“I ran my route and Danny threw it inside, away from the [defensive back],” Chark said. “When I made the catch, the DB broke on the outside and I was able to go inside. It was a footrace from there.”
Was Southern Miss’ defensive back going to catch “Flash” in a footrace?
“I don’t think so,” Chark laughed.
Chark’s three-catch, 91-yard receiving night was topped only by Dupre, who reeled in 100 of Etling’s 276 yards on three catches.
“[Dupre] had a big day,” Chark said. “Malachi’s a big-time, big-play receiver.”
“He was fired up about it,” LSU coach Ed Orgeron added.
Dupre scored two touchdowns on two of his three receptions — one a 23-yard score and the other on a 63-yard heave from Etling.
Dupre hadn’t scored a touchdown this season prior to Saturday. His scores bumped him to 13 career receiving touchdowns and relieve him from a six-game slump in 2016 without a touchdown reception.
“We hadn’t had those big plays yet this year, but seeing them tonight, it’s something we’ve been waiting for,” Chark said. “We’re all brothers. So seeing Malachi make those plays, me and Travin were probably more excited than he was.”

Follow Christian Boutwell on Twitter, @CBoutwell_