LSU’s Week 5 non-conference finale against South Alabama looked like it could have been a trap game on paper, but the Tigers had little issues as they avoided a slow start similar to past weeks.
They jumped on the Jaguars early and never let them make it a game as they won 42-10.
LSU got off to a fast start offensively thanks to freshman running back [autotag]Caden Durham[/autotag]. He touched the ball on each of their first two plays from scrimmage, taking a screen for 71 yards and a run for 86, scoring a touchdown on the former and setting up an easy score from the one on the latter.
Durham flashed brilliance, running for 128 yards and a touchdown on seven carries, but an injury sidelined him for the second half.
Still, his early playmaking set the tone for a dominant first half in which the Tigers led 35-3 at the break and totaled 429 yards of offense. Quarterback [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag] scored four touchdowns in the first two quarters, two with his arm and two with his legs.
However, it wasn’t all great from Nussmeier. After ending the first half with an interception, he threw his second of the game on the opening drive of the third quarter, giving him as many picks as he had thrown on the season so far before the game.
But Nussmeier responded after the Tigers got a turnover on downs at the goal line, leading a 12-play, 99-yard drive capped off by a [autotag]Josh Williams[/autotag] touchdown to give LSU a decisive fourth-quarter lead.
Nussmeier finished the game with over 400 yards passing on 26 of 39 passing.
Defensively, it was easily the Tigers’ best performance of the season. Against a South Alabama offense that scored 135 combined points in the last two weeks, LSU allowed just 10 in this one while holding the Jags to 333 yards, more than 200 which came in the second half when the outcome was not in question.
Fluff Bothwell, one of the most productive backs in the nation this season, had just 17 yards on 10 carries. Meanwhile, the defense turned in nine tackles for loss and three sacks in a disruptive performance.
With the win, the Tigers head into the bye week sitting at 4-0 before SEC play picks up again in Week 7 with a crucial home matchup against Ole Miss, though that game may have lost a bit of luster with the Rebels falling at home to Kentucky on Saturday.
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