By Chris Macaluso
Special to LSUsports.net
BATON ROUGE — Saturday’s game in Tiger Stadium stood in stark contrast to last Saturday’s game in Tiger Stadium the same way the North Pole stands in stark contrast to the Congo.
Last week, LSU was knocked on its heels by a well-prepared, well-instructed Oregon State squad that battled the Tigers to a 22-21 overtime LSU victory in which the home team didn’t score until the middle of the third quarter.
This week, LSU scored less than three minutes into the game and scored again and again and again against an inferior Arkansas State team, sending the Indians home to Jonesboro with a 53-3 loss to ponder and several of the 91,611 fans home early to prepare for next week.
The win improved LSU’s overall record to 2-0 and gave the Tigers some much-needed momentum heading into next week’s Southeastern Conference battle royal at Auburn, a game that will be televised by CBS at 2:30 CDT. Arkansas State dropped to 0-2 after losing to its second top-25 ranked opponent in as many weeks. The Indians dropped a 52-20 decision to then 17th ranked Missouri to open their season.
LSU scored two touchdowns in the first four minutes of the game removing even the slightest glimmer of hope for the visiting Indians to come away victorious. The Tiger defense held its opponent to just 201 total yards compared with 461 yards for the LSU offensive attack.
LSU employed three quarterbacks during the game, with senior starter Marcus Randall and redshirt freshman JaMarcus Russell both showing marked improvements over last week’s struggles Redshirt freshman Matt Flynn attempted just two passes. Randall completed five out of seven passes for 59 yards and one touchdown. Russell hit seven out of 11 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns.
While the spotlight shone directly on the quarterbacks, it was the Tiger running backs who led the way and put the game to bed early. Five different Tiger tailbacks played, amassing a combined 238 yards. Justin Vincent carried the bulk of the running load with 13 carries for 102 yards and two touchdowns. Joseph Addai wasn’t far behind with a seven carry effort for 95 yards and one touchdown.
The Tigers’ first scoring drive was set up by a 43-yard return of the opening kick by freshman Xavier Carter, who was filling in for the injured Skyler Green. Six plays later, Vincent loafed into the endzone untouched off left tackle to give LSU the lead with 12:58 remaining in the first quarter. Chris Jackson kicked the point after, giving LSU a 7-0 advantage.
LSU’s second score came even quicker as Indian kick returner and tailback Antonio Warren fumbled, picked up, and fumbled away the ensuing kick off. Corey Webster, the Tigers’ All-American corner back, switched to offense three plays later and reeled in a six-yard touchdown pass from Randall with 11:23 left in the opening quarter. Jackson’s point after kick took an Oregon State wide-right path and the Tiger lead stayed 13-0.
Arkansas State was forced to punt after picking up two first downs on its first true possession of the game. Jarrod Little’s punt sailed just 13 yards and helped set up LSU’s next scoring drive which began on the Indian 45-yard line. Randall completed an 18-yard pass to Dwayne Bowe in the endzone for what appeared to be LSU’s third touchdown of the quarter. But the play was called back by an ineligible receiver penalty and the Tigers settled for a 34-yard Jackson field goal four plays later and a 16-0 lead.
Bowe finished the contest with two catches for 56 yards and two touchdowns. Craig Davis led the Tiger receivers with four catches for 73 yards.
The Indians responded on the first play of the ensuing drive with a 60-yard bomb from quarterback Nick Noce to wide receiver Chuck Walker. But the long completion was of no consequence as the Indian drive stalled four plays later and kicker Eric Neihouse missed a 37-yard field goal attempt.
LSU responded to the threat by simply scoring again. This time, Russell piloted the Tigers down the field in five plays with the help of a 42-yard Addai run. Russell capped the drive with a 32-yard touchdown pass to Bowe with 1:50 left in the first quarter. Jackson’s point after was good and staked LSU to a 23-0 lead.
The Tigers continued to build their lead in seven-point increments throughout the second quarter. Russell and Bowe connected again with 7:47 to play in the half on a 24-yard touchdown strike giving the Tigers a 30-0 lead after Jackson’s point after. Addai added his name to the touchdown roster when he sprinted 12 yards into the south endzone, ending a six-play, 76-yard drive and giving the Tigers a 37-0 lead with 4:39 left in the half.
