LSU Takes Care Of Business On Both Sides Of The Football En Route To 38-0 Shutout Victory Over New Mexico

The LSU Tigers were in control on both sides of the football cruising to a 38-0 victory over the New Mexico Lobos. The Tigers were dominant out gaining the Lobos a staggering 633 total yards to 88.

“It was a really good performance something to build off. I told our guys one time is an accident, second time’s a coincidence, and a third time’s a habit. They’ve won three in a row and we are building good habits. We look to build on that going into SEC play in the next month.”

Brian Kelly on the 38-0 victory over New Mexico

Offensively, the Tigers marched down the field on their first drive of the football game 57 yards on eight plays with a five yard touchdown run from Armoni Goodwin. The Tigers would score one more touchdown right before halftime with another Goodwin touchdown run as LSU would take a 17-0 lead to halftime. The Tigers could have had a bigger lead at halftime as two touchdowns were taken off the board after Jack Bech’s big punt return touchdown was called back because of a blindside block penalty and Kole Taylor’s touchdown catch was taken off the board because of an offensive pass interference penalty.

“I’ve been coaching 32 years so I’ve had some of those games. I think in most of them, you know that you’re in a dominating performance and you just wish you had more points on the board at that time. It was pretty clear that they were going to have a difficult time moving the football on us. I thought our plan was excellent and we felt pretty good going into halftime even though it was 17-0.”

Brian Kelly on 1st half

Jayden Daniels was efficient tonight completing 24 of 29 passes for 279 yards. However, Daniels would not finish the game after hitting his head on the turf following a 16 yard run in the middle of the third quarter. Garrett Nussmeier would enter the football game and was just as efficient throwing the football completing nine of ten passes for 135 yards and a touchdown pass to Brian Thomas Jr.

“He (Garrett Nussmeier) was decisive and made some really high level throws. I would have loved to see him hook up with Malik down the field, but he is a talented football player. He’s making good decisions, take what they give you, be disciplined, and you got another great quarterback.”

Brian Kelly on Garrett Nussmeier’s performance

The good news is that Daniels would have been cleared to go back in the game, but the coaching staff thought it was best to put Nussmeier in the game with the game being controlled by the Tigers at that point.

“Jayden strained his lower back; he could have gone back in but there was no need at that time of the game. He was all cleared by the doctors.”

Brian Kelly on Jayden Daniel’s injury status.

Goodwin would also get injured early in the second half after holding his hamstring and getting carried off by trainers, but it was next man up for the Tigers and Noah Cain stepped up with 11 carries for 94 yards and two touchdowns in the second half including a masterful 49 yard touchdown run.

“I thought they ran with low pads. They were physical. Noah Cain obviously played really well. I thought all of them played hard. They took it to the defense and that has been the emphasis all week. They are not big up front. They do a lot of things obviously. They run with low pads and I thought they were extremely physical at the running back position.”

Brian Kelly on the running backs tonight

Without Kayshon Boutte in the lineup, both Tigers quarterbacks spread the wealth to all of its playmakers. Jack Bech had six catches for 43 yards while also being the team’s starting punt returner tonight. Malik Nabers had six catches for 65 yards. Jaray Jenkins had five catches for 57 yards. Kyren Lacy had four catches for 41 yards. Mason Taylor had four catches for 34 yards. Brian Thomas Jr. has three catches for 76 yards and a touchdown. Then, Chris Hilton had a long catch himself of 51 yards. Overall, the Tigers had 414 yards passing and 219 yards rushing in the football game.

“There are so many of these guys that can make plays. To get Mason some playing time and watch him run after the catch, that’s what he does in practice. Then, to watch Jack, it was fun seeing him get going and have him out there. Jaray Jenkins continues to make play after play late in the second half when we need him to make plays. He catches the ball in traffic. I can go on and on. Malik Nabers, obviously, Brian Thomas, Chris is involved. There are a lot of great players and we got the ball out to all of them.”

Brian Kelly on spreading the ball to all of the Tigers’ playmakers

Defensively, the Tigers may have been been more impressive by making it tough for the Lobos to pick up even a yard throughout the game. The LSU defense continues to be impressive with their tackling even without Jay Ward and BJ Ojulari’s services in the football game. Linebacker Harold Perkins led all tacklers with eight. Ohio State transfer Sevyn Banks made his LSU debut with four tackles. Greg Brooks was a menace all night long for the Lobos with four tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss, and a pass breakup. Saivion Jones, Ali Gaye, and West Weeks also had sacks with the Lobos only registering two first downs.

