For a while, it looked like it was going to be once again another classic battle for the Golden Boot Trophy.
The game was still very much in doubt with LSU holding on to a 16-10 lead as Arkansas had the football, but LSU linebacker Whit Weeks thought otherwise by tipping a Taylen Green ball in the air to himself for an interception inside the two yard line.
“It’s Whit Weeks. It was a pressure situation which he was blitzing, but what I think stands out is that he is active virtually all over the place. You saw a great play of him coming down later in the game at the line of scrimmage where the ball was going outside. He is an elite player in this league.”
LSU HC Brian Kelly on Whit Weeks
In a sequence of three plays, LSU had an interception, a Caden Durham touchdown run, and a two point conversion pass by Garrett Nussmeier to Trey’Dez Green to make what was once a six point lead to a 14 point lead for the Tigers at 24-10 in the third quarter.
LSU would later score 10 more unanswered points to cruise to a 34-10 win on the road against the Razorbacks to keep their SEC record unblemished and to improve their record at 6-1. Yet, it was Weeks’ impersonation of another standout Tigers defender that was able to jumpstart LSU in the second half of play.
“I thought that we had four quarters of LSU football for the first time maybe. There are some things around the edges that you want to clean up and you beat a good football team 34-10 in the SEC, we feel pretty good about it.”
LSU HC Brian Kelly
To start the game, the Tigers’ offense set the tone in a game that LSU never trailed by marching down the field despite a couple of penalties and scoring a touchdown on a 22 yard scamper by Caden Durham to put the road team up 7-0.
Durham, who has taken over for the Tigers as their RB1, had another great showing on the ground with all of LSU’s touchdowns tonight. The freshman from Duncanville, Texas had 21 carries for 101 yards and three scores.
While the SEC’s current leader in touchdown passes did not have any scoring tosses tonight in Garrett Nussmeier, the Tigers’ signal caller was sharp and efficient in the short passing game and did not turn the football over by completing 22 of 33 passes for 224 yards.
CJ Daniels was Nussmeier’s top target tonight with seven grabs for 86 yards. Kyren Lacy had six grabs for 49 yards while Aaron Anderson had a couple of third down conversions with three grabs for 36 yards.
Damian Ramos ended up with the game ball tonight and deservingly so as he was clutch tonight with his field goal attempts converting on all four from 33, 48, 33, and 47 yards out to help give the Tigers that extra step ahead of the Razorbacks.
“The game ball went to Damian Ramos. While the game was still in balance, he helped us stay ahead of it and keep the momentum. Again, he made some big plays.”
LSU HC Brian Kelly
Against a talented dual threat quarterback in Taylen Green, the Tigers’ defense continues to impress and get better each pressing week as the Boise State commit completed 21 of 31 passes for 239 yards with one touchdown and one interception. His counterpart Ja’Quinden Jackson was only held to 26 yards on five carries. Overall, the Razorbacks rushing attack that has been averaging close to 200 yards per game was only held to 37.
“I think first and foremost, we made some mistakes on the first drive quite frankly. We had some errors and our guys were a little bit distracted emotionally. We settled down and what happened after that was guys did their job and they did it when they needed to do it. They are beginning to execute at a much higher level consistently and it starts with controlling the line of scrimmage. They couldn’t run the ball and became one dimensional. When that happens, we can get after it and we can get after the quarterback. We made life difficult for him.”
LSU HC Brian Kelly
Defensively, Weeks was all over the field with nine tackles, a sack, a TFL, an interception, a pass breakup, and a quarterback hurry.
The Tigers also scored 11 of their points tonight off turnovers forced by the defense with not only Weeks’ interception, but off an early fumble that was caused by Greg Penn and recovered by Major Burns.
LSU took a 16-7 lead into halftime and was able to extend its to lead to 24-10 in the third quarter, but the Tigers did make it hard on themselves early on the road with seven false start penalties that halted drives.
“We had two that were double clutches by our center. Sometimes, it is on our quarterback and he is taking too much time. The ownership in that is the management in the entire offense. Sometimes, we have to get into a better rhythm. Sometimes, it is getting our receivers out quicker. It’s a fire drill out there. All that together, we got to clean it up because that can’t continue to happen. There are more penalties out there than I would have liked. We’ll go back and look at it more closely. The whole management has to be cleaner.”
LSU HC Brian Kelly
Although those penalties got in the way, LSU proved to be the better team on the road and it showed with three different players all stepping up in all three phases of the game in Durham on offense, Weeks on defense, and Ramos on special teams.
