Matt Mauck threw a career-high three touchdown passes and John Corbello tied a school record with four field goals as the 22nd-ranked Tigers stormed past the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks on an electric Saturday night in Tiger Stadium, 33-7.
Mauck and wide receiver Michael Clayton connected twice in the first half for touchdowns, including a 24-yard strike with 16 seconds left in the half. The sophomore starter was 15-for-26 for 215 yards and three scores. Clayton led LSU with seven receptions for 91 yards.
Miami (Ohio), a member of the Mid-America Conference, and its high powered passing attack didn’t pass midfield until 3:03 remained in the first half. Sophomore sensation Ben Roethlisberger completed 22-of-34 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown, but was ineffective until the RedHawks final drive of the first half when he went 7-for-8 for 85 yards and a touchdown.
The Tigers’ defense allowed only 29 yards rushing on 17 attempts, while LSU rolled for 207 yards on the ground on 45 carries. LaBrandon Toefield rushed 17 times for 111 yards, while Domanick Davis added 51 yards on 11 carries.
Corbello tied David Browndyke’s school record with four field goals, including attempts from 42, 29, 32 and 41 yards, while picking up punting duties for Donnie Jones. Corbello also scored the second-most points (15) by an LSU kicker in Tiger Stadium history. Jones sprained his knee on a roughing penalty early in the game.
For the third consecutive game, LSU captains Bradie James, LaBrandon Toefield and Kenderick Allen won the toss. But for the first time, the Tigers elected to receive and defend the North endzone. Miami opened the game by kicking the ball out of bounds at the LSU 20-yard line, giving the Tigers the ball at their 35.
Aided by a roughing the punter personal foul, LSU was able to come away with a 42-yard field goal by John Corbello with 12:12 remaining in the first quarter after a 3rd-and-2 pass from Mauck to Davis was dropped in the flat. LSU led 3-0.
The Tigers forced Miami three-and-out on their first possession, giving LSU positive field position at the RedHawk 49 with 10:34 in the first quarter. A 13-yard scamper around the left end on third down by Toefield gave the Tigers first down at the 13, however, a pair of incomplete passes including another drop put LSU in field goal mode once again. Corbello converted the 29-yarder and LSU led 6-0 with 8:24 on the first-quarter clock.
After Demetrius Hookfin broke up and nearly intercepted a 3rd-and-12 pass from Roethlisberger, Davis took a 54-yard RedHawk punt back 57 yards to the Miami 30. A 16-yard pass from Mauck to Clayton set up a 9-yard touchdown pass between the duo with 2:55 left in the quarter. Mauck had plenty of protection in the pocket and threw an easy pass to Clayton at the left post. Clayton caught the ball at the 3 and carried a defender into the endzone.
LSU led 13-0.
LSU threatened near the RedHawk red zone early in the second quarter, but Davis’ reception for first down yardage was fumbled to Miami at the 21-yard line. Miami then went three-and-out and was forced to punt from its 25.
The Tigers drive began at midfield with Toefield running through a gaping whole on the left side of the line for 15 yards to the Miami 35. The drive stalled at the 18-yard line and gave Corbello a chance for his third field goal in a row. It was successful from 32 yards out to give LSU a 16-0 lead with 5:34 to play in the half.
Miami penetrated LSU territory for the first time with less than three minutes to play in the half, as Roethlisberger led the RedHawks 87 yards in 10 plays to a 7-yard touchdown to Korey Kirkpatrick with 50 seconds remaining. The point after attempt was successful and LSU held a 16-7 lead going into the lockerroom.
With 49.7 seconds on the clock and the ball on the 36, Davis ran for 15 yards before Mauck hooked up NCAA sprinter Devery Henderson for 32 yards to the Miami 24. On third-and-10 from the 24 with 23 seconds left, Mauck connected with Clayton for a touchdown for the second time in the game.
In 34 seconds, LSU answered the RedHawk score and led 23-7 with 15.8 seconds on the clock. The Tigers had the same lead at the half.
On LSU’s second possession of the second half, Davis rushed 18 yards to the 28 and added 15 for a late hit on Miami. Reggie Robinson caught his first pass of the game for 23 yards to the Miami 36, as Mauck showed composure under pressure and found Robinson releasing through the middle of the zone. After a 7-yard run from Davis, Toefield gave the Tigers a first down at the 16 with a 13-yard jolt up the gut.