“We’re pleased, obviously, anytime you get a shutout. It’s difficult to shut out an opponent anytime, college football is set up for success on offense. We had three or four starters out on defense, and we had to juggle the lineup. We had Jarrick Bernard-Converse playing safety, and the guys really rallied. We held them to under a hundred yards.”

Brian Kelly on dominant defensive performance

However, the Tigers got a big blow when it was announced that Major Burns would miss a couple of games after suffering a neck injury.

“Major’s situation is that he is going to be lost probably for anywhere between three to six weeks with an upper neck injury. I don’t want to get in the specifics with any type of neck injury, but he has been cleared by all the doctors, but he will need some rest. It’s probably going to take three to six weeks before he gets back on the field.”

Brian Kelly on Major Burns’ injury situation

The LSU Tigers needed to do what they needed to do by dominating on both sides of the football and improving to 3-1 on the season. Next up, the Tigers make their first SEC road trip to take on the 3-1 Auburn Tigers.

Check out the photos taken by Billy Metcalf during the first half of LSU and New Mexico. Make sure to check back with us tomorrow for the complete photo gallery.

Drive By Drive Summary:

1st Quarter:

New Mexico won the toss and elected to receive the kickoff to start the football game.

After three straight runs, the New Mexico Lobos would punt on the opening possession of the football game. Coach Brian Kelly indicated earlier in the week that Jack Bech would get plenty of touches and immediately, he lines up as the Tigers’ starting punt returner. With only a 25 yard punt, the Tigers start the first possession of the football game at their own 44 yard line.

Jayden Daniels starts off firing on a couple of short completions and puts the Tigers quickly in the red zone. A couple of plays later, Armoni Goodwin punches the football in the end zone for the five yard touchdown run. It would be Goodwin’s fourth rushing touchdown of the season. Daniels completed all four passes to four different receivers in Jack Bech, Brian Thomas Jr., Josh Williams, and Malik Nabers. It was an eight play, 57 yard scoring drive to give the Tigers an early 7-0 lead on New Mexico.

The LSU defensive backs get physical in the running game as Ohio State transfer Sevyn Banks gets his first tackle as a LSU Tiger. Greg Brooks, Jarrick Bernard-Converse, and Mekhi Garner have already shown their presence early in the football game as well. After six plays, the Lobos punt the football back to the Tigers. Jack Bech returned the punt, but was immediately tackled. The Tigers would start their second drive of the football game at their own 15 yard line.

On the first play, Jayden Daniels takes a deep shot and hits Chris Hilton Jr. for a 51 yard strike. He would then hit Jack Bech on a drag route for a second consecutive completion for a nine yard gain. Goodwin would pick up the first down on the ensuing play. After Daniels would be sacked, he would connect with Nabers for a six yard pickup in order to put the Tigers at a third down and six situation. Daniels and Nabers would not be on the same page forcing the Tigers to try a 31 yard field goal attempt. Damian Ramos would convert on the field goal attempt and extends the Tigers lead to ten. It was a seven play, 71 yard scoring drive for the Tigers.

On the second play of the next drive, Saivion Jones and Harold Perkins carry on their performance form last week by bringing the heat and sacking New Mexico quarterback Miles Kendrick for an eight yard loss. Once again, the Tigers’ defense force a three and out.

Jack Bech electrifies the crowd on what seemed to be a big punt return for a touchdown, but it was called back because of a blindside block called against Kolbe Fields waving the touchdown return. The penalty marks the Tigers as they start from their own 20 yard line. The Tigers’ offense would run one untimed down and run out the rest of the first quarter. At the end of the first 15 minutes of play, LSU leads New Mexico 10-0.

2nd Quarter:

On third down, Jayden Daniels hits Josh Williams for a 21 yard pickup followed by a six yard pass completion to Jack Bech and then a 23 yard run from Daniels would showcase his legs for the first time tonight. After an incompletion and then a six yard reception from Daniels, Daniels would run out of bounds short of the first down mark, but Daniels gets knocked out of bounds late thus forcing a first and goal at the nine yard line for the Tigers. The Tigers would then get penalized on a holding call by Kole Taylor. It would push the Tigers at the 20. Bech would get a ten yard catch to put the Tigers back at the ten yard line. Then, Daniels finds what seemed to be a wide open Kole Taylor for the ten yard touchdown, but Malik Nabers gets called for the offensive pass interference call. The Tigers would continue to go backwards when Daniels gets sacked by the Lobos’ Justin Harris putting the Tigers all the way back to the 32 yard line. Daniels completes an 11 yard pass to Kole Taylor setting up a 38 yard field goal attempt for Ramos. This time, Ramos misses the field goal attempt. It would be a missed opportunity for the Tigers after having two touchdowns wiped off the scoreboard because of penalty and then coming up empty with a missed field goal. Score remains the same at 10-0.