LSU’s offense finally stalled with 56 seconds remaining in the half as Flynn, LSU’s third quarterback used in the game, threw two incomplete passes on his first possession of the season forcing Jackson to enter the game to boot a 43-yard punt. The half ended on an Arkansas State personal foul penalty.
The Indians methodically drove the ball to open the second half, taking 5:59 off the clock on a 13-play drive. Walker claimed 40 of the 69 yards in the drive with his third catch of the game, all longer than 30 yards. He finished with those three grabs for 113 yards. Neihouse gave the Indians their first score with a 34-yard field goal with 8:51 to play cutting the LSU lead to 37-3.
But the Tigers paid little mind to the score and continued to move the ball wherever and seemingly whenever they wanted. Vincent scored the first LSU touchdown of the second half with a 22-yard scamper ending a 69-yard, six-play drive. The point after gave LSU a 44-3 lead with 5:51 to play in the third quarter.
LSU’s defense contributed to the scoring total on the ensuing possession when freshman linebacker Ali Highsmith intercepted a Noce pass at the Indian 11 yard line. Highsmith’s interception was fumbled at the one-yard line and picked up by Tiger safety Travis Daniels who tripped into the endzone to extend the LSU lead to 50-3. Jackson again missed the extra point.
The Tigers picked up an Arkansas State fumble deep in Indian territory with slightly less than 13:00 left in the game to set up place kicker Ryan Gaudet’s chance to add his name to the stat sheet. Gaudet booted a 33-yard field goal 1:37 seconds after the fumble recovery to give the Tigers a 53-3 lead.
LSU vs. Arkansas State — Sept. 11, 2004 – Tiger Stadium
Game Notes
Team Notes
- LSU’s game captains are 12 Marcus Randall, 29 Travis Daniels and 58 Lionel Turner.
- The honorary captains for the game are Lt. Col. Joseph Modicut (LG from 1951-1952), Col. Michael Stupka (G from 1958-1959), Ronnie Haliburton (TE from 1986-1989) and Ebert Van Buren (HB from 1948-1950).
- LSU won the toss and elected to receive to open the game.
- Tonight’s attendance of 91,611 marks the seventh straight sellout at Tiger Stadium.
- OT Andrew Whitworth (29 straight), DE Marcus Spears (21 straight), LB Lionel Turner (17), CB Corey Webster (16), C Ben Wilkerson (16) and CB Travis Daniels (16) all extended their consecutive games started streak.
- Players seeing action for the first time in their career in this game include: 1 Amp Hill (WR), 23 Xavier Carter (special teams), 21 Chevis Jackson (DB), 40 Shawn Jordan (special teams), 81 Mit Cole (TE), 57 Alonzo Manuel (DE) and 74 Brett Helms (OL).
- LSU’s 23 points in the first quarter were the most scored in the first quarter since the Tigers put 28 points on the board against Louisiana Tech on Nov. 1, 2003.
- LSU’s 39 points in the first half were the most scored in the first half since the 49 points the Tigers put on the board against Louisiana Tech on Nov. 1, 2003.
- LSU is now 31-0 against current members of the Sun Belt Conference, including 3-0 against Arkansas State.
- With the Tigers 53 points, it marks the fourth time LSU has reached the 50-point plateau under head coach Nick Saban.
- LSU under Nick Saban … LSU is now 35-2 when leading at the half and 33-2 when leading after three quarters … LSU is now 38-3 when scoring 20 points of more and 35-0 when scoring at least 25 points.
- LSU has now won 10 straight games, the third longest winning streak in the nation behind Boise State and Southern Cal.
- LSU’s 50-point victory is the largest margin of victory since the Tigers 58-0 win over Western Carolina to open the 2000 season (Sept. 2).
- LSU’s 461 total yards are the most earned by an LSU team since the Tigers racked up 470 at Alabama on Nov. 15, 2003.
Individual Notes
- Justin Vincent forced the fumble on Arkansas State’s first kickoff return of the game. Freshman Ali Highsmith recovered the loose ball.
- Highsmith later recorded the first interception of his career late in the third quarter.