In what is a classic trap game spot against an SEC program on the road that LSU has had trouble in the past turned out to be a comfortable, but yet pivotal victory for not only the Tigers’ conference championship hopes, but College Football Playoff hopes.
“We controlled the line of scrimmage. They had 38 yards rushing and for us to close out the game and have a drive of eight minutes virtually running the ball every down, those are the things that you look for in a team that is emerging for a contender. Part of the way they prepared for this game and to go on the road and win in a SEC venue, there are certainly a lot of things that are coming together for this football team.”
LSU HC Brian Kelly
Next week, the #8 LSU Tigers, which are now on a six game winning streak after dropping their first game of the season against USC, will have a huge battle against the Texas A&M Aggies in what will be a matchup between the only two undefeated teams in the conference.
Final Stats:
Offensive Cumulative Stats
| STAT | LSU | Arkansas |
|---|---|---|
| NET TOTAL YARDS | 384 | 277 |
| NET RUSHING YARDS | 158 | 38 |
| Rushing Attempts | 37 | 19 |
| Average Per Rush | 4.3 | 2.0 |
| Rushing TDs | 3 | 0 |
| Yards Gained | 163 | 62 |
| Yards Lost | 5 | 24 |
| NET PASSING YARDS | 226 | 239 |
| Completion-Attempts | 23-34 | 21-31 |
| Completion Percentage | 68% | 68% |
| Avg Per Completion | 9.8 | 11.4 |
| YAC | 125 | 70 |
| Passing TDs | 0 | 1 |
| Drops (%) | 0 (00%) | 0 (00%) |
| TOTAL 1ST DOWNS | 25 | 15 |
| Rushing 1st Downs | 6 | 3 |
| Passing 1st Downs | 14 | 12 |
| Penalty 1st Downs | 5 | 0 |
| TOTAL PLAYS | 71 | 50 |
| Avg Yds/Play | 5.4 | 5.5 |
| Rushing-Passing | 37-34 | 19-31 |
Offense Efficiency Comparison
| STAT | LSU | Arkansas |
|---|---|---|
| RED ZONE ATTEMPTS | 5-5 | 0-0 |
| Red Zone Points | 28 | 0 |
| RZ TDs Rush-Pass | 3-0 | 0-0 |
| RZ FG Made-Att | 2-2 | 0-0 |
| RZ Turns | 0 | 0 |
| 3rd Downs | 8-14 | 4-9 |
| 4th Downs | 0-1 | 0-0 |
| Penalties | 11-80 | 7-78 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 0-0 | 2-2 |
| Pts Off Turns | 11 | 0 |
| POSSESSION TIME | 38:51 | 21:09 |
Special Teams Comparison
| STAT | LSU | Arkansas |
|---|---|---|
| Punts-Avg | 1-34.0 | 3-50.7 |
| Inside20 | 1 | 1 |
| Field Goals | 4-4 | 1-2 |
| Kick Returns | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Punt Returns | 1-0 | 0-0 |
Defensive Comparison
| STAT | LSU | Arkansas |
|---|---|---|
| TACKLES | 49 | 80 |
| Solo Tackles | 23 | 34 |
| Tackles for Loss | 3 | 1 |
| TFL Yards | -24 | -3 |
| Pass Breakups | 6 | 5 |
| QB Hurries | 2 | 7 |
| Sacks | 3 | 0 |
| Sacks Yards | -24 | -0 |
| Takeaways FR-INT | 2-1 | 0-0 |
| Forced Fumbles | 2 | 0 |
| Fumble Recoveries | 2 | 0 |
| FR Yards | 8 | 0 |
| Interceptions | 1 | 0 |
| INT Yards | 3 | 0 |
| TDs INT-FR | 0-0 | 0-0 |
LSU Passing
| # | PLAYER | C-A | YDS | TD | I | C% | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | NUSSMEIER,G | 22-33 | 224 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 123.7 |
| 10 | COLLINS,R | 1-1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 116.8 |
| PASS TOTALS | 23-34 | 226 | 0 | 0 | 68 |
LSU Receiving
| # | PLAYER | NO | YDS | TD | LNG | AVG | TGT | C% | YAC | DR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | DANIELS,C | 7 | 86 | 0 | 29 | 12.3 | 10 | 70 | 31 | 0 |
| 2 | LACY,K | 6 | 49 | 0 | 11 | 8.2 | 9 | 67 | 20 | 0 |
| 1 | ANDERSON,A | 3 | 36 | 0 | 18 | 12 | 5 | 60 | 23 | 0 |
| 86 | TAYLOR,M | 2 | 16 | 0 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 67 | 17 | 0 |
| 0 | THOMAS,Z | 1 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 1 | 100 | 6 | 0 |
| 18 | WILLIAMS,J | 1 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 1 | 100 | 15 | 0 |
| 14 | GREEN,T | 1 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 33 | 4 | 0 |
| 29 | DURHAM,C | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 100 | 9 | 0 |
| 88 | PIMPTON,K | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 100 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 RECEIVERS | 23 | 226 | 0 | 29 | 9.8 | 34 | 68 | 125 | 0 |
LSU Rushing
| # | PLAYER | ATT | YDS | TD | LNG | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | DURHAM,C | 21 | 101 | 3 | 22 | 4.8 |