The Lobos take advantage of busted coverage from the Tigers’ secondary as Kendrick completes a 38 yard pass to a wide open Jaden Hullaby. The Tigers defense would soon make up for the big completion as Greg Brooks makes a great break on the football and almost intercepts Kendrick’s pass. After a 26 yard punt, the Tigers would start their next drive from their own 12 yard line.

Jayden Daniels hits Mason Taylor for the first time tonight for a four yard pickup. Daniels would then throw a rifling pass to Kyren Lacy for a 12 yard pickup to move the chains. After a four yard pickup on first down by Daniels and a five yard catch by Mason Taylor, the Tigers had a third down and one from their own 37 yard line before the Lobos would call their first timeout of the first half. After being stuffed on third down and one, the Tigers do go for it on fourth and the Tigers would move the chains with a 13 yard run by Josh Williams. Mason Taylor would have his third reception on the drive with an eight yard catch. Two plays later, Daniels connects on the slant to Jaray Jenkins, who picks up 16 yards to the Lobos’ 28 yard line. The Tigers would look at another third down and once again, Daniels finds Jenkins for the second third down in a row this time for 19 yards. The Tigers would call their first timeout of the first half with the ball at the six yard line. Daniels keeps the football and gets tackled at the two yard line. Tigers call their second timeout of the first half. After getting stuffed on second and goal, the Tigers offense hurries up to the line and gives the football to Goodwin again as he successfully scores the second time around giving him his fifth touchdown of the year. The ensuing extra point is good. The Tigers take almost six minutes off the clock on a 15 play, 88 yard drive. Tigers extend their lead at 17-0 with less than 20 seconds left to play until halftime.

Lobos would run out the rest of the first half and the LSU Tigers take a 17-0 lead to halftime.

3rd Quarter:

On the first play of the second half, Armoni Goodwin gets a catch, but twist his knee awkwardly and has to be carried off the field by trainers. John Emery Jr. gets into the ball game and excites the crowd leaping over a Lobo defender for a first down. The Tigers would pick up another first down on a 17 yard completion from Daniels to Mason Taylor. However, the Tigers would turn the football over on downs after Daniels misfires on two straight passes. New Mexico takes over from their own 38 yard line.

The Lobos offense could not take advantage of the defensive stop and would punt the football back to the Tigers. LSU takes over from their own 20 yard line after the touchback.

Daniels pitches the ball forward to Nabers and then throws a completion to Jenkins to pick up the first first down of the drive. Then, Daniels rolls outside the pocket and finds Nabers for a 16 yard gain to move the chains once again. The Lobos defense would get a big play by sacking Daniels in the backfield. For the third straight drive, the Tigers go for it on fourth down and would pick up the first down after a 16 yard run by Daniels. The following play, Garrett Nussmeier would check into the game and complete a pass to Jack Bech. There would be some miscommunication on the sidelines and Nussmeier would have to burn a timeout for the Tigers.

Nussmeier completes a screen to Nabers, who almost breaks it for the Tigers bringing it down to the seven yard line. Noah Cain gets his first carry of the ball game and brings the football to the one yard line. From there, Cain scores the touchdown from the one yard line and the Tigers extend their lead at 24-0 as Ramos’ extra point attempt is good. The Tigers have another long scoring drive marching 80 yards and taking nearly another six minutes on the clock.

Greg Brooks makes a big hit on Kendrick for a three yard sack forcing a third down and 11. Kendrick would then get sacked by Ali Gaye for a seven yard loss forcing a fourth down. It was the first sack of the season for Gaye, who is one of the Tigers’ defensive leaders.

Nussmeier continues to be the quarterback for the Tigers after Daniels hit his head on the turf during the fourth down pickup on the previous drive. Nussmeier hangs tough in the pocket and hits Lacy, who makes a couple of moves after the catch to pick up 16 yards. Noah Cain breaks through the line of scrimmage, runs through two defenders, and shoves off three more defenders in a very impressive run for the 49 yard touchdown. This was by far the longest run of his Tigers career as the Penn State transfer scores his fourth rushing touchdown of the season. Tigers continue to pad on their lead at 31-0 over the Lobos.

Kendrick recovers a fumble for the Lobos as the snap hits a player in motion. The Lobos offense backtracks to a third and 18 once again forcing a New Mexico punt. The third quarter would run out as the Tigers are in command with a 31-0 lead.

