Well, that’s more like it!
After a disappointing Week 1 loss against Florida State, the Tigers got their first victory in 2022 in Brian Kelly’s home debut. LSU dominated Southern in the first-ever matchup between the two Baton Rouge programs, earning a commanding 65-17 victory ahead of the beginning of SEC play next weekend.
The Jaguars fumbled the opening kickoff, giving LSU the ball just outside the red zone. The Tigers punched it in on a run from [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag], and that set the tone for the rest of the game. LSU scored touchdowns on each of its first five possessions and netted a safety, all in the first quarter. The 37 resulting points were a program record for the most scored in a single quarter.
For Daniels’ part, it’s hard to find a single flaw with his outing. He completed 10 of his 11 passes for 137 yards and three touchdowns in addition to the score on the ground. LSU rectified Kayshon Boutte’s lack of touches in Week 1, as he caught five balls for 42 yards in addition to a 41-yard run. [autotag]Malik Nabers[/autotag] had a nice bounce-back after muffing two punts in Week 1, taking three catches for 81 yards and a score.
[autotag]Armoni Goodwin[/autotag] (12 carries, 85 yards, two touchdowns) and Noah Cain (10 carries, 51 yards, one touchdown) both found success on the ground, as well.
We even got to see backup quarterback [autotag]Garrett Nussmeier[/autotag], who entered the game early, but it wasn’t the best outing. He went just 13 of 23 for 183 yards and two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown.
Though we have to take the defensive performance with a grain of salt given the opponent, it was a significant improvement. Southern totaled just 262 yards of offense, and true freshman linebacker [autotag]Harold Perkins[/autotag] made a big impact off the bench, leading the team in tackles with seven.
LSU forced three fumbles, and linebacker [autotag]Micah Baskerville[/autotag] had an interception returned for a touchdown.
It’s far from the toughest game on the Tigers’ schedule this fall, but they were able to improve in a lot of the areas that cost them against FSU, and they will look to push their winning streak to two when SEC play opens against Mississippi State next Saturday.
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