Of the 46,110 that did take the
time to show up, more than half were long gone by the time Devery Henderson gave
the 13th-ranked Tigers a 38-0, second quarter lead on a 55-yard pass
from backup quarterback Marcus Randall.
“I’m really pleased with how we
came out and played in the first half,” said LSU head coach Nick Saban. "I think
we answered some questions tonight about being ranked so high and if we could
play on the road. We came into someone's house and played dominant
football."
Pleased?
LSU seized control of the game from
the opening kickoff driving 80 yards on 15 plays capped by a 1-yard Joseph Addai
touchdown run. The Tiger defense held the Wildcats to –5 yards of offense in the
first quarter, while in the meantime, LSU generated 125 yards and a 17-0 lead in
the first 15:00 of the game.
“LSU is a very good football team,”
said Arizona head coach John Mackovic. “We shouldn’t take that for granted. They
came and they played very well.”
There is little doubt the Tigers
played possibly their best half of football in Saban’s tenure as head
coach.
“I know we scored the first six
times we had the ball,” Saban said.
Leading 7-0, LSU forced the
Wildcats into a three and out situation. Shyrone Carey put forth an impressive
35-yard return of an Arizona punt giving LSU field position at the Wildcat 29.
Four plays netted no yards and the Tigers settled for a 47-yard, Ryan Gaudet
field goal.
"When you jump on a team like that
early in the ballgame, I think that affects a team psychologically, and that's
what happened tonight," LSU head coach Nick Saban said after the win.
The LSU defense did not waste any
time halting Arizona’s next drive prematurely. On third and 10 from the UA 20,
Wildcat quarterback Nic Costa has the ball stripped away by linebacker Lionel Turner. Kirston Pittman pounced on the loose ball at the Arizona nine and two
plays later the Tigers were back in the end zone on a 1-yard dive by Addai.
Gaudet’s extra point put LSU on top 17-0.
Again the Wildcats could get
nothing going on offense. The Tigers mounted a 9-play, 57-yard drive, which
spilled over into the second quarter. A 21-yard strike to Michael Clayton and
some hard running by Carey allowed quarterback Matt Mauck to call his own number
on a 4-yard scoring jaunt and a 24-0 LSU lead.
From that point, things got
ridiculously ugly.
Arizona did manage it’s first,
first down of the game when Michael Bell rambled 16 yards on a second and 15
play. However, just three plays later the Cats were punting the ball back to
LSU.
Mauck went to the air and found
Clayton on a 48-yard TD toss capping off a 5-play, 80-yard march to a 31-0
lead.
Mauck gave way to Randall on LSU’s
next possession and he too played along with the Tigers aerial assault. Randall
completed 3-of-4 passes on LSU’s final scoring drive of the first half, the last
completion being a 55-yard scoring strike to Henderson for a lopsided 38-0
halftime tilt.
When the first half fireworks had
ended, LSU tallied 331 yards of total offense on 46 plays for five touchdowns.
Arizona finished the half with just
67 yards on 25 plays. Wildcat quarterbacks Costa and Ryan O'Hara combined for
1-of-12 passing for 19 yards and an interception. Arizona had picked up just
three first downs.
In the third quarter, the carnage
continued as LSU continued to score at will.
The Tigers’ seventh-straight
scoring drive came on a 1-yard run by Carey with 10:41 to play in the third
quarter giving LSU a 45-0 lead.
Randall led the Tigers down the
field in nine plays after a Arizona punt and running back Justin Vincent scored
his first touchdown as a Tiger on a 1-yard run to give LSU a 52-0
lead.
Arizona scored its first
fourth-quarter touchdown of the game when Broussard fumbled at the LSU two.
Wildcat cornerback Zeonte Sherman picked up the ball at the one and fell into
the endzone with 10:22 to play. The turnover was LSU's fourth of the contest.
The game was in hand, but the Wildcats had finally dented the scoreboard
trailing 52-7.
The Tigers continued the onslaught
when sophomore Skyler Green motored for a 62-yard punt return for a touchdown
with 5:40 to play in the game giving LSU a 59-7 lead.
Arizona capped scoring with its
first offensive touchdown with 4:03 left in the game. Clarence Farmer ran 11
yards around the left side to cut the margin to 59-13. After a 15-yard penalty
for unsportsman-like conduct, Arizona missed the PAT.
"(LSU) capitalized on every field
opportunity," Arizona head coach John Mackovic said. " They had a terrific
return game. They just thoroughly whipped us. Out coaches have to do a better
job, and our players have to do a better job."
Mauck completed 9-of-10 passes for
137 yards and a touchdown, while Randall added 10-of-15
passing for 162 yards and a
touchdown. Mauck also ran for a touchdown.
Clayton was on the receiving end of
six passes for 109 yards with a touchdown while Henderson added three catches
for 75 yards and also chipped in touchdown reception. Eight Tigers caught at
least one pass.
Addai (18 carries for 86) and Carey
(10 carries for 49) combined for 135 yards on 28 carries (4.8 per carry), as the
Tigers outrushed Arizona, 182-91.
On the defensive side of the ball,
the results were equally as dominating.
The Tigers allowed only 182 yards
of total offense, including 97 in the fourth quarter the game was so out of
reach that at least 64 of the 70 players who made the trip had seen
action.
For the Wildcats, Costa was 3-of-11
for 21 yards, while O'Hara hot on only 7-of-20 passes for 70 yards and an
interception.
Arizona rushed 27 times for
91 yards. Farmer led the way with 61 yards on six carries and was credited with
the Wildcats' only offensive touchdown.