- Corey Webster pulled down a 6-yard touchdown pass from QB Marcus Randall with 11:23 left in the first quarter, giving the senior CB his first offensive touchdown of his career. Overall it was Webster’s second career TD. He returned an interception 45 yards at Florida in 2002.
- WR Early Doucet’s 20-yard reception late in the second quarter was the first reception of his career.
- LB E.J. Kuale sacked Arkansas State QB Nick Noce for the first sack of his career. It was a six-yard loss with 4:16 left in the second quarter.
- Matt Flynn made his LSU debut at QB with less than 3:00 left in the second quarter.
- WR Xavier Carter’s 29-yard reception late in the third quarter was the first reception of his career. He finished the game with three receptions for 49 yards.
- RB Justin Vincent recorded his sixth 100-yard rushing game of his career. He finished the game with 102 yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns.
- CB Travis Daniels returned a fumble for a touchdown with 3:46 left in the third quarter. It was Daniels’ second touchdown of his career (one interception return and one fumble return).
- DE Brian West gathered in the first fumble recovery of his career early in the fourth quarter.
- WR Craig Davis set a career-high with 73 yards receiving on 4 receptions.
- WR Dwayne Bowe hauled in two touchdowns, marking the first time an LSU receiver has done so since Devery Henderson recorded two vs. Louisiana Tech on Nov. 1, 2003. The two touchdowns are also a career high for the sophomore.
- QBs Marcus Randall and JaMarcus Russell combined to throw for three TDs. They became the first QB tandem to each throw for at least one TD since Randall and former QB Matt Mauck did so against Louisiana Tech on Nov. 1, 2003.
NICK SABAN OPENING POST-GAME STATEMENT
“I was pleased with the way our players went out and competed in the game. I think we made an effort every day to get better with our execution. I’m pleased with the effort during the week to do that and I think it showed today in the balance we had on offense. We ran the ball more effectively and we were more efficient in the passing game. Defensively, I thought we played okay except for the couple of big plays that we gave up that we definitely have to work on. That’s happened two weeks in a row now and it’s not something we would like to continue. Special teams I thought were a little bit better today in terms of the teams themselves. I think our specialists are still inconsistent. Chris Jackson is a fantastic kicker and I never seen him kick a ball like that in a game and then it’s a thrill a minute and I can’t understand it. He goes perfect for the week in every field goal and every extra point that we kick and I just don’t quite get it. I was pleased with the way the receivers caught the ball today. I thought both quarterbacks executed fairly well what we asked them to do which was a whole lot of play action pass. We did a better job of that and didn’t have to get into a lot of third down drop-back situations. That was probably good. So all and all we made improvement as a team. I don’t think we are where we need to be. A lot of players played today which was a good experience for them and some of the young player and certainly the experience they received is going to be helpful in their development in the future and that’s a good thing. We’ve got an SEC game and the players have got to be able to do whatever they need to do to help this team get better. I’m sure in watching we’ll have a lot of work and corrections to make and obviously, we are playing a good football team and we’ve got to get ready for that.”
LSU OFFENSIVE PLAYER QUOTES
…On tonight’s performance
“I think that we did really well on the things we tried to do successfully. Coach told us to go out there and play our best.”
…On having one game under his belt
“Coming back in this game I felt really good, really comfortable. All week in practice I was focusing on keeping my head in the game. I just tried to keep my head and stay calm.”
…On going into conference play at Auburn
“We’re looking forward to it. It’s just like Coach (Saban) says, it’s just another game on the schedule, and we still have to practice hard.”
…On the need to improve on offense from last week
“I think we definitely performed better. The guys were doing what they were supposed to be doing, but we still have to keep working every week in practice to get better. I think we had a good game, but we still need to keep working on offense.”
…On this week’s performance
“This is just another game for us. Last week was something for us to build off of and now this game is something we can build off of. This game is more like our first game than last week because of how poorly we played.”
…On how much the offense improved this week
“We passed the ball well, we ran the ball well, and that’s something we wanted to do and build off of.”
…On what they did different in tonight’s win from last week’s
“We focused on getting things right and dominating up front as far as the offensive line is concerned. Coach Saban said we need to go out there and prove to people that we can play. At certain times, people do struggle. Last week we played in a mud pit and had a lot of things that we needed to get over. But I think that we showed people that we can compete.”
