Jayden Daniels, Malik Nabers Torch Mississippi State’s Defense in 41-14 Statement Victory

After a blowout loss against Florida State and defeating an outmatched opponent in Grambling last week, there were a lot of eyes on LSU for this early morning kickoff against Mississippi State to see what kind of strides they made since then against a SEC opponent.

Leaving Starkville with the W. Tigers are 1-0 in the SEC. pic.twitter.com/1zPYZ7FbIK

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Well, the Tigers answered the test in flying colors as they dominated the Bulldogs from the opening kickoff thanks to the deadly combination of Jayden Daniels and Malik Nabers.

Take Your Shot @JayD__5 @whyguard13 TOUCHDOWN pic.twitter.com/E8705KXEsB

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You can't be serious @whyguard13

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5 to 8 is Unbeatable @JayD__5 ⅹ @whyguard13

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Daniels was masterful and had arguably the best passing performance of his LSU career as he started the game on fire completing his first 13 passes. The Tigers senior quarterback remained hot throughout as he finished completing 30 of 34 passes for 361 yards and two touchdowns (88%) while also leading the team in rushing with 15 carries for 64 yards and two more touchdowns.

Big Day for 5 pic.twitter.com/GnYeo9Okj5

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5 Runs It In @JayD__5

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5 Takes It Himself @JayD__5

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While Daniels was fantastic, Malik Nabers had a career game and was the biggest performer today. After temporarily leaving the game early with a shoulder injury, Nabers came back in the ballgame and was unstoppable. In the first half alone, Nabers was top five in school history when it comes to receiving yards in a first half as he had 10 catches for 188 yards and two touchdowns.

Can’t Guard Him @whyguard13 pic.twitter.com/UbnHvC8DGf

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After it was all said and done, the one-time Mississippi State commit finished the game with 13 catches for 239 yards and two touchdowns.

“Daniels and Nabers hooked up to the level that we all wanted to see. We saw that tonight and that was certainly fun.”

“A lot of these calls are predicated on the defensive structure. If they are playing off, maybe that’s a hitch, but they challenged our receivers today. Jayden was up to the task. We know our receivers can run. Many times, we are not put into press situations and a lot of times, those hitches converted into gos. Today, they wanted to take away the short passing game. It presented us higher risk, but certainly a bigger reward in pushing the ball down the field.”

LSU HC Brian Kelly on Jayden Daniels and Malik Nabers’ dynamic performance

The running game was also effective as Logan Diggs gained 41 yards on nine carries. Josh Williams added a touchdown run and Kaleb Jackson made his best Leonard Fournette impression when he bulldozed over a Mississippi State defender in the second half.

1-yard TD @kingjosheee

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The Freshman Bulldozer 🫣 @Kaleb_TheGreat

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With the star power on offense, it was not a total surprise that the Tigers offense would be scoring points, but what was a surprise was how the LSU defense shut down the Mississippi State offense without two of their starters being available in Omar Speights and Greg Brooks.

“Omar was out with the hip flexor, and we just found out that Greg Brooks had a medical emergency so our thoughts and prayers go out to him. That was tough on the guys and tough on all of us. We had to band together and play a lot of young guys. Whit Weeks started in Omar’s place and Ryan Yaites started in our nickel package. A lot of young guys are getting some work and doing a good job.”

LSU HC Brian Kelly on new guys filling in on defense

Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers only finished completing 11 of 28 passes for 103 yards. The Tigers pass rush was frequent throughout the entire game as Rogers was sacked four times by Harold Perkins Jr., Major Burns, Saivion Jones, and Mekhi Wingo. The Bulldogs veteran quarterback was taking hits all game adding four more quarterback hurries.

“If you look at the quarterbacks that we have played this year, they are pretty athletic quarterbacks, but if you are a pocket quarterback, we are going to get to you. If you are a play action team that doesn’t get the ball out in two seconds, we are going to get some pressure. We got some good guys up front in Smith, Wingo, Womack, and of course, 4 (Harold Perkins) gets pressure all the time. The ball got out quickly with the first two opponents and today, if you take any time, we are going to get to you.”

LSU HC Brian Kelly on successful pass rush today

3 & Out Defense ✊ pic.twitter.com/dvpUiGIgtx

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Sack Then 4th Down Stop

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Overall, the Bulldogs had 201 total yards and 52 yards of those yards came on one play. Leading the defense was Whit Weeks, who in his first start filling in for Speights, had eight tackles and a quarterback hurry.

