Although the LSU offense seemed to have a quiet day at the office, it still did enough to get past the gruesome defense of Auburn. The ground game, along with help from Heisman frontrunner, Joe Burrow, prevailed late to help boost LSU to its third top-10 win of the season.
For a team that leads the nation in points scored per game, LSU expects to light up on the scoreboard. Saturday, that did not happen, but the offense still got the job done with the teamwork of Burrow and junior running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire
Facing an Auburn defense that only allows just above 94 yards rushing a game, LSU knew they were going to have a hard time on the ground. LSU focused on throwing short passes to its dynamic wide receivers, but when that was not working, the run game was there to pull through.
“The plan was to use tempo and tire out Auburn’s defensive front,” coach Ed Orgeron said.
Edwards-Helaire has not shined away from the spotlight in big games for the Tigers this season. Both of Edwards-Helaire’s top-two rushing performances this season have come against AP top-10 opponents in Florida (134 yards), and now Auburn.
Edwards-Helaire rushed for 136 yards on 26 rushing attempts and had a touchdown credited to his name. To go along with that, Edwards-Helaire also had seven catches for 51 yards out the backfield.
“The passing game was tough sledding…but it enabled us to run the ball. He made a difference,” Orgeron said.
During the late third quarter, Edwards-Helaire put the team on this back and helped swing the momentum back for LSU. Edwards-Helaire had four-straight carries that led to an LSU touchdown that was capped off by an six-yard touchdown run by Edwards-Helaire. This ultimately gave LSU the led and they never looked back.
“I got on the headset, and [offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger] and [passing game coordinator Joe Brady] said let’s just pound it on this drive,” Burrow said. “We’re just going to run the ball, and see if they can stop it. The o-line and [junior tight end Thaddeus Moss] did a great job up front, and Clyde made everybody miss.”
With this, Edwards-Helaire earned his third career game with 100 rushing yards against an AP Top-10 team. This is the most by an LSU player over the last 15 seasons.
Burrow’s heisman campaign continued to grow this game as he finished the day 32-0f-42 with 321 passing yards and a touchdown. This marks Burrow’s sixth 300-yard game of the season, tying Rohan Davey for the most in a single season at LSU.
The Tigers move to 8-0 and are ranked No. 1 going into the bye week before traveling to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for a matchup with No. 2 Alabama.