After Clayton caught a 9-yard pass to the Miami 6, LSU was penalized three times for a total of 35 yards and pushed back to the 46-yard line. On 3rd-and-goal from the 46, Myers caught his first pass to the 23. Corbello then came on to make a 41-yarder and extend the lead to 26-7 with 3:59 to play in the third quarter. The 14-play, 67-yard drive took 7:01.
Miami got good field position after a 41-yard kickoff return, but Roethlisberger was intercepted for the first time by Bradie James at the 47-yard line. Desite more penalty trouble, the Tigers faught down to the 20 on an 8-yard reception by Davis on third down. Toefield rushed to the 7 before Mauck lofted a 6-yard pass to the right corner to awaiting tight end Demetri Robinson.
The score and the PAT gave LSU a 33-7 lead with 10.2 seconds left in the third quarter.
With mostly reserves in the game including backup quarterback Marcus Randall, the Tigers worked the clock down in Miami territory and ran out of downs at the Miami 14.
After a week off, LSU returns to action with its Southeastern Conference opener against Mississippi State on Sept. 28. The time for this game is set for 7 p.m., but may change for television. An announcement will be made on Monday concerning television.
LSU Game Notes
- LSU’s captains for the game were permanent captains LaBrandon Toefield and Bradie James as well Kenderick Allen.
- LSU won the coin toss to start the game and elected to receive. Miami defended the South end zone.
- The crowd of 90,010 marked the 14th straight crowd of 85,000 or better in Tiger Stadium dating back to the UAB game of 2000. It is the eighth time the crowd has been larger than 90,000 in school history and is the eighth largest all time.
- LSU wore purple jerseys for just the seventh time since 1995. The Tigers are now 5-2 in purple over that span, including 4-1 at home.
- Jerel Myers started his 28th consecutive game at wide receiver, which is the longest streak on the team. Rodney Reed and Demetrius Hookfin extended their starting streaks to 24 and 15, respectively. Bradie James started his 11th straight game.
- LSU scored on the opening drive for the second consecutive game. Last week, the Tigers put up a touchdown on their first possession against the Citadel.
- LSU did not allow any first quarter points for the second straight game. The only seven first quarter points scored on the Tigers this season came with 30 seconds left in the opening frame at Virginia Tech. Including the Sugar Bowl last season, LSU has allowed only the Hokie touchdown in the first quarter in its past five games.
- Matt Mauck threw for a career highs of 254 yards, 15 completions (tie) and three touchdowns.
- LaBrandon Toefield rushed for 111 yards on 17 carries. It is the seventh time he has gone over 100 yards in his career and the first time this season. It is the first time since the Auburn game last season when he rushed for 120 on 29 attempts.
- LSU is now 7-0 when LaBrandon Toefield rushes for more than 100 yards.
- With four field goals on the night, John Corbello set a career high and tied the school record for field goals in a game. Six times previously, last in 1994 by Andre LaFleur, has an LSU kicker made four field goals.
- John Corbello’s 15 points are tied for second most by a kicker in a single game in Tiger history. David Browndyke scored 17 against Mississippi State in 1986 and 15 against Ohio State in 1988.
- With his seventh 100-yard rushing game of his career, LaBrandon Toefield moved into a tie for fifth place in school history in career 100-yard rushing games. He is behind Kevin Faulk (22), Dalton Hilliard (20), Charles Alexander (16) and Harvey Williams (8), while being tied with Steve Van Buren (7).
- Domanick Davis had 205 all-purpose yards, the fourth most of his career.
- LSU allowed just 224 total yards, the fewest since allowing 178 in a 13-10 loss to UAB in 2000.
- Miami had 23 yards rushing, the fewest against LSU since Auburn had 21 in 1998 when the Plainsmen won in Death Valley, 31-28.
- The Tiger defense allowed less than 300 total yards for the third straight game. It is the first time LSU has accomplished that feat in the same season since 1995 when it held Mississippi State, Rice and Auburn under 300 in consecutive games.
- It is the third straight game LSU’s defense has given up less than 250 yards, which is the best streak since at least 1988 (could be further, we don’t have the records in the press box).
- Miami quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was held below 200 yards passing for the first time since the fourth game of his career, snapping a streak of 10 straight games of 200 or more yards.
- Michael Clayton’s reception on the first offensive play of the game marked the 16th consecutive game in which he has caught a pass, which is also every game he has played as a Tiger. His streak is the longest on the team.
- John Corbello attempted and made his first field goal of the season in the first quarter from 42 yards out. He later added field goals from 29 yards, 35 yards and 41 yards.
- John Corbello has made seven consecutive field goals dating back to the SEC Championship game last year.
