The Western Illinois Leathernecks lived up to their nickname on Saturday night with aggressive play before 87,164 spectators at Tiger Stadium in a 35-7 LSU victory.
LSU football coach Nick Saban said the Tigers made mistakes but the Leathernecks aggressive play also forced the Tigers into some uncomfortable situations. He said the Division I-AA No. 1 WIU team wanted to prove it could compete with a major college football powerhouse.
“That’s as hard as anyone has ever played against us,” Saban said. “I told our team that we won’t play anyone that will want to beat us any worse than these guys wanted to.”
WIU trailed LSU 13-0 at halftime after the Tigers scored on their first and last possesions of the first half, but the Leathernecks executed and recovered an onside kick to begin the second half. The Leathernecks drove 47 yards on nine plays to close the gap to 13-7 at the 10:08 mark of the third quarter on a three-yard pass from Russ Michna to Terrence Hall.
LSU scored 22 unanswered points to end the game after the Leathernecks lone score. The Tigers broke away with a nine play, 59-yard drive, resulting in an eight-yard touchdown pass from Matt Mauck to Skyler Green. Mauck willed his way into the endzone for a two-point conversion, putting the Tigers up 21-7 at the 5:00 mark of the third quarter.
Mauck completed 23-of-33 passes with 305 yards and four touchdowns in the game. The junior quarterback tied a school record with 17 consecutive completions dating back to the Arizona game. He said scoring points meant more passing for the LSU offense.
“We did whatever it took to move the ball,” Mauck said.
The Tigers compiled 457 yards of offense and saw individual players gain more than 100 yards rushing and receiving for the first time since the 2002 Sugar Bowl. Shyrone Carey led the running attack with 124 yards and a touchdown on the ground, while Michael Clayton led the aerial assault with a career high 162 yards receiving and a touchdown.
Carey replaced starting running back Joseph Addai after he fumbled inside the redzone in two consecutive possessions. Saban said he made the decision to play Carey because he ran more effectively than Addai in the game.
“(Addai) didn’t have the look in his eye that he usually has,” Saban said. “(He) is a great person. He’s a great competitor. He gives you a day’s work every day that he comes to practice. He always prepares well for the game and just in pre-game and early in the game he just didn’t look like he had the same look in his eye that I usually see.”
Carey said he told his fellow running back and roommate, Addai, to keep his head up because the offense will need him to make big plays with LSU moving into its Southeastern Conference schedule against Georgia next week.
“I just told him ‘don’t worry about it, we’re going to need you next week,'” Carey said.
Devery Henderson and Green also picked up the slack for
the Tigers at wide receiver after Michael Clayton left the game with a sprained ankle.
Henderson caught six passes for 65 yards and a touchdown, while Green had three receptions for 54 yards and two touchdowns.
“Mike went down and somebody had to step up and make plays,” Green said. “I had more confidence coming into this game just stepping up and being a player that could make plays.”
Defensively, LSU held the Leathernecks to 208 total yards of offense. WIU gained 195 yards via the passing game with 13 yards rushing.
Tigers’ cornerback Corey
Webster credited the defensive line and linebackers for creating situations that led to his two interceptions. He said the front seven helped by keeping the Leathernecks’ quarterback Michna on his toes all night, including sacks by Chad Lavalais and Eric Alexander.
“It’s easy when the front seven put a whole lot of pressure on the quarterback,” Webster said. “That’s how interceptions come … I just ended up being at the right place at the right time.”