A drop in humidity Saturday night may have made it a bit easier to breathe in Tiger Stadium, but that couldn’t stop the Huskies from being suffocated by LSU’s defense.
A week after a performance against North Texas that LSU coach Les Miles called “sloppy,” the Tigers came back with authority, handing Washington a 41-3 thrashing.
And while LSU looked superior to Washington in virtually all phases of the game, the Tigers’ performance on defense was nothing short of dominant.
“The pass rush was very evident tonight,” Miles said. “Our tackling was crisp. It’s what we needed to have happen. The defensive front played very well.”
The game started in Washington’s favor after an Odell Beckham Jr. fumble on the opening kickoff return gave the away team possession at the LSU 20-yard line. But then the LSU defense stepped in.
The Tigers held the Huskies to four yards on the drive, forcing them to kick a 34-yard field goal. The stop resulted in Washington taking the taking the lead, but it also led to an increase in energy and motivation along the LSU sideline.
“As a defense, we pride ourselves in stopping them and having the offense’s back,” said junior defensive tackle Bennie Logan. “Us getting the stop and [holding them to] three points was a big momentum boost.”
The opening drive was the only time Washington was able to even sniff the end zone as LSU imposed its will on the Huskies.
The Tigers allowed a mere 183 yards in total offense, leading the Southeastern Conference for the second consecutive week.
“We couldn’t even move the ball at first,” Washington quarterback Keith Price told reporters after the game. “We didn’t throw the ball well. We didn’t run the ball well.”
The Tigers never allowed Price to get comfortable. The highly touted junior completed only 47.2 percent of his passes for 157 yards, well below his 2011 season average of 236 yards.
LSU forced Price to spend most of the night trying to avoid pressure, sacking him four times. The pressure led to an interception from freshman cornerback Jalen Mills.
“I actually felt it,” Price said. “I felt the pressure and I tried to get out a couple times, and you see I threw a pick trying to do too much.”
The Tigers recorded their first sack of the season about 10 minutes into the first quarter, when senior defensive end Lavar Edwards flew past the offensive line untouched and brought Price down from behind.
Edwards said after the game that his sack set the tone for the rest of his teammates, inspiring them to put even more pressure on the quarterback.
The Tigers’ pressure up front caused even more problems for the Huskies when they tried to run the ball. Going into the fourth quarter, the Huskies had 17 carries for zero yards before finishing the game with 24 carries for 26 yards.
“We just had a hard time on first-and-10 football,” said Washington coach Steve Sarkisian. “We were living on second-and-long, which put us in a great deal of third-and-longs.”
Washington sophomore tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins said he and his teammates were baffled by the talent on LSU’s defensive line, calling it the best he’s ever seen.
Despite LSU’s dominance on defense in both of its games, the Tigers are still not satisfied. After the game, players and coaches agreed there is still room for the team to grow.
