LSU Pulls Away From UCLA in Second Half to 34-17 Victory

Posted on by Jace LeJeune

After being in a tied ballgame with UCLA in the first 30 minutes, LSU was able to insert their will in the second half thanks to two methodical 90 yard scoring drives to help the Tigers pull away from the Bruins by a final score of 34-17.

“They got off to a much better start. We made a case on how important it was to get to a better start. We made too many mistakes on the ensuing UCLA drive, which were maddening, but all of their points in the first half were mistakes that were all correctable mistakes. We corrected them in the second half and played really well in the second half. We controlled the second half. We had two 90 yard drives. Those two drives were key in terms of setting the tone for the game. We ran the ball, threw it, and defensively, we got off the field.”

LSU Head Coach Brian Kelly on the win

LSU outgained the Bruins 244 yards to 89 while shutting out the opposition 17-0 in the second half to take care of business at home.

Garrett Nussmeier continues his early strong start to the season completing 32 of 44 passes for 352 yards and three touchdowns.

“The quarterback is the straw the stirs every drink in college football. Garrett Nussmeier is the guy for us. He has a supporting cast and has a really good offensive line. They keep him clean. They keep him protected and they allow him to do his job. He certainly has areas to grow. He’s got to get better in the run game recognition. He’s got the weapons obviously, but he is the guy that makes it happen.”

LSU Head Coach Brian Kelly on Garrett Nussmeier

Mason Taylor made LSU history becoming the all-time leading receiver in program history for tight ends with 995 career yards. Nussmeier’s reliable weapon came up big consistently when the Tigers’ offense needed the most pacing the group with eight catches for 77 yards. Aaron Anderson finished the game with six grabs for 75 yards, and CJ Daniels had six catches for 56 yards. Zavion Thomas and Caden Durham added touchdown catches to account for the scoring.

On the ground, LSU still struggled to get a consistent running game averaging just over three yards per carry, but the rushing offense did manage to pick up 56 yards on the ground in the second half paced by Josh Williams, who led the way with 13 carries for 62 yards and one touchdown.

Defensively, the Tigers had trouble with the UCLA passing game in the first half as Ethan Garbers finished completing 22 of 36 passes for 281 yards and two touchdowns, but for the second straight game, the pass rush was able to get to the Bruins signal caller with five sacks. Bradyn Swinson built on a career performance last week against South Carolina with five tackles, two sacks, and a forced fumble in this game.

“A lot of credit should go to Coach Peoples. His ability to make it necessary for two different types of players. Swinson is 240 pounds and is a lot lighter. You also have Saivion Jones, who is a 275 pound defensive end. They are clearly two different players and he has been able to take two different players with different skillsets and give them the ability to pass rush using two different techniques. He has done a tremendous job and both of those guys have too. It takes two to tango. Both guys have really worked on their craft and have been extremely coachable. We are starting to see their efforts go into fruition.”

LSU HC Brian Kelly on the improved play of Saivion Jones and Bradyn Swinson

Saivion Jones, Paris Shand, Jay’Viar Suggs, and Dominick McKinley were also able to take down the quarterback as well.

The LSU Tigers won the toss and wanted to set the tone offensively. The Tigers’ offense did not take long to get on the board marching 75 yards on six plays to take a 7-0 lead as Nussmeier threw his 11th touchdown pass of the year on a pop pass to Zavion Thomas, who took the short pass to the left side for a five yard score.

UCLA answered by converting on two third downs and a fourth down including a 20 yard wide open touchdown pass from Ethan Garbers to Jack Pederson to tie the game at 7.

At the Bruins’ 44 yard line, LSU gambles for it on fourth down and does not convert turning the ball over on downs. The Bruins kick a field goal to give them a 10-7 lead.

LSU takes a deep shot down the field and Nussmeier drops it in a bucket for Kyle Parker to come down with a 45 yard touchdown catch to retake the lead at 14-10.

After a sack fumble forced by Bradyn Swinson, which was recovered by Saivion Jones, the Tigers were able to cash in on a Damian Ramos’ field goal to make it a touchdown lead for LSU at 17-10.

UCLA had their best drive of the game right before halftime marching down the field 75 yards on 11 plays. A juggling 29 yard reception by Kwazi Gilmer made it first and goal for the Bruins and Garbers was able to hit Logan Loya with two seconds left before halftime to tie the game at 17.

The second half was controlled by LSU on both sides of the football. After forcing a three and out, LSU went down the field 11 plays for 96 yards and over six minutes as Josh Williams punched the ball into the end zone for the go ahead score at 24-17.

Getting a stop on defense the LSU offense added another 90 yard scoring drive as Nussmeier hit a wide open Caden Durham for a 35 yard scoring strike to give the Tigers a two touchdown cushion at 31-17.

