By Fred J. Demarest
LSU Sports Information
LSU played for pride. Houston played to keep its Bowl chances alive.
In the end, Houston played with the desperation of a team completely aware of its critical condition, handing the Tigers their eighth straight loss, 20-7, Saturday night at Tiger Stadium, keeping its Bowl chances alive.
Behind a an overpowering offensive line that helped Houston (6-4) dominate the clock, the Cougars built an insurmountable 17-7 halftime lead the Tigers (2-8) were never able to chip into.
?We started the week wanting to play hard two weeks in a row and we didn?t do that and that?s my fault, I?ve got to be able to get more out of them,? said LSU head coach Gerry DiNardo. ?We struggled stopping the run and were inconsistent offensively. We?ve got to play better than that.?
Houston methodically dismantled the Tigers, playing turnover free football, while controlling the ball for over 37 minutes on the evening behind a physical ground game and a conservative, yet effective passing attack.
Ketric Sanford ran for 105 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown, while Jason McKinley hit 19-of-27 passes for 203 yards with a touchdown, leading the Cougars to 375 yards of total offense. The Tigers finished with 326 total yards, but many late in the game through the air and only 31 on the ground for the night.
The LSU offense looked crisp right off the bat, marching 84 yards in just five plays to take a 7-0 lead less than four minutes into the game.
After Josh Booty hit Jerel Myers with completions of 26 and 15 yards respectively, Rondell Mealey took matters into his own hands, taking the ball the final 34 yards himself on a spectacular run that saw him break a pair of tackles before hitting pay dirt.
The touchdown was Mealey?s seventh of the season and 28th of his career, moving him into sole possession of fifth place in all-time rushing touchdowns at LSU.
At the same time, Myers had another outstanding evening, catching eight balls for 114 yards. In the process, he set a new Southeastern Conference record for single-season receptions by a freshman, increasing his total to 61, surpassing the 58 receptions by Zola Davis of South Carolina in 1995. It was also Myers? third 100-yard receiving game of the season.
As the first quarter neared completion, Houston got back into the game behind the powerful running of Sanford and Mike Green.
The Cougars went the final 24 yards through the air, as McKinley hit a streaking Scott Regimbald, who had slipped behind the Tiger secondary, over the middle to tie the game at seven with just over three minutes remaining in the opening quarter.
Houston grabbed a 10-7 lead midway through the second quarter when Mike Clark split the uprights with a 22-yard chip shot. The field goal capped an impressive 16-play 85-yard drive that consumed 8:33 off the clock.
Clark?s field goal was set up by another hook-up between McKinley and Regimbald, a 26-yarder that brought the ball deep into LSU territory. McKinley was sharp in the first half, completing 11-of-14 passing attempts for 123 yards and a touchdown.
Sanford capped an impressive first half that saw the Cougars control the ball for nearly 20 minutes with a 10-yard touchdown run with just over a minute left, giving Houston a commanding 17-7 lead.
LSU received the kick to open the second half, but after driving to the Houston 37-yard line, turned it over when Booty fumbled the ball.
Houston increased the lead to 20-7 with just over six minutes left in the third quarter on a 29-yard field goal by Clark. The Cougars moved 50 yards in 10 plays, aided by a pair of key third down conversions.
On third-and-eight from the Cougar 41-yard line, McKinley found Orlando Iglesias on a short screen over the middle that turned into a 30-yard gain. Three plays later on third-and-nine from the LSU 28, McKinley hit Jonathan Prichett for a 10-yard gain. The drive would stall at the 11-yard line.
LSU had numerous opportunities to get back into the game, but never could mount any offense outside of the first drive of the game. With the Tigers forced to throw on virtually every down late in the game, the Houston front seven opened fire on Booty, making him throw early just about every snap and eventually knocking him out of the game after a hard hit on his second interception of the game.
Rohan Davey replaced Booty with four minutes remaining and opened with a 31-yard completion to Josh Reed on his first attempt, but was picked off four plays later.
Booty completed 20-of-34 passes on the evening for 213 yards with two interceptions. The Tigers turned the ball over five times on the evening.
LSU has an open date next weekend before returning to action on Nov. 26 in the season finale against Arkansas.