Football: Tigers sack Bulldogs four times in SEC opener; LSU adds 15 tackles for loss

Before Thursday night's clash with Mississippi State, Bulldog coach Dan Mullen described the LSU defense as "big, fast, physical, strong and great."

One can only imagine, as Mullen walked off the field after a 19-6 defeat, his thoughts weren't much different.

The tenacious Tiger front came up with 15 tackles for loss to go along with a season-high four sacks, totaling a loss of 85 yards.

"The defense needed to come and play the way they did," said LSU coach Les Miles. "They're pushing that interior pocket and we rotate them in there to keep them fresh. It's really fun to see."

Leading the way for the Tigers was sophomore cornerback Tyrann Mathieu, who racked up 10 tackles, including one for a loss.

Coming into the game, Mississippi State's rushing offense was ranked No. 6 nationally with 321 rushing yards per game. The passing offense was ranked No. 32 nationally with 267 passing yards per game, which combined to give the Bulldogs the No. 5 offense in the nation.

LSU held Mississippi State to 52 yards on the ground and 141 through the air.

"They got too many yards on one drive," said sophomore defensive lineman Michael Brockers, who chalked up four tackles, three for a loss, and one sack. "We got very motivated. The whole defense turned it up and the defensive line especially. Coach kept telling us we've got to get a stop and that's what we did."

The Bulldogs also came into the contest with the No. 13 scoring offense, averaging 46.5 points per game. LSU held them to six points.

"We were confident in our defense and we knew we could hold them to no scores," said sophomore defensive end Barkevious Mingo. "It was just going out and getting penetration and forcing bad throws and getting in the backfield. We try our best to be a pretty good defense and we don't want [big numbers] put up on us, and the defense responded."

Mississippi State running back Vick Ballard, who entered the game as the Southeastern Conference's leading rusher with 150.5 yards per game, could muster just 38 yards on the night.

Adding to the efforts of the front seven, junior cornerback Morris Claiborne snagged two interceptions, to which he credited the defensive line.

"I tip my hats off to those guys," Claiborne said. "They come in each and every day ready to work. They come to work and they make our job easier."

Adding to Mississippi State's troubles, junior right guard Tobias Smith went down early in the first quarter.

A quick shuffle on the Bulldog offensive line left freshman Dillon Day filling in at center – a move the Tigers used to their advantage.

"When you put a freshman in the game they don't know too many slides and when you get under these lights it's a whole different game," Brockers said. "When the freshman came in, I don't want to say we exploited him, but we knew some things he didn't know."

LSU has now given up a total of 620 yards in their first three match-ups, for an average of 206.67 yards per game.

And as the Tiger defense continues to turn heads across the nation, the defense said there's a "special" feeling brewing in the air.

"We knew from the start of the season that something special was going on," Brockers said. "We get in the locker room, we talk to each other and we know where everybody is at. I feel like there's something very special going on with the defense."

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Contact Mark Clements at mclements@lsureveille.com