GETTING BY: LSU disposes of Tulane 35-10

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LSU eases by Green Wave setting up showdown with Alabama

by Matt Deville
Tiger Rag Senior Editor

(At left) Chris Hawkins returned a fumble 24 yards for a second quarter touchdown (Photo by Steve Franz/LSU)

Box Score

If you were looking for style points, there were few to be found on Saturday.

In a very workmanlike effort, the 15th-ranked LSU Tigers (6-2, 4-2 SEC) used a power-rushing attack and its defense to top the Tulane Green Wave Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.

Charles Scott rushed for 114 yards on 12 carries and scored the opening touchdown and Chris Hawkins returned a second quarter fumble 24 yards for a touchdown to highlight the Tigers 25-point victory over the visiting Green Wave (2-6).

“There were too many mistakes, but what we did see was a better defense and I thought we rushed the football better,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “Certainly we are still making mistakes at times, but I didn’t think that was a team that has peaked at play. I thought they played hard and certainly secured victory.”

The win now sets the table for one of the most anticipated games in Tiger Stadium history next Saturday when Nick Saban returns to Baton Rouge with his Alabama Crimson Tide. Bama took over the nation’s No. 1 slot after top-ranked Texas lost at Texas Tech 38-33 on the last play of the game. The Longhorns defeat sent the Tide to the top of the polls for the first time since Bama beat Miami for the national title in 1992.

“We’re going to rest up this weekend and come in Monday morning and go to work,” Scott said about the upcoming showdown with the Tide. “We’re going to see what these guys (Alabama) are doing on defense. On offense, we’re going to go out and work hard and come Saturday night we’re going to put it all on the field.”

As for dealing with the Green Wave, it looked as if the game might be a rout early on. Scott capped an eight-play, 86 yards drive with a 7-yard scoring run to get things going.

However, the LSU offense seemed only to get in its own way most of the first half.

Tulane’s Ross Thevenot booted a 48-yard field goal cutting the score to 7-3, where it remained until late in the second quarter. That’s when Jarrett Lee engineered an 11-play, 70-yard drive culminating in an 11-yard touchdown pass to Brandon LaFell.

On the Wave’s ensuing possession, Rahim Alem sacked Tulane quarterback Joe Kemp, who coughed up the football. Hawkins scooped up the loose football and motored 24 yards for another score, just 27 seconds after the LaFell touchdown.

LSU led 21-3 at the half.

The Tigers picked up a pair of rushing touchdowns in the third and fourth quarter from Keiland Williams and Stevan Ridley. The runs covered three and two yards respectively.

Passes of 15 yards from Lee to Terrance Toliver and 29 yards to LaFell moved LSU to a first-and-goal at the Tulane 10. Three plays later, Keiland Williams scored from three yards out to push the lead to 28-3 with 11:56 to play in the third quarter.

With true freshman Jordan Jefferson under center, Ridley rushed five times for 51 yards on LSU’s final offensive possession and finished the drive with the two-yard plunge giving the Tigers the final margin.

However, sandwiched in between the Williams and Ridley touchdowns was Lee’s 10th interception of the year. The errant pass was picked off by Tulane’s Travis Burks, who returned it 43 yards for a touchdown. The pick-six was Lee’s fifth of the season and fifth in the last six games.

“One thing we wanted to do was secure victory and come off the field with a good rushing attack and backs a certain number of carries,” Miles said. “We also wanted to throw the football well, but we wanted to do so in spots and pick our spots.”

Lee finished the night completing 8 of 20 passes for 99 yards and touchdown offset by the interception. Jordan Jefferson also saw his most extensive action as a Tiger, but he didn’t attempt a pass.

“He’s going to play,” Miles said. “We wanted to give him a number of snaps and I’d liked to have thrown the football a little more at the end. We didn’t want to put him in early with the idea that the game was still in question with the first snaps.”

LSU rolled up 231 yards on the ground on 46 attempts, led by Charles Scott’s 114 yards and a touchdown. Richard Murphy added 54 yards, while Keiland Williams rushed for a touchdown and 51 yards. Steven Ridley gained 51 yards on five carries on the Tigers’ final drive of the game.

LaFell led all receivers with three catches for 48 yards and the first-half touchdown.
Tulane was held to 163 yards of total offense on 54 plays, including 72 on the ground and 91 through the air.

Quarterbacks Kevin Moore, Kemp and Scott Elliott combined to complete 12-of-24 passes for 91 yards. Running back Nathan Austin led all Green Wave players with 53 yards from scrimmage on 16 carries.

With the Green Wave out of the way, the focus now turns to the Crimson Tide. Alabama (9-0, 6-0) also rolled through a sleeper beating Arkansas State 35-0.

“If you can’t get motivated for that game then you can’t get motivated,” said LSU safety Harry Coleman. “We’re looking forward to next week.”