by Chris Macaluso
LSUsports.net
Football coaches on every level always say the team that runs the ball the best usually winds up the winner.
But with LSU facing the nation’s best rushing defense in Mississippi State with just the ninth-best rushing offense in the Southeastern Conference, one would think the onus of winning Saturday’s game rested squarely on the shoulders of Tiger quarterback Josh Booty.
Booty played well, completing 24-of-38 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns. But it was the play of the Tiger offensive line and a trio of running backs that proved to be the difference in LSU’s thrilling 45-38 overtime victory over the Bulldogs Saturday night.
The win improved LSU’s overall record to 5-3 and also moved the Tigers into a first-place tie in the SEC Western Division at 3-2 thanks to an earlier loss by Alabama to Tennessee. It was the second overtime game in LSU history and the second win over an ranked SEC team in overtime this season, the first a 38-31 win over Tennessee in week five.
“The runners did a good job,” said Tiger head coach Nick Saban. “The offensive did a fantastic job blocking some pretty good football players.”
The “pretty good” players on Mississippi State’s defensive line had given up just 24 yards per game in the Bulldogs’ first five games. LSU amassed 220 yards and four touchdowns against that same Bulldog front-line.
Leading the way for the Tigers was red-shirt freshman tailback LaBrandon Toefield, who finished the game with 119 yards on the ground and two touchdowns. The second of the two was the winning score, a 13-yard scamper on LSU’s third overtime play.
“We knew we were going to come in and run the ball on them,” Toefield said. “We ran the ball against Tennessee and they were supposed to have a good defense. We saw teams on the film that heard about Mississippi State’s defense and were afraid to go at them. So we thought we’d try our luck and go right at them.”
Toefield’s backfield mate Dominick Davis, who finished the game with 79 yards on 12 carries and two TD’s said it had nothing to do with luck. He said the reason LSU won the game tonight boiled down to the outstanding play of the Tiger offensive line.
“They (the offensive line) were just motivated,” Davis said. “They knew we had to go out there and just get it. They did a wonderful job. I give them all the credit.”
Freshman tailback Devery Henderson saw the field as well rushing for 18 yards on three carries.
The Tiger offense ran the ball well in the first half as it headed into the locker room with 71 yards on the ground. But it was in the second half, and more specifically the fourth quarter, that the LSU ground game exploded. Three of the four rushing TD’s for LSU came in the second half as the Tiger offensive line wore down the vaunted Bulldog defensive front.
LSU offensive lineman Rodney Reed said he and his teammates were confident they could do the job heading into the game because of the game plan the Tiger coaches implemented during practice in the week leading up to the contest.
“They (the coaches) prepared us for the different looks that State throws up,” Reed said. “It was a great week of practice, the best since I’ve been here. There wasn’t any doubt that we would win this game.”
Saban said minus the way the defense played, giving up 454 yards to the Bulldog offense, he’s extremely proud of the way his team played and prepared for what could prove to be the most important win of the year.
“It was a great job of planning the game and a great job of executing by our players,” he said.
The Tigers take their first bye of the season next week before returning to Tiger Stadium for their last home game against Alabama Nov. 4. Saban said hopefully his team can return to the field against the Crimson Tide with the same intensity it showed against Mississippi State.
“They were extremely confident tonight and nobody lost their poise out there,” he said. “I think we matured a lot as a team and I think it’s going to do a lot for our confidence.”