| 28 | JACKSON,K | 5 | 30 | 0 | 12 | 6 |
| 18 | WILLIAMS,J | 5 | 18 | 0 | 8 | 3.6 |
| 0 | THOMAS,Z | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| 13 | NUSSMEIER,G | 2 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 2.5 |
| 8 | JOHNSON,J | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0.5 |
| 6 RUSHERS | 37 | 158 | 3 | 22 | 4.3 |
LSU Punting
| Punter | NO | YDS | AVG | LNG | I20 | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OCHSENDORF,B | 1 | 34 | 34 | 34 | 1 | 0 |
LSU Field Goals
| Kicker | Time | Dist | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| D.Ramos | 1st-00:38 | 33 | GOOD |
| D.Ramos | 2nd-13:04 | 48 | GOOD |
| D.Ramos | 2nd-03:10 | 33 | GOOD |
| D.Ramos | 4th-11:57 | 47 | GOOD |
| TOTAL | 4-4 | LONG OF 48 | |
LSU All Purpose Yards
| Player | Tot | Rush | Rec | KOR | PR | IR-FR | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DURHAM,C | 108 | 101 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| DANIELS,C | 86 | 0 | 86 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| LACY,K | 49 | 0 | 49 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
LSU Defense
| # | Player (Starter) | TotTk | Solo | Sack | TFL | Int | BrUp | QBH | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | W.Weeks (LB) | 9 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | M.Burns (S) | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | G.Penn III (LB) | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | S.Ryan (DB) | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | A.Stamps (CB) | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | D.Keys | 4 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | J.Gilbert (S) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 0 | P.Shand (DE) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | B.Swinson (DE) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | D.Womack | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | J.Toviano | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | P.Woodland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | J.Suggs | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | S.Jones (DE) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 93 | A.Breaux | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | 49 | 23 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 2 |
LSU Punt Returns
| Returner | NO | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| THOMAS,Z | 1 | 0 | 00 | 0 | 0 |
LSU Kick Returns
| Returner | NO | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
|---|
LSU Team Stats By Quarter
| 1st | Rush | Pass | CAI | TotY | Avg | 3rds | Pens | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 10 | 7-53 | 15-104 | 10-15-0 | 157 | 7.1 | 3-4 | 5-35 |
| 2nd | 5 | 8-31 | 8-20 | 3-8-0 | 51 | 3.2 | 1-3 | 3-15 |
| 3rd | 3 | 6-12 | 5-58 | 4-5-0 | 70 | 6.4 | 1-2 | 2-25 |
| 4th | 7 | 16-62 | 6-44 | 6-6-0 | 106 | 4.8 | 3-5 | 1-5 |
| Total | 25 | 37-158 | 34-226 | 23-34-0 | 384 | 5.4 | 8-14 | 11-80 |
LSU Scoring Summary
| Qtr | Clock | Score | Type | Play | Drive | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10:21 | TD | RUSH | C.Durham 22 yd rush (PAT KICK by D.Ramos GOOD) | 8/75/4:39 | 0-7 |
| 1 | 00:38 | FG | D.Ramos 33 yd Field Goal | 14/60/5:43 | 0-10 | |
| 2 | 13:04 | FG | D.Ramos 48 yd Field Goal | 6/7/2:26 | 0-13 | |
| 2 | 03:10 | FG | D.Ramos 33 yd Field Goal | 10/59/5:15 | 7-16 | |
| 3 | 04:52 | TD | RUSH | C.Durham 2 yd rush (PAT PASS caught by T.Green GOOD) | 1/2/0:06 | 10-24 |
| 4 | 11:57 | FG | D.Ramos 47 yd Field Goal | 8/50/4:39 | 10-27 | |
| 4 | 02:20 | TD | RUSH | C.Durham 1 yd rush (PAT KICK by D.Ramos GOOD) | 14/80/8:22 | 10-34 |
Arkansas Passing
| # | PLAYER | C-A | YDS | TD | I | C% | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | GREEN,T | 21-31 | 239 | 1 | 1 | 68 | 136.7 |
Arkansas Receiving
| # | PLAYER | NO | YDS | TD | LNG | AVG | TGT | C% | YAC | DR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | ARMSTRONG,A | 7 | 94 | 1 | 25 | 13.4 | 10 | 70 | 33 | 0 |
| 6 | SATEGNA,I | 4 | 54 | 0 | 25 | 13.5 | 6 | 67 | 13 | 0 |
