Tigers win despite slow first half
Keith Claverie
Issue date: 10/1/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 2 next >
|
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."
Be the first to comment on this story