“Whit can run. He can go from sideline to sideline. If he sees an open gap, he is going to take it. He recognizes and is athletic. He can run sideline to sideline. He maybe doesn’t have the experience that Omar has, and Greg Penn is a settling player out there. He knows the defense. He is assignment correct and gets guys line up. Guys feel comfortable with him out there.”

LSU HC Brian Kelly on linebackers filling in for Omar Speights

After having a slow start to the season, Harold Perkins Jr. showed flashes of his freshman form filling the stat sheet with four tackles, a sack, two tackles for loss, and a pass breakup.

The domination on both sides of the football in the first half was astonishing as LSU not only took a 24-7 lead, but outgained Mississippi State 310 yards to 79.

The Tigers used that nearly perfect first half and cruised into the second half to a 41-14 victory. For head coach Brian Kelly, this win was important as it validates themselves that they can be the type of team they are capable of being.

“What I thought that our team needed to do was play four quarters against a SEC opponent and play the right way. We knew we had a better, talented team than Grambling. We respect our opponent, but we needed this game. It wasn’t the need of confidence. It was the need to validate who we were. The guys feel good about themselves because they knew what they have, but they needed to go out there and prove it based on the bad taste in their mouth and the way they played against Florida State.”

LSU HC Brian Kelly on the validation the win against Mississippi State means

The victory gives the #14 ranked LSU Tigers their first SEC victory of the season as the team will head back home where they will host the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday.

Final Stats:

Offensive Cumulative Stats

STAT	LSU	MSU
NET TOTAL YARDS	530	201
NET RUSHING YARDS	163	94
Rushing Attempts	39	21
Average Per Rush	4.2	4.5
Rushing TDs	3	1
Yards Gained	180	119
Yards Lost	17	25
NET PASSING YARDS	367	107
Completion-Attempts	31-37	12-29
Completion Percentage	84%	41%
Avg Per Completion	11.8	8.9
YAC	102	50
Passing TDs	2	1
Drops (%)	0 (00%)	0 (00%)
TOTAL 1ST DOWNS	27	10
Rushing 1st Downs	9	4
Passing 1st Downs	15	6
Penalty 1st Downs	3	0
TOTAL PLAYS	76	50
Avg Yds/Play	7	4
Rushing-Passing	39-37	21-29

Offense Efficiency Comparison:

STAT	LSU	MSU
RED ZONE ATTEMPTS	4-4	2-2
Red Zone Points	24	14
RZ TDs Rush-Pass	3-0	1-1
RZ FG Made-Att	1-1	0-0
RZ Turns	0	0
3rd Downs	9-16	3-13
4th Downs	2-2	2-3
Penalties	6-50	4-40
Fumbles-Lost	0-0	0-0
Pts Off Turns	0	0
POSSESSION TIME	38:39	21:21

Special Teams Comparison:

STAT	LSU	MSU
Punts-Avg	2-38.5	7-43.1
Inside20	1	2
Field Goals	2-2	0-0
Kick Returns	0-0	3-102
Punt Returns	1-13	0-0

Defensive Comparison:

STAT	LSU	MSU
TACKLES	47	100
Solo Tackles	19	30
Tackles for Loss	7	6
TFL Yards	-27	-22
Pass Breakups	4	2
QB Hurries	4	2
Sacks	4	2
Sacks Yards	-20	-13
Takeaways FR-INT	0-0	0-0
Forced Fumbles	0	0
Fumble Recoveries	0	0
FR Yards	0	0
Interceptions	0	0
INT Yards	0	0
TDs INT-FR	0-0	0-0

LSU Passing:

#	PLAYER	C-A	YDS	TD	I	C%	RTG
5	DANIELS,J	30-34	361	2	0	88	196.8
13	NUSSMEIER,G	1-3	6	0	0	33	50.1
	PASS TOTALS	31-37	367	2	0	84

LSU Receiving:

#	PLAYER	NO	YDS	TD	LNG	AVG	TGT	C%	YAC	DR
8	NABERS,M	13	239	2	48	18.4	13	100	38	0
11	THOMAS JR.,B	7	60	0	19	8.6	8	88	19	0
3	DIGGS,L	3	30	0	16	10	3	100	18	0
28	JACKSON,K	2	15	0	9	7.5	2	100	7	0
17	HILTON JR.,C	2	9	0	5	4.5	4	50	1	0
27	WILLIAMS,J	1	13	0	13	13	1	100	12	0
84	MARKWAY,M	1	5	0	5	5	2	50	1	0
1	ANDERSON,A	1	-1	0	0	-1	1	100	3	0
4	EMERY JR.,J	1	-3	0	0	-3	2	50	3	0
	9 RECEIVERS	31	367	2	48	11.8	37	84	102	0

LSU Rushing:

#	PLAYER	ATT	YDS	TD	LNG	AVG
5	DANIELS,J	15	64	2	23	4.3
3	DIGGS,L	9	41	0	8	4.6
28	JACKSON,K	5	19	0	13	3.8
27	WILLIAMS,J	4	17	1	13	4.3
21	CAIN,N	3	15	0	9	5
4	EMERY JR.,J	3	7	0	3	2.3
	6 RUSHERS	39	163	3	23	4.2

LSU Punting:

Punter	NO	YDS	AVG	LNG	I20	50+
BRAMBLETT,J	2	77	38.5	40	1	0

LSU Field Goals:

Kicker	Time	Dist	Result
D.Ramos	1st-06:36	22	GOOD
D.Ramos	3rd-10:41	41	GOOD
TOTAL	2-2	LONG OF 41

LSU All Purpose Yards:

Player	Tot	Rush	Rec	KOR	PR	IR-FR	TDs
NABERS,M	239	0	239	0	0	0	2
DIGGS,L	71	41	30	0	0	0	0
DANIELS,J	64	64	0	0	0	0	2

LSU Defense:

#	Player (Starter)	TotTk	Solo	Sack	TFL	Int	BrUp	QBH	FF
40	W.Weeks (LB)	8	2	0	0	0	0	1	0
4	H.Perkins Jr. (LB)	4	2	1	2	0	1	0	0
14	A.Sam (S)	4	4	0	0	0	1	0	0
13	B.Swinson (DE)	3	0	0	0	0	1	1	0
15	S.Ryan	3	2	0	1	0	0	0	0
18	M.Wingo (DT)	3	2	1	1	0	0	0	0
24	Z.Alexander (CB)	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
30	G.Penn III (LB)	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
0	M.Smith (DE)	2	1	0	0	0	1	1	0
8	M.Burns (DB)	2	1	1	1	0	0	0	0
21	R.Yaites	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
25	J.Toviano	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
33	W.Weeks	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	L.Welch	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
10	D.Harris (CB)	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
35	S.Jones (DE)	1	1	1	1	0	0	1	0
94	P.Shand	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
96	J.Lee	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
99	J.Jefferson	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	TOTALS	47	19	4	7	0	4	4	0

LSU Punt Returns:

Returner	NO	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD
CLAYTON JR.,G	1	13	13	13	0

LSU Kick Returns:

Returner	NO	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD

LSU Team Stats By Quarter:

	1st	Rush	Pass	CAI	TotY	Avg	3rds	Pens
1st	9	7-33	16-143	15-16-0	176	7.7	2-4	2-10
2nd	6	12-22	6-112	6-6-0	134	7.4	2-4	1-10
3rd	9	12-83	9-47	6-9-0	130	6.2	4-5	1-10
4th	3	8-25	6-65	4-6-0	90	6.4	1-3	2-20
Total	27	39-163	37-367	31-37-0	530	7	9-16	6-50

LSU Scoring Summary:

Qtr	Clock	Score	Type	Play	Drive	Score
1	06:36	FG		D.Ramos 22 yd Field Goal	14/77/7:12	0-3
1	03:38	TD	PASS	M.Nabers 26 yd reception thrown by J.Daniels (PAT KICK by D.Ramos GOOD)	4/70/1:50	0-10
2	14:11	TD	PASS	M.Nabers 33 yd reception thrown by J.Daniels (PAT KICK by D.Ramos GOOD)	8/63/3:15	0-17
2	03:24	TD	RUSH	J.Williams 1 yd rush (PAT KICK by D.Ramos GOOD)	6/66/2:45	0-24
3	10:41	FG		D.Ramos 41 yd Field Goal	11/53/4:19	7-27
3	03:27	TD	RUSH	J.Daniels 5 yd rush (PAT KICK by D.Ramos GOOD)	5/63/2:31	7-34
4	12:11	TD	RUSH	J.Daniels 1 yd rush (PAT KICK by D.Ramos GOOD)	12/75/5:08	7-41

Mississippi St. Passing:

#	PLAYER	C-A	YDS	TD	I	C%	RTG
2	ROGERS,W	11-28	103	0	0	39	70.2
14	WRIGHT,M	1-1	4	1	0	100	463.6
	PASS TOTALS	12-29	107	1	0	41

Mississippi St. Receiving:

#	PLAYER	NO	YDS	TD	LNG	AVG	TGT	C%	YAC	DR
5	GRIFFIN,L	4	16	0	8	4	6	67	12	0
1	THOMAS,Z	3	52	0	22	17.3	6	50	12	0
3	ROBINSON,J	2	23	0	12	11.5	3	67	11	0
23	DAVIS,S	1	13	0	13	13	2	50	10	0
81	HARMON,A	1	4	1	4	4	3	33	3	0
7	MARKS,J	1	-1	0	0	-1	4	25	2	0
	6 RECEIVERS	12	107	1	22	8.9	29	41	50	0

Mississippi St. Rushing:

#	PLAYER	ATT	YDS	TD	LNG	AVG
7	MARKS,J	8	75	0	52	9.4
5	GRIFFIN,L	3	24	1	14	8
25	PITTMAN,J	2	10	0	6	5
14	WRIGHT,M	1	5	0	5	5
23	DAVIS,S	1	3	0	3	3
1	THOMAS,Z	1	2	0	2	2
2	ROGERS,W	5	-25	0	0	-5
	7 RUSHERS	21	94	1	52	4.5

Mississippi St. Punting:

Punter	NO	YDS	AVG	LNG	I20	50+
CRIMMINS,K	6	264	44	50	2	0
OSTEEN,A	1	38	38	38	0	0
TOTAL	7	302	43.1	50	2	0

Mississippi St. Field Goals

Kicker	Time	Dist	Result
TOTAL	0-0	LONG OF 0

Mississippi St. All Purpose Yards

Player	Tot	Rush	Rec	KOR	PR	IR-FR	TDs
GRIFFIN,L	142	24	16	102	0	0	1
MARKS,J	74	75	-1	0	0	0	0
THOMAS,Z	54	2	52	0	0	0	0

Mississippi St. Defense

#	Player (Starter)	TotTk	Solo	Sack	TFL	Int	BrUp	QBH	FF
44	J.Johnson (LB)	14	3	0	0.5	0	0	1	0
14	N.Watson (LB)	13	1	0.5	0.5	0	0	0	0
4	D.Nicholson (CB)	10	5	0	1	0	0	0	0
3	D.Richardson (CB)	8	5	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	M.Banks (S)	7	4	0	1	0	1	0	0
7	S.Preston Jr. (S)	6	3	0	0	0	0	0	0
22	N.Pickering (DT)	5	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
26	J.Purvis	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
91	D.Anderson	5	1	0.5	1	0	0	0	0
9	D.Russell (DE)	4	1	0	1	0	0	1	0
10	C.Ellington	4	1	0	0	0	1	0	0
20	I.Smith	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
94	J.Crumedy (DT)	3	2	1	1	0	0	0	0
0	D.Page (LB)	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
16	Z.Tillman	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
21	H.Washington (S)	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
92	E.Taylor	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	E.Furdge	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	J.Davis	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
27	C.Keys	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
34	B.Pollock	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
96	G.Nelson	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	TOTALS	100	30	1	6	0	2	2	0

Mississippi St. Punt Returns:

Returner	NO	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD

Mississippi St. Kick Returns:

Returner	NO	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD
GRIFFIN,L	3	102	34	39	0

Mississippi St. Team Stats By Quarter:

	1st	Rush	Pass	CAI	TotY	Avg	3rds	Pens
1st	1	3–7	7-12	1-7-0	5	0.5	0-3	1-15
2nd	2	5-53	7-21	4-7-0	74	6.2	0-3	0-0
3rd	2	6-12	6-32	2-6-0	44	3.7	0-3	3-25
4th	5	7-36	9-42	5-9-0	78	4.9	3-4	0-0
Total	10	21-94	29-107	12-29-0	201	4	3-13	4-40

Mississippi St. Scoring Summary

Qtr	Clock	Score	Type	Play	Drive	Score
2	00:50	TD	RUSH	L.Griffin 9 yd rush (PAT KICK by K.Ferrie GOOD)	6/72/2:27	7-24
4	04:26	TD	PASS	A.Harmon 4 yd reception thrown by M.Wright (PAT KICK by K.Ferrie GOOD)	10/58/4:19	14-41