…On upcoming Southeastern Conference play
“We’re most definitely ready. We put a stamp on the game tonight. Everybody came out tonight ready to play with our mindset. The young guys stepped up, and it’s making everything roll a little faster. We didn’t expect so many young guys to step up so early, but I think it will help make everything better in the long run.”
…difference between this game and Oregon State game
“The weather. I guess our lack of confidence. People weren’t sure last week if they should do this or that. We went through practice this week, and everybody did their job. We came out tonight, had a good time, everybody was having fun tonight. I think it’s all about having fun and just going out there and executing.”
LSU DEFENSIVE PLAYER QUOTES
…On improving this week as a defense
“We just went out there and just tried to have better execution this week. That was the most important thing that we stressed in practice all week, so that was the main focus of this game. It was just about execution and us making plays on the field, and we were able to do that tonight.”
…On playing on the road next week
“It’s a different environment. When you step into league play, the stakes are higher, every game counts and you just need to get after it. It’s a different type of football, especially with this league. You play more run-based offenses, and people are more original and stick to their game plan. So, it’s important for us to be able to react to that.”
…On the effectiveness of the defense tonight
“I think we were able to keep them out of the endzone better than we did last week. Even though they had some field position and things that went on last week, we still didn’t let them in the endzone. It is our ultimate job to keep them out of there, and I think that was the best thing we did this week is we were able to keep them out of the endzone. They got some yards at times on busted things, but we were able to keep them from getting points. That’s the name of the game.”
…On playing wide receiver in this game
“That’s how it happened. Skyler (Green) was out with an ankle injury, and we just needed somebody to step up. I was looking good back there catching it, and I would just fill in wherever the team needed me.”
…On his touchdown reception
“I had been practicing a lot of it in practice, so I came in on third down and ran a slant route. I got my man kind of backed up off the line of scrimmage, and Marcus (Randall) found me in the endzone.”
ARKANSAS STATE HEAD COACH STEVE ROBERTS
Opening statement
“We did some good things, but not enough of them. That was a very, very strong LSU team. They played extremely well, and you have to give them a lot of credit. They were very big, very fast and very physical. They are extremely well coached. Coming into an environment like this, I guess I’m crazy, but you always hope for the best and think you have a chance to be successful. We were successful at a few things, but obviously not enough. I thought Nick (Noce) played well at times. Chuck Walker came in and made some real big catches for us. We were able to punt the ball very effectively, and cover very well. We had too many errors in other parts of the game. We had some guys that played well. I can’t wait to get back and take a look at the film, and make that determination.”
… On playing at LSU
“I can’t say it was fun. You just go out and do the best you can. Fight, scratch and claw for anything that you can possibly get.”
… On whether they schemed for a particular quarterback
“We planned more for the scheme more than the quarterback. They are both capable of executing their entire package.”
ARKANSAS STATE PLAYER QUOTES
C Tanner Jenkins
…On playing in his hometown
“I’m glad to come back home, not really the way I would like to end my homecoming trip, but it was nice to see family and friends.”
…On being down early
“I mean we have been down before. We knew it was going to be an uphill battle coming into LSU. And especially how we started the game with being down 13 nothing before we even got out there.”
…On LSU’s defense
“It really was, in playing Missouri last week, the linebackers and secondary were at a another level at LSU when we played last week. The front four at Missouri were pretty good but comparing their defense overall to Missouri, there’s not much comparison.”
QB Nick Noce
…On LSU’s atmosphere
“You can’t really focus on what’s going on around you. You’ve got to focus on what’s in front of you. And obviously LSU’s defense got to us a little bit and that hurt us and we didn’t do that well.”
…On defending LSU’s quarterback
“We just wanted to open up and stick with our game plan. We really didn’t have a specific play to go after anybody.”
…On being down 13 points early, before ASU’s offense took to the field
“It’s tough as an offense to try and get started especially against a great team like LSU. It’s going to take time to get on the board and their defense is very strong. But you’ve got to just focus and tell everybody that it’s going to happen — it’s a game of football. You have to just come out prepared and understand that anything can happen.”