- The first field goal of the night pushed John Corbello over 200 career points, becoming just the fifth player in LSU history to reach the plateau. He is second kicker to reach the milestone, following former Tiger great David Browndyke, who posted 292 points from 1986-89. Corbello now has 214 career points.
- LaBrandon Toefield moved into the top 10 in LSU history for career rushing yards on his second carry of the game, which went for 13 yards. He passed Eddie Fuller (1,816). Later in the game, he passed 1959 Heisman Trophy winner Billy Cannon (1,867) for ninth on a 15-yard run. He now has 1,916 yards for his career.
- Domanick Davis’ 57-yard punt return in the first quarter was the longest for an LSU player since he took one back 71 yards for a touchdown against Ole Miss on Oct. 27, 2001 in a 35-24 LSU loss.
- Matt Mauck threw the first touchdown pass of his career when he connected with Michael Clayton from eight yards out in the first quarter. It was Clayton’s first touchdown of the season and his first in six games.
- The touchdown pass from Matt Mauck to Michael Clayton in the first quarter marked the first passing touchdown by either team in a game LSU has competed in this season.
- Domanick Davis surpassed the 100-yard mark in all-purpose yards for the eighth consecutive game on his first catch of the game in the second quarter. He finished with 205 all-purpose yards.
- Miami did not pass midfield until 8:08 p.m. CDT, which was also with just 3:03 remaining in the second quarter.
- LSU allowed its first passing touchdown of the season with 49.7 seconds remaining in the second quarter, snapping the Tigers streak of nine consecutive quarters without allowing a passing touchdown.
- On a 15 yard run in the second quarter, Domanick Davis moved past Harvey Williams (4,066) for fourth place in school annals for career all-purpose yards. He finished the game with 4,129 career yards.
- With 35 seconds left in the first half, Matt Mauck connected with Devery Henderson for 32 yards, the longest Tiger pass play of the season. The pass and catch were the longest for Mauck and Henderson in their careers.
- Michael Clayton tied a career high before the first half ended by catching two touchdown passes. The old mark was set against Kentucky last season in a 29-25 LSU victory.
- Junior Torran Williams recorded the first sack of his career on the first drive of the second half when he took down Ben Roethlisberger for a loss of one.
- Sophomore Demitri Robinson made his first career catch in the third quarter and gained five yards before the rest of his run after the catch was negated due to an illegal block. With 10.2 seconds remaining in the quarter, he caught his first career touchdown from six yards out.
- Rudy Niswanger made his first career snap at center midway through the third quarter after John Young was injured on a play.
- Bradie James intercepted the second pass of his career late in the third quarter. His only other pick came off of Wayne Madkin in 1999 when LSU lost 17-16 to the Bulldogs.
- Marquise Hill, Kyle Williams and Jack Hunt each recorded their first career sack.
- John Corbello punted for the first time in his career in the fourth quarter, a 39-yard effort.
- This was the largest victory (26 points) for LSU since beating Mississippi State 42-0 last season. It was also the fewest points scored against the Tigers since that game.
HEAD COACH NICK SABAN
MIAMI (OHIO) GAME
SEPT. 14, 2002
“Well guys I think that was a good win for our team. I think there was a lot of improvement made by the team, but the thing that I liked the most about it was I didn’t think we had established a trademark as a team because I didn’t think we had dominated in a game for sixty minutes. I think we had played well at times in games but we had never really played with the kind of effort and intensity for sixty minutes that you want to play with and try to beat somebody, because that is your opponent.”
You shouldn’t let the scoreboard determine how you play in the game. I was pleased with the effort on both sides of the ball. We had great balance on offense, a little bit over 200 yards both ways and LaBrandon Toefield ran physical and was outstanding out there. He rushed for over 100 yards for the seventh time in his career and I think every time he does that we usually win. I was pleased with the improvement that we made but we dropped some balls and made some mistakes on offense and had lots of penalties, including five on one drive. We got down to the five yard line and got backed up to the 50 but we did get a field goal out of that drive.”
“I think those kinds of things are all things that are correctable and are things that we need to work on. The thing that I am encouraged about is we have improved in every game, and we have improved offensively in every game. I think defensively the players did a really good job in this game and it was a team effort in stopping that quarterback. He is a fine player and he hurt us mostly with screens and throwing the ball to the backs, which hasn’t been something that they have done a lot of, but it is something that they did well tonight and we did a good job of taking their receivers away down the field.”