4th Quarter:

Nussmeier throws a deep ball and just overshoots Nabers on first down. Kyren Lacy comes across as Nussmeier hits him in stride for a nine yard completion. John Emery would then pick up the first down for the Tigers on a seven yard run on third and one. Brian Thomas takes a short completion from Nussmeier and takes it from there as he makes a couple of Lobo defenders miss and scores his second touchdown of the season from 57 yards out. The Tigers extend their lead at 38-0 after a four play, 73 yard drive. This was also Nussmeier’s first touchdown pass of the season.

Laterrance Welch comes in the game and makes a tackle on first down. It would continue to be tough sledding for the Lobos offense against the Tigers’ defense after only picking up two first downs the entire game. Gregory Clayton comes in the game as the Tigers’ punt returner. He is immediately tackled after fielding the punt.

Nussmeier continues to be in rhythm after completing six consecutive passes in a row. After Nussmeier completes four passes to Jenkins, Nabers, and Thomas, the Tigers were content with handing the football to Emery and Cain. The Tigers would suffer their first turnover of the football game when Emery fumbled the football caused by Bryce Santana. The fumble was recovered by CJ James and the Lobos would recover at their own 28 yard line ending an 11 play, 62 yard drive.

Kendrick would be sacked on third down by West Weeks and for the ninth time, the Lobos would punt. Gregory Clayton gets a nice return after stiff arming a Lobo defender with a 20 yard return.

The LSU Tigers would run out the rest of the clock and seals the shutout victory with a final score of 38-0.

Stats:

Offensive Cumulative Stats

STATNew MexicoLSU
NET TOTAL YARDS88633
NET RUSHING YARDS41219
Rushing Attempts2641
Average Per Rush1.65.3
Rushing TDs04
Yards Gained71233
Yards Lost3014
NET PASSING YARDS47414
Completion-Attempts5-733-39
Completion Percentage71%85%
Avg Per Completion9.412.5
YAC37225
Passing TDs01
Drops (%)0 (00%)1 (03%)
TOTAL 1ST DOWNS228
Rushing 1st Downs011
Passing 1st Downs216
Penalty 1st Downs01
TOTAL PLAYS3380
Avg Yds/Play2.77.9
Rushing-Passing26-741-39

Offense Efficiency Comparison

STATNew MexicoLSU
RED ZONE ATTEMPTS0-04-5
Red Zone Points024
RZ TDs Rush-Pass0-03-0
RZ FG Made-Att0-01-2
RZ Turns00
3rd Downs1-107-12
4th Downs0-02-3
Penalties2-145-60
Fumbles-Lost1-02-1
Pts Off Turns00
POSSESSION TIME22:5037:10

Special Teams Comparison

STATNew MeicoLSU
Punts-Avg9-43.20-0
Inside2030
Field Goals0-01-2
Kick Returns3-561-23
Punt Returns0-05-20

Defensive Comparison

STATNew MexicoLSU
TACKLES10249
Solo Tackles4215
Tackles for Loss58
TFL Yards-14-27
Pass Breakups11
QB Hurries00
Sacks44
Sacks Yards-12-20
Takeaways FR-INT1-00-0
Forced Fumbles20
Fumble Recoveries10
FR Yards00
Interceptions00
INT Yards00
TDs INT-FR0-00-0

LSU Passing

#PLAYERC-AYDSTDIC%RTG
5DANIELS,J24-292790083163.6
13NUSSMEIER,G9-101351090236.4
PASS TOTALS33-394141085

LSU Receiving

#PLAYERNOYDSTDLNGAVGTGTC%YACDR
8NABERS,M66501710.8967440
80BECH,J6430107.2786370
10JENKINS,J55701911.45100210
2LACY,K44101610.34100200
86TAYLOR,M4340178.54100100
11THOMAS JR.,B37615725.3475591
27WILLIAMS,J23102115.5367270
17HILTON JR.,C15105151110000
87TAYLOR,K11101111110040
22GOODWIN,A15055110030
10 RECEIVERS3341415712.539852251

LSU Rushing

#PLAYERATTYDSTDLNGAVG
21CAIN,N11942498.5
4EMERY JR.,J9450115
5DANIELS,J9370234.1
22GOODWIN,A824273
27WILLIAMS,J4190134.8
5 RUSHERS412194495.3

LSU Punting

PunterNOYDSAVGLNGI2050+

LSU Field Goals

KickerTimeDistResult
D.Ramos1st-02:2331GOOD
D.Ramos2nd-09:1238MISSED
TOTAL1-2LONG OF 31

LSU All Purpose Yards

PlayerTotRushRecKORPRIR-FRTDs
CAIN,N949400002
THOMAS JR.,B760760001
HILTON JR.,C