| 5 | BRODEN,T | 3 | 24 | 0 | 14 | 8 | 5 | 60 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | DUBINION,R | 2 | 24 | 0 | 19 | 12 | 3 | 67 | 13 | 0 |
| 9 | HASZ,L | 2 | 22 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 2 | 100 | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | TESLAA,I | 1 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 14 | 1 | 100 | 2 | 0 |
| 22 | JACKSON,J | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 100 | 2 | 0 |
| 0 | RUSSELL,B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 100 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 RECEIVERS | 21 | 239 | 1 | 25 | 11.4 | 31 | 68 | 70 | 0 |
Arkansas Rushing
| # | PLAYER | ATT | YDS | TD | LNG | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | JACKSON,J | 5 | 26 | 0 | 8 | 5.2 |
| 7 | DUBINION,R | 4 | 15 | 0 | 13 | 3.8 |
| 11 | ANTHONY,J | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 0 | RUSSELL,B | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 10 | GREEN,T | 6 | -10 | 0 | 7 | -1.7 |
| 5 RUSHERS | 19 | 38 | 0 | 13 | 2 |
Arkansas Punting
| Punter | NO | YDS | AVG | LNG | I20 | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BALE,D | 3 | 152 | 50.7 | 58 | 1 | 1 |
Arkansas Field Goals
| Kicker | Time | Dist | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| M.Shipley | 1st-06:21 | 42 | MISSED |
| M.Shipley | 3rd-09:57 | 51 | GOOD |
| TOTAL | 1-2 | LONG OF 51 | |
Arkansas All Purpose Yards
| Player | Tot | Rush | Rec | KOR | PR | IR-FR | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARMSTRONG,A | 94 | 0 | 94 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| SATEGNA,I | 54 | 0 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DUBINION,R | 39 | 15 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Arkansas Defense
| # | Player (Starter) | TotTk | Solo | Sack | TFL | Int | BrUp | QBH | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | D.Slaughter (DB) | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | X.Sorey (LB) | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | M.Robinson (DB) | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | J.Johnson (DB) | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | J.Singletary (DB) | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | S.Dix Jr. (LB) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 40 | L.Jackson (DL) | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 50 | E.Gregory (DL) | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 0 | N.Davillier (DL) | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | C.Ball (DL) | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | H.Clark | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | L.Worth III | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | M.Mitchell | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | A.Juncaj | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | T.Metcalf (DB) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | B.Spence | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 72 | J.Braun | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 97 | Q.Rhodes Jr. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| TOTALS | 80 | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 0 |
Arkansas Punt Returns
| Returner | NO | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
|---|
Arkansas Kick Returns
| Returner | NO | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
|---|
Arkansas Team Stats By Quarter
| 1st | Rush | Pass | CAI | TotY | Avg | 3rds | Pens | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2 | 5-29 | 3-36 | 2-3-0 | 65 | 8.1 | 0-1 | 2-19 |
| 2nd | 7 | 4-16 | 13-95 | 9-13-0 | 111 | 6.5 | 2-3 | 4-45 |
| 3rd | 5 | 7–4 | 10-74 | 7-10-1 | 70 | 4.1 | 2-4 | 0-0 |
| 4th | 1 | 3–3 | 5-34 | 3-5-0 | 31 | 3.9 | 0-1 | 1-14 |
| Total | 15 | 19-38 | 31-239 | 21-31-1 | 277 | 5.5 | 4-9 | 7-78 |
Arkansas Scoring Summary
| Qtr | Clock | Score | Type | Play | Drive | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 08:25 | TD | PASS | A.Armstrong 25 yd reception thrown by T.Green (PAT KICK by M.Shipley GOOD) | 9/75/4:39 | 7-13 |
| 3 | 09:57 | FG | M.Shipley 51 yd Field Goal | 11/42/5:03 | 10-16 |
