The No. 6 LSU Tigers improved to 4-0 after defeating the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 38-21 on Sept. 22 in Death Valley.
The Tigers struggled with consistency in the second half on both sides of the ball as they gave up 229 yards to the LA Tech offense.
“We came out winning everything, and then we kind of let up on the gas,” said junior linebacker Devin White. “In the end we put some more gas in the tank and we finished it out, and that’s all that matters to me. It’s a great win, we can learn from it, we’re gonna learn from it, and it starts with me.”
LSU was led by a strong running game all night as Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Nick Brossette combined for 214 yards and five touchdowns on the night.
The Tigers had an underwhelming second half for the second-straight home game. LSU was held to only 14 points, with the defense giving up 21 points to the Bulldogs.
The offense was not able to do much of anything in the second frame as the Bulldog defense shut down everything offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger threw at them.
“There’s a lot of things we’re gonna have to fix on film,” coach Ed Orgeron said. “I think our guys came to work this week, but obviously [LA Tech] came to play. I think it was a let down in the second half — obviously we didn’t finish the game.”
The Tiger offense rolled in the first half with scores on four of their first six drives.
The action started early for the Tiger offense as they came to life on their second drive of the game with a more up-tempo approach to their offense. LSU consistently kept Louisiana Tech on their heels as they punched it in with a one-yard touchdown from Brossette.
The touchdown was set up by a wide open 21-yard pass from junior quarterback Joe Burrow to freshman receiver Ja’Marr Chase who brought it down to the one yard line.
The Tigers’ defense came to life on LA Tech’s third drive of the game, as LSU’s Kristian Fulton stripped the Tech receiver, setting up Devin White for a golden opportunity as he scooped up the fumble, bringing it down to the LA Tech three-yard line.
The LSU offense would waste no time off the turnover, converting from one yard out as Brossette scored his second touchdown of the game early in the second quarter to bring the lead to 14-0.
The LSU offense continued to push the tempo on their next drive, taking the ball down to eight-yard line with a slew of accurate passes by Burrow. The offense would stall there, as senior kicker Cole Tracy extended the LSU lead to 17-0 early in the second quarter.
Wasting no time getting the ball back on the next drive, senior safety Ed Paris picked off a ricocheted ball that bounced off multiple players to set the Tigers up with excellent field position at the LA Tech 27-yard line.
The Tigers seized the opportunity. On their first play off of the interception LSU’s Clyde Edwards-Helaire bounced it off the left side untouched for a 28 yard touchdown extending the Tiger lead to 24-0 midway through the second quarter.
LA Tech came out firing in the second half, capping off their 13 play drive on 4th down with a one yard touchdown by Bobby Holly in the flat to tighten the LSU lead to 24-14 in the 3rd.
After a lackluster start to the second half by the Tiger defense, safeties John Battle and Grant Delpit both entered the game after sitting out due to suspension and injury.
The Tigers consistently struggled to defend the Bulldog passing attack in the second half, giving up 194 yards in the air. LA Tech’s J’Mar Smith finished the night going 27-50 for three touchdowns and an interception. Smith had success in the intermediate passing game, frequently dumping the ball off in the flat to his running backs.
LA Tech would tighten the game early in the second quarter, catching the LSU defense sleeping on a 42-yard touchdown down the seam to Adrian Hardy, cutting the LSU lead to three with 12 minutes left.
LSU would put up their first points of the half on a 70-yard drive that would end in a two-yard score by Brossette, giving him his third score of the night.
With seven minutes left to play, the LSU defense came up with their biggest stop of the night on a 4th-and-one attempt by the Bulldog offense. The Tiger defense held firm, stuffing Smith in the backfield on the attempted quarterback sneak.
It wasn’t until 2:23 left in the fourth until LSU put the game away. Edwards-Helaire would push the lead to 17 with a one-yard touchdown.
The score was the Tigers’ fifth touchdown on the ground for the night as the Tiger ground game racked up 218 yards on 44 attempts for the night.
“Hard-fought battle,” Orgeron said. “We’re four and zero — that’s what we came to do here tonight.”
The Tigers next matchup is Sept. 29 in Tiger Stadium against Ole Miss with kickoff set at 8:10 p.m.