“The guy (Roethilsberger) hurt us a few times scrambling and he is a good player, but I was really pleased with the effort of our defense. We did not tackle in the open field like we would like at times. I think some times in the game we got tired and that is something we need to improve on. I think it is much more difficult to play against a team that throws the ball that many times and even though there is only 34 passes on here (Final Statistics), it seemed like he threw it more than that and all the times he scrambled.”
QUOTES FROM MIAMI (OHIO) HEAD COACH TERRY HOEPPNER
“We played a very good football team tonight who was ready to play. That’s as good as they’ve looked this season and we didn’t respond as coaches or players. We got whipped every way that we could get whipped and I just hope my team that they are my team and I’m not going to give up on them. They (Miami-Ohio) didn’t give up tonight. They played hard and they kept fighting.”
“I’m a little concerned about a couple of our players. We lost Cal Murray and we don’t know the extent of his injury. Marcus Johnson was also injured, but we think he’s going to be okay. It was a pretty physical game and they (LSU) are a pretty physical team. If we can learn from this loss then we will be better. If we can learn to play the teams in our league like they (LSU) played us tonight, then we will be better.”
“We needed to get out to a good start. We needed to put a big drive together and put some points on the board. We needed to keep our defense off of the field and we just had too many communication errors. This was an environment where you can’t hear and we responded to that horribly tonight. We had some younger guys out there tonight and they just couldn’t handle this environment, but they’ll mature and get better. It was there first time playing in a situation like this.”
QUOTES FROM LSU PLAYERS
Placekicker John Corbello
“I feel really confident. Ever since the SEC Championship my confidence has gone up. Things are really working out good for us. Anytime I can contribute is a good thing. I feel good with my leg swing and I want to go out there and kick well. I am pretty sure of myself that when I go out there and kick a fieldgoal it is going to go through the uprights.”
On having to punt for injured Donnie Jones
“Punting is easy. I am second string punter and have been punting for four years. I also punted in high school.”
Quarterback Matt Mauck
“The drive at the end of the first half was a big momentum swing for us. I think I have gotten kind of frustrated over the first two games because you work so hard. Tonight, I finally felt like I saw some results in my play. We have a lot of pressure on us, but we knew we could do it. It was just a matter of time. There were a lot of guys open out there tonight and I did my best to get it to them. When you can run the ball well, it takes a lot of pressure off of you at quarterback. Our line did a great job tonight. They deserve a lot of the credit. I was a lot more relaxed and comfortable going into tonight. Your first home game is always a rush. Some things were successful tonight, but we still have a lot of work to do.”
Running Back LaBrandon Toefield
“I wanted to come out and dominate tonight. I looked in the mirror and knew I had to step up my game. The offensive line did a great job keeping it open for us. The whole offense looked well. We did a great job all around. It’s just like I said at the beginning of the season; it is going to take a little time before Matt (Mauck) and the receivers get that chemistry. They did a great job tonight. Right now we are coming together as a team and you could see that in our play tonight.”
LSU MLB Bradie James
“I think the number one thing for us (the defense) going into the game was affecting the quarterback. We wanted to affect him physically and mentally. We were disguising our coverages. We came out and kind of moved around a little bit and he (Miami QB) got kind of anxious to make the calls but he didn’t know what defense we were in so he couldn’t make his checks. So by getting some good pressure on him we affected him both mentally and physically.”
LSU FS Norman Lejeune
“You have to have intensity to play a great game and that’s something we had tonight. I think Miami was a pretty good test for us as far as facing a good passing team. They have good receivers and a good quarterback. That was our first test and we passed.”
“Our D-line pressured the quarterback all night tonight. Our linebackers pressured the quarterback all night. He had to the throw the ball quick or scramble. Our defensive backs really paid attention to where the receivers were and I think we really played great defense tonight.”
LSU CB Demetrius Hookfin
On going against Miami’s tall receivers
“Size doesn’t mean anything to me. If you can play, you can play. I’m not going to say their guys aren’t good but I am going to say I can compete with them.”
“Their quarterback probably could have been a little better but we came out and executed. We did everything right.”
QUOTES FROM MIAMI (OHIO) PLAYERS
Free Safety Milt Bowen
“I don’t think that there was too many surprises. They have two good running backs there. I don’t think that we were surprised because we knew what we were getting into. I think that we prepared real well. Things just did not go our way. They just made plays.”
On LSU’s touchdown before the half
“We just went down and scored and they came back. The quarterback made some nice throws. It didn’t kill us but we knew that we slipped up. It kind of hurt us a little bit.”
Wide Receiver Jason Branch
“With their blitz in the first half they threw a lot of stuff at us. We adjusted, but we could just not make plays.”