The No. 13 LSU football team jumped out to a quick lead against No. 18 Auburn and never looked back as it ran for more than 400 yards and continued to put points on the board against a porous Auburn defense, which was playing without sophomore defensive end Carl Lawson.
LSU (2-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) defeated Auburn (2-1, 0-1 SEC), 45-21, Saturday for its first home conference victory of the season and the eighth defeat of Auburn during coach Les Miles’ tenure, pitting his record against Auburn at 8-3 since 2005.
“We really wanted to play well in this game,” Miles said. “The opportunity to be 2-0 in this conference with a quality western division is certainly something this football team looked forward to.”
Miles’ first-year starting quarterback, sophomore Brandon Harris, was in the spotlight entering the game after quarterbacking LSU to a 41-7 loss against Auburn last season.
But sophomore running back Leonard Fournette stole the attention the fans in Tiger Stadium from on the first play from scrimmage with a 71-yard run, and he never stepped out of the limelight, racking up a career-high 228 yards on 19 carries.
“He lived up to the hype,” said sophomore fullback John David Moore. “It wouldn’t be possible without a great offensive line and great receivers out there that are real physical on the perimeter.”
Fournette was the center of attention while Harris managed the game, completing 12-of-17 passes for 74 yards, one touchdown and zero turnovers, and he broke free from the pocket eight times for 66 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
“Brandon Harris did exactly what we asked him to do,” Miles said. “He was very accurate … He made plays with his feet and his arm. He got us into the right play. I enjoyed how he performed again.”
LSU’s 24 first-half points included a frenzy-inducing 40-yard run by Fournette as he sped through Auburn’s first two lines of defense and lowered his shoulder, laying out an Auburn defensive back before reaching pay dirt.
Auburn junior quarterback Jeremy Johnson didn’t manage the showing Fournette, or even Harris had in the first half, but he came out of the locker room after half time and ran through the LSU defense for a 65-yard rushing touchdown on the first drive of the second half.
He finished the game 11-for-19 for 100 passing yards and two passing touchdowns with 41 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.
However, Fournette didn’t stop dropping jaws in Tiger Stadium; Harris handed the ball to him at the Auburn 35-yard line and he broke free from three would-be tacklers en route to his second touchdown of the day, giving LSU a 31-7 lead and all but securing victory with 28 minutes, 19 seconds left in regulation.
The LSU defense managed to pressure Johnson all game, culminating in a strip sack by sophomore defensive tackle Frank Herron, setting Fournette up for his third touchdown of the game and giving LSU a 38-7 lead.
We’re really good,” Fournette said. “We’re better than what we thought. We put the hard work in, the dedication and it panned out for us.”
Freshman running backs Derrius Guice and Nick Brossette replaced Fournette as the primary back, and Guice led the way with six carries for 55 yards.
Auburn added 14 points to the scoreboard in the fourth quarter on a nine-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to senior wide receiver Melvin Ray and a 10-yard pass to senior wide receiver D’haquille Williams, but LSU’s lead was never in jeopardy.
“During the second half, we need a more mature team to close games out,” Miles said. “I want the game to end in a prescribed fashion, not allow scores and to know certainly that we are going to win the game.”
The combination of LSU’s stifling defense, which held Auburn to 260 total yards on offense and forced it to go 3-for-10 on third down conversions, and high-powered offense proved too much to overcome for the Auburn Tigers.
The Tigers from Baton Rouge retreated to their locker room in a haze of glory, while the other Tigers licked their wounds on the way back to Auburn.
“I feel like the sky’s the limit,” said junior safety Rickey Jefferson. “We are going to keep pushing, keep working hard and stay humble. It’s all about the team.”