The Tigers’ defense added another turnover as Jardin Gilbert was able to intercept Garbers to give LSU’s methodical offense the ball back and as a result, Damian Ramos made a 32 yard field goal with over three minutes in the game to seal the 34-17 victory and their first ever win over UCLA.

Next up, the #16 LSU Tigers (3-1, 1-0) will have another home game against South Alabama in Tiger Stadium, and Coach Kelly made it clear that his team has to be ready to play.

“We found our stride in terms of what we want to do offensively. We saw that today and we did some good things defensively. The difference is that we are pressuring, getting turnovers, and doing some good things there. It’s just maddening to see the silly mistakes we are seeing on defense. They have to go away. We have a really good South Alabama team. Major Applewhite is originally from this area and he is going to have his team ready to go. We saw how hard Nicholls State played. South Alabama has a lot of talent. We have to be ready for that football team and then, we get into the meat of the schedule. We made some improvements, but we have a ways to go.”

LSU HC Brian Kelly

Game Track:

1st Quarter:

2nd Quarter:

3rd Quarter:

4th Quarter:

Photo Gallery (Photos Taken By Billy Metcalf):

Final Stats:

Offensive Cumulative Stats

STATUCLALSU
NET TOTAL YARDS295454
NET RUSHING YARDS14102
Rushing Attempts2228
Average Per Rush0.63.6
Rushing TDs01
Yards Gained78104
Yards Lost642
NET PASSING YARDS281352
Completion-Attempts22-3632-44
Completion Percentage61%73%
Avg Per Completion12.811.0
Passing TDs23
TOTAL 1ST DOWNS1727
Rushing 1st Downs47
Passing 1st Downs1217
Penalty 1st Downs13
TOTAL PLAYS5872
Avg Yds/Play5.16.3
Rushing-Passing22-3628-44

Offense Efficiency Comparison

STATUCLALSU
RED ZONE ATTEMPTS2-24-4
Red Zone Points1420
RZ TDs Rush-Pass0-21-1
RZ FG Made-Att0-02-2
RZ Turns00
3rd Downs5-1210-15
4th Downs1-10-1
Penalties9-805-22
Fumbles-Lost2-10-0
Pts Off Turns06
POSSESSION TIME26:2433:36

Special Teams Comparison

STATUCLALSU
Punts-Avg4-49.31-37.0
Inside2031
Field Goals1-12-2
Kick Returns0-00-0
Punt Returns0-01-10

Defensive Comparison

STATUCLALSU
TACKLES5950
Solo Tackles4130
Tackles for Loss25
TFL Yards-2-41
Pass Breakups33
QB Hurries35
Sacks05
Sacks Yards-0-41
Takeaways FR-INT0-01-1
Forced Fumbles01
Fumble Recoveries01
FR Yards00
Interceptions01
INT Yards00
TDs INT-FR0-00-0

UCLA Passing

#PLAYERC-AYDSTDIC%RTG
4GARBERS,ETHAN22-362812161139.5

UCLA Receiving

#PLAYERNOYDSTDLNGAVGTGTC%
17LOYA,LOGAN44611611.5580
1FLORES JR.,RICO4270126.8580
22JONES,KEEGAN35002816.73100
25HARDEN,T.J.32101373100
3GILMER,KWAZI26103230.5450
7STURDIVANT,J.MICHAE22602313450
0BERGER,JALEN2190129.52100
28PEDERSEN,JACK12012020250
88MATAVAO,MOLIKI11101111520
9 RECEIVERS2228123212.83563

UCLA Rushing

#PLAYERATTYDSTDLNGAVG
22JONES,KEEGAN3220177.3
0BERGER,JALEN3190136.3
25HARDEN,T.J.715062.1
14SHAW,CARTER19099
4GARBERS,ETHAN8-51013-6.4
6 RUSHERS22140170.6

UCLA Punting

PunterNOYDSAVGLNGI2050+
RICHTER,BRODY419749.26133

UCLA Field Goals

KickerTimeDistResult
Bhaghani,Mateen1st-00:1747GOOD
TOTAL1-1LONG OF 47

UCLA All Purpose Yards

PlayerTotRushRecKORPRIR-FRTDs
JONES,KEEGAN7222500000
GILMER,KWAZI610610000
LOYA,LOGAN460460001

UCLA Defense

#Player (Starter)TotTkSoloSackTFLIntBrUpQBHFF
49Schwesinger,Carson (LB)12700.50000
20Medrano,Kain (LB)75000010
4Addison,Bryan (DB)65000000
93Toia,Jay (DL)5200.50010
11Henderson,Ramon (DB)53000200
2Oladejo,Oluwafemi (LB)41000010
7Wallace,K.J. (DB)33000000
9Moore,Kaylin (DB)32000100
44Aupiu,Devin (DL)33010000
3Kirkwood,Devin (DB)33000000
92Taupaki,Siale (DL)33000000
6Davies,Jaylin (DB)22000000
17Woods,Jalen (LB)21000000
22Stewart,Croix (DB)11000000
4Garbers,Ethan00000000
17Loya,Logan00000000
28Pedersen,Jack00000000
94Bhaghani,Mateen00000000
TOTALS5941020330

UCLA Punt Returns

ReturnerNOYDSAVGLNGTD

UCLA Kick Returns

ReturnerNOYDSAVGLNGTD

UCLA Team Stats By Quarter

1stRushPassCAITotYAvg3rdsPens
1st45-09-1026-9-01027.32-43-25
2nd811-811-968-11-01044.72-32-15
3rd35-137-535-7-0665.51-33-25
4th21–79-303-9-1232.30-21-15
Total1722-1436-28122-36-12955.15-129-80

UCLA Scoring Summary

QtrClockScoreTypePlayDriveScore
108:10TDPASSPedersen,Jack 20 yd reception thrown by Garbers,Ethan8/75/04:097-7
100:17FGBhaghani,Mateen 47 yd Field Goal7/27/03:127-10
200:02TDPASSLoya,Logan 11 yd reception thrown by Garbers,Ethan11/75/03:4317-17

LSU Passing

#PLAYERC-AYDSTDIC%RTG
13NUSSMEIER,GARRETT32-443523073162.4

LSU Receiving

#PLAYERNOYDSTDLNGAVGTGTC%
86TAYLOR,MASON8770339.61080
1ANDERSON,AARON67502112.5875
4DANIELS,CJ6560239.3786
2LACY,KYREN3230177.7743
28JACKSON,KALEB3230127.7475
29DURHAM,CADEN240135202100
0THOMAS,ZAVION24152367
12PARKER,KYLE14514545250
14GREEN,TREY’DEZ190991100
9 RECEIVERS32352345114473

LSU Rushing

#PLAYERATTYDSTDLNGAVG
18WILLIAMS,JOSH13621234.8
28JACKSON,KALEB626084.3
29DURHAM,CADEN614052.3
8JOHNSON,JU’JUAN21010.5
4 RUSHERS281021233.6

LSU Punting

PunterNOYDSAVGLNGI2050+
OCHSENDORF,BLAKE137373710

LSU Field Goals

KickerTimeDistResult
Ramos,Damian2nd-03:4522GOOD
Ramos,Damian4th-05:4832GOOD
TOTAL2-2LONG OF 32

LSU All Purpose Yards

PlayerTotRushRecKORPRIR-FRTDs
TAYLOR,MASON770770000
ANDERSON,AARON750750000
WILLIAMS,JOSH626200001

LSU Defense

#Player (Starter)TotTkSoloSackTFLIntBrUpQBHFF
18Penn III,Greg (LB)72000000
40Weeks,Whit (LB)73000000
1Stamps,Ashton (CB)52000000
4Swinson,Bradyn (DE)53220011
8Burns,Major44000100
35Jones,Sai’vion (DE)420.50.50020
10Spears,Dashawn33000000
0Shand,Paris (DE)210.50.50000
3Ryan,Sage (DB)21000000
7Perkins Jr.,Harold (LB)21000000
14Alexander,Zy (CB)22000000
17Brown,Jyaire (CB)22000000
6Allen,Jordan11000000
12Johnson,JK (CB)11000000
31Suggs,Jay’Viar (DL)11110110
93Breaux,Ahmad (DT)10000000
96McKinley,Dominick (DT)11110000
18Williams,Josh00000000
0Thomas,Zavion00000000
2Gilbert,Jardin00001000
12Parker,Kyle00000000
15Womack,Da’Shawn (DE)00000100
29Durham,Caden00000000
34Ramos,Damian00000000
99Paez,Gio (DT)00000010
TOTALS5030551351

LSU Punt Returns

ReturnerNOYDSAVGLNGTD
THOMAS,ZAVION11010100

LSU Kick Returns

ReturnerNOYDSAVGLNGTD

LSU Team Stats By Quarter

1stRushPassCAITotYAvg3rdsPens
1st67-399-697-9-01086.81-21-5
2nd45-711-957-11-01026.42-41-2
3rd87-2710-938-10-01207.13-31-5
4th99-2914-9510-14-01245.44-62-10
Total2728-10244-35232-44-04546.310-155-22

LSU Scoring Summary

QtrClockScoreTypePlayDriveScore
112:19TDPASSThomas,Zavion 5 yd reception thrown by Nussmeier,Garrett6/75/02:417-0
213:57TDPASSParker,Kyle 45 yd reception thrown by Nussmeier,Garrett4/75/01:2014-10
203:45FGRamos,Damian 22 yd Field Goal7/33/03:0117-10
306:11TDRUSHWilliams,Josh 2 yd rush14/96/06:3324-17
411:15TDPASSDurham,Caden 35 yd reception thrown by Nussmeier,Garrett11/92/05:1531-17
405:48FGRamos,Damian 32 yd Field Goal8/31/03:3734-17

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