Longtime LSU equipment manager Jeff Boss died just five days before the Tigers’ homecoming date with Louisiana Tech. But with the letters JB painted on the field, the Tigers remembered him with a 49-10 victory in front of 91,879 in Tiger Stadium.
Tigers quarterback Matt Mauck started the game with 14 consecutive completions, tying a school record set by Chad Loup against Arkansas in 1993.
“[Mauck] played extremely well in the game,” said LSU coach Nick Saban. “He did a good job of getting us in the right play. He really did a fantastic job out there.”
Mauck finished the game completing 18-of-20 passes for 311 yards and four touchdowns. He hooked up with Michael Clayton for a 34-yard touchdown on the Tigers’ first possession and then found Skyler Green for an eight-yard score late in the first quarter. Clayton finished with four catches for 85 yards, while Green led the Tigers with nine receptions for 103 yards.
“He was hot like a firecracker,” Green said.
Ruston natives Jack Hunt and Kyle Williams played a major role in the demise of the Bulldogs, both intercepting quarterback Luke McCown. Hunt returned his interception for a 29-yard touchdown to give the Tigers a 28-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. LSU racked up 653 total yards, while holding Tech to 341.
Devery Henderson got in on the scoring parade with two touchdown receptions of 46 and 50 yards from Mauck in the second quarter.
“I was pleased with how our receivers played,” Saban said. “It makes us most effective on offense.”
Vincent scored on a 7-yard run in the first quarter, while the Tigers other rushing touchdown came on a 22-yard run by Alley Broussard, who led LSU with 16 carries for 106 yards.
The Bulldogs got on the scoreboard with a 29-yard field goal by Josh Scobee late in the second quarter to make the score 49-3 at halftime.
Tech scored the only points of the second half on a 49-yard touchdown pass from McCown to Eric Newman.
McCown set a Bulldogs’ record for completions with 1,024, but the Tech quarterback was 11-of-28 for 152 yards with two interceptions.
“All the credit in the world goes out to [LSU],” McCown said. “They have a great football team and have a shot at winning the national championship.”
Flexing their muscles on the road again, the Tigers defeated Alabama 27-3 at Denny-Bryant Stadium in Tuscaloosa.
LSU showed balance on offense, gaining 219 yards on the ground and 251 through the air. The Tigers defense held the Tide to 219 total yards.
LSU’s first possession led to a 20-yard field goal by Chris Jackson. He later hit a 33-yard field goal in the second half.
A 41-yard punt return by Skyler Green set up a Tigers score. LSU quarterback Matt Mauck hit Michael Clayton on a slant pattern for a 23-yard touchdown to make the score 10-0.
“We had two big punt returns in the first half and then we didn’t get the ball kicked to us anymore which may be a problem,” said LSU coach Nick Saban. “[Green] has big play ability in everything he does. We certainly would like to continue to get the ball in his hands so he has an opportunity to make plays.”
Clayton caught 12 passes for 130 yards in the game. His 102 receiving yards in the first half bettered Alabama’s total first half yardage — 65.
“This is what we’ve been working hard for since I’ve been here,” Clayton said. “Being know as a nationally-ranked, dominating ball club. I think week in and week out we do that.”
Saban praised Clayton for his effort.
“[It was] not only the passes he caught,” Saban said. “He blocked very well. Michael has played well for us all year.”
The Tigers closed the first half with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Mauck to Eric Edwards, whose diving, over-the-shoulder catch gave LSU a 17-0 halftime lead.
“It was a perfect throw, away from the defender where I could get it,” Edwards said. “That gave us a little momentum [heading] into the second half.”
Running back Alley Broussard added a touchdown in the second half. Broussard and Justin Vincent combined for 162 yards rushing.
Mauck completed 24-of-36 passes for 251 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He was disappointed the Tigers could not score more points.
“Offensively, we left a lot out there,” Mauck said. “We did come in here and beat a great Alabama team 27-3 and we didn’t play our best ball. Hopefully, we can improve upon some things.”
Clayton said the Tigers played well enough to win after an idle week. The Tigers lost earlier in the season to Florida after a similar situation.
“We were coming off of an off week,” Clayton said. “We left a lot of things out there, but it’s a positive because we can go back, watch film and learn a lot.”
Alabama coach Mike Shula compared LSU to then No. 1 Oklahoma, which the Tide played earlier in the season.
“They are real good and deserving of their high ranking,” Shula said. “We played Oklahoma early in the year so we can compare them to the top teams in the country. If Oklahoma is No. 1 they are definitely right behind them.”
Before an epic SEC Western Division battle that pitted Ole Miss against LSU, “Gladiator” Russell Crow made an appearance via the Jumbotron asking Rebels fans and players “are you ready?”
The Rebels came into the game undefeated in conference play (6-0), while the Tigers entered the contest with one loss (5-1). Both teams were ready but the Tigers proved to be more battle-tested with a 17-14 victory before 62,552 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss.
Tigers wide receiver Devery Henderson gave LSU a 17-7 cushion on the first play in the fourth quarter with a 53-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Matt Mauck. It proved to be the game-winning score.
A 10-yard touchdown pass from Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning to running back Brandon Jacobs on the next possession cut the Tigers’ lead to three.
The LSU defense stopped the Rebels all game, holding Ole Miss to 227 total yards. The Rebels managed just 98 yards after the third quarter.
There was no letdown for the Tigers defense during the final minutes of the fourth quarter. The Rebels threatened to tie the game twice in the last five minutes. Ole Miss place kicker Jonathon Nichols missed his second field goal of the game that would have tied the score with 4:15 left.
Manning and the Rebels got the ball again at their own 32-yard line with 2:16 left in the contest. The Tigers forced three Manning incompletions before the Rebels took a timeout with fourth-and-10. The entire LSU squad rallied around the defense during the timeout, and the Tigers converted that energy into a 5-yard loss and a change of possessions.
Tigers defensive tackle Chad Lavalais pushed the Rebels center into Manning causing him to fall on the play. Lavalais said he was so focused he did not remember the team huddle – just what LSU coach Nick Saban wanted.
“What I was trying to do was to get the players focused on fourth-and-10 and not get all excited about what the moment was and to be able to focus on what we needed to do at that time to make the play we needed to make,” Saban said.
The Tigers got off to a slow start in the game. On the first possession, Mauck threw an interception that was returned for a six-yard touchdown by Rebels cornerback Travis Johnson, giving Ole Miss a 7-0 lead.
Mauck threw three interceptions in the game but the defense yielded no points on the last two. Cornerback Corey Webster did his part by intercepting a Manning pass the play after Mauck’s second interception in the third quarter.
“Coach said ‘somebody needs to make a play’ and I went out there and I made a play,” Webster said.
The Tigers overcame the deficit with a 45-yard field goal and a touchdown pass from Mauck to Michael Clayton late in the second quarter, giving LSU a 10-7 lead at halftime.
“Any time you can get out of a plus-3 turnover situation and give up no points you feel very fortunate,” Saban said.
Claiming its second SEC Western Division crown in three years, the Tigers got revenge against Arkansas with a 55-24 route on the day after Thanksgiving in front of 92,213 in Tiger Stadium.
LSU coach Nick Saban said he was proud of the team for its hard work and effort in the win, which he said was fueled by the Tiger 2002 loss to Arkansas that kept them from the SEC Championship game.
“It was a lot of hard work that started last year – started in the off season program,” Saban said. “And it was the thought of losing to Arkansas the way we did that was the first motivator for this team to get going to get better, to improve and I think it was a good catalyst for us.”
The game was deadlocked at 17-17 until Tigers quarterback Matt Mauck connected with Skyler Green for a 2-yard touchdown to take the lead.
Saban said the defense picked up the pace in the second half, which spring boarded the Tigers to victory.
“I think the real turning point was when the game was 17-17 – we started playing a little bit better on defense,” Saban said. “We were playing well on offense. To get two scores up by halftime, I think that whole sequence of events there was really important in the outcome of the game.”
LSU had a 34-17 advantage halftime lead with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Mauck to Devery Henderson just before the half. Chris Jackson added a 47-yard field goal in the second quarter after making a 38-yarder in the first quarter.
The Tigers scored three third quarter touchdowns, jumping out to a 55-17 lead. Mauck found David Jones for a 37-yard touchdown, while running back Justin Vincent had a pair of touchdown runs of 23 and 2 yards, respectively.
Vincent had 22 carries for 105 yards, while Mauck completed 12-of-19 passes for 186 yards and two touchdowns.
“I was a little disappointed with my effort last week [against Ole Miss],” Mauck said. “Although I tried hard it just didn’t work out for me, but this week was much better.”
The Tigers trailed 7-3 early in the first quarter after Arkansas scored on its first possession with a touchdown pass from quarterback Matt Jones to DeCori Birmingham.
LSU defensive end Marcus Spears forced Jones to fumble and Eric Alexander regained the lead for the Tigers, 10-7, returning it for a 25-yard touchdown.
Michael Clayton broke a 10-10 tie with a 10-yard touchdown reception from Matt Mauck early in the second quarter. The Razorbacks tied the game one last time with a 20-yard touchdown run by Cedric Cobbs.
Arkansas cornerback Tony Bua said the momentum of the game shifted to LSU when Corey Webster intercepted a Matt Jones pass that set up a touchdown before the half.
“That was pretty much a thorn in our back,” Bua said. “We are not built to come back from big deficits.”