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NEW ORLEANS - The LSU Tigers looked different Saturday in the Superdome - and it wasn't just because of their uniforms. Sporting limited edition duds, LSU (5-0, 2-0) defeated Tulane, 34-9, despite a slow start in Saturday's non-conference showdown in front of 58,769 fans in New Orleans. "It wasn't our best game, but I'll take the victory," said LSU coach Les Miles. "Give some credit to our opponents. They played extremely hard and extremely well." LSU started fast when senior safety Craig Steltz recovered a fumble on the Green Wave (1-3, 0-1) 27-yard line just 51 seconds into the game.
MORE GAME COVERAGE: Check out our blog The Tigers came away with no points after junior kicker Colt David's 37-yard field goal attempt hit off the top of the right upright. After forcing another three-and-out, LSU took over at midfield and two plays later, notched its first score when senior running back Jacob Hester crossed the goal line from three yards out. But the rest of the half would not be so pleasant for the Tigers. The No. 1 Tigers totaled just 127 yards of offense in the first half including negative 11 rushing yards. LSU also committed 11 penalties for 61 yards in the first half. Miles said the mental mistakes cannot and will not continue. "We didn't have our head there and it's something that must get fixed," Miles said. "There's no reason for that. I blame me for that. We'll get that fixed." LSU senior quarterback Matt Flynn looked especially shaky, completing 8-of-18 first half passes for 138 yards while often overthrowing wide-open receivers. "It was a little bit [frustrating]," Flynn said. "They did some stuff to us that we weren't expecting, and they played very well. It was tough in the pocket back there - they were hitting me." Flynn finished the game with 258 yards on 16-of-29 passes with one interception and no touchdowns. The offensive line did not help Flynn as he was constantly under pressure and was sacked six times - four in the first half. "They just got us off track with a couple of their new blitzes," said junior offensive lineman Herman Johnson. "We worked on that and kind of picked it up in the second half." After briefly falling behind 9-7, LSU went into the locker room at halftime with a 10-9 lead. LSU senior linebacker Luke Sanders said the halftime locker room was no pity party. "There weren't any heads down," Sanders said. "We got in there and things got fired up pretty quick. Everybody started getting real enthusiastic. Pep talks came from a lot of different people." The penalties and lack of protection continued early in the second half, but the Tigers still managed a 33-yard field goal to increase the lead to 13-9. After Sanders forced another Green Wave fumble, Flynn connected with freshman receiver Terrance Toliver on a 38-yard pass to give the Tigers first and goal from the 6-yard line. Two plays later, Hester fell into the endzone for his second touchdown, giving the Tigers a 20-9 advantage. LSU would remain in control the rest of the day. "It's a wonderful thing about athletics - you have to play to win," Miles said. "You can't go out there and just say, 'You guys know what the scores supposed to be, and we know what the scores supposed to be, so let's arrange it.' You've got to play." The one constant through the contest was LSU's dominant defense. After Tulane sophomore running back André Anderson scored on a reverse late in the second quarter, the nation's No. 1 defense did not surrender any more points. "The defense played well the entire game, but we relied on them way too much," Miles said. "If they hadn't played well, it could've been a long night." Tulane's other two points came in the second quarter when LSU was guilty of a holding penalty in the endzone, resulting in a safety. Steltz said the defense made sure to hold up its end of the bargain to not allow the Green Wave offense to build momentum. Tulane was limited to 227 total yards while committing three turnovers.
---- Contact Keith Claverie at kclaverie@lsureveille.com
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