Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/915282
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com JANUARY 2018 31 Sept. 2: No. 11 LSU 27, BYU 0 The Tigers officially started the Ed Orgeron era with a dominating shutout during which the Cougars never crossed midfield. LSU held BYU to minus-five rushing yards on 14 carries and just 102 passing yards on 24 attempts. Senior quarterback Danny Etling finished 14-of-17 passing for 171 yards, while junior running back Derrius Guice rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns. Sept. 9: No. 12 LSU 45, Chattanooga 10 Chattanooga, a Football Championship Subdivision program, took an early 3-0 lead, but LSU dominated the rest of the way. Etling threw for 227 yards and one touchdown on just eight completions. Three of those went to senior wide receiver DJ Chark for 103 yards, while Guice rushed for 102 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. Sept. 16: Mississippi State 37, No. 12 LSU 7 LSU ran into a buzz saw in Starkville, suffering a 30-point loss despite the game being tied after 20 minutes of play. The Bulldogs controlled the action on both sides of the ball, rushing for 285 yards while limiting Etling to 13-of-29 passing for 137 yards. Sept. 23: No. 25 LSU 35, Syracuse 26 The Tigers built a 21-3 advantage after striking for an 87-yard touchdown pass from Etling to sophomore wide receiver Drake Davis on the first play in the second half. Freshman Myles Brennan came in to play quarterback and LSU was up 28-10 with just a few minutes left in the third. Syracuse forced a safety and followed it up with a touchdown to close the LSU lead to 28-19 right before the end of the third. Brennan then threw an interception, and the Orange capitalized with another touchdown and trailed only 28-26 with 5:40 left. Etling returned to lead the Tigers on a seven-play, 56-yard game-clinching drive that was capped with a 20-yard scoring run by Chark. Sept. 30: Troy 24, No. 25 LSU 21 Troy took an early 7-0 lead over LSU in Death Valley after the Tigers fumbled the opening kickoff. The Trojans didn't stop there and held a 17-0 advantage halfway through the third quarter. LSU finally got on the board late in the quarter, but Troy responded with a 6:30 drive early in the fourth to go up 24-7. The Tigers found a way to close the gap to 24-21, but couldn't complete the comeback and lost at home to a non-SEC program for the first time since 2000 (UAB). Oct. 7: LSU 17, No. 21 Florida 16 At "The Swamp," LSU rebounded from its stunning loss the week prior, posting an ugly 17-16 win over the Gators thanks to a missed extra point. The Tigers had 340 yards total offense in the win and held the Gators to 302 yards and two conversions on nine third downs. Oct. 14: LSU 27, No. 10 Auburn 23 It seemed LSU was in for another Mississippi State-esque beatdown after falling behind Auburn 20-0 in the first quarter. However, the Bayou Bengals scored two touchdowns before halftime to cut the lead to 23-14. In the second half their defense took control of the game, holding Auburn to just 73 total yards on seven possessions. LSU completely changed the momentum early in the fourth with a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown by Chark to close the gap to 23-21 before nailing two field goals in the final 14 minutes to secure the upset. Chark also had five receptions for 150 yards. Oct. 21: No. 24 LSU 40, Ole Miss 24 LSU avoided a letdown and rolled over the Rebels. Guice rushed for 276 yards and a touchdown on just 22 carries (12.5 yards per attempt) to lead the offense. The Tigers' defense shut down Ole Miss star quarterback Shea Patterson, holding him to just 116 passing yards while intercepting him three times. Nov. 4: No. 2 Alabama 24, No. 19 LSU 10 Although the Tigers outrushed (151-116) and outgained (306-299) No. 2 Alabama, the Crimson Tide pulled out a hard-fought 24-10 home victory. LSU fell behind 14-0 in the opening minutes of the second quarter and couldn't muster enough offense to challenge the Tide. Nov. 11: No. 24 LSU 33, Arkansas 10 LSU and Arkansas entered the second half in Baton Rouge tied 7-7 before the Tigers offense took control. The Tigers scored touchdowns on four of their five offensive possessions in the final 30 minutes, not including the last drive that resulted in the victory formation. Guice carried the ball 21 times for 147 yards and three touchdowns, in- cluding two in the decisive second half, while Chark had four catches for 130 yards and two scores (45 and 68 yards). Nov. 18: No. 20 LSU 30, Tennessee 10 For the second straight week, LSU struggled out of the gates, leading just 17-10 at the break over a Tennessee program that was in shambles. The Tigers responded with two touchdowns on their first three possessions in the second half to pull away. Neither team reached 300 yards of total offense. LSU managed only 81 passing yards, but held the Volunteers to 38 yards on 34 rushing attempts. Nov. 25: No. 18 LSU 45, Texas A&M 21 The Tigers jumped out to a 20-0 lead and held on for their third consecutive victory. The Aggies rallied to within 27-21 late in the third quarter before LSU scored the final 18 points to seal it. Etling put together his best performance of the season, throwing for 347 yards and three touchdowns. Guice and senior running back Darrel Williams each eclipsed 100 rushing yards to complement the passing attack. Note: The Associated Press poll was used for rankings until the College Football Playoff rankings came out week 10. — Corey Bodden GAME PREVIEW: LSU LSU's Season In Review Senior wide receiver DJ Chark's five receptions for 150 yards and 75-yard punt return touchdown helped LSU rally from a 20-0 deficit and defeat Auburn 27-23 Oct. 14. PHOTO BY CHRIS PARENT/LSU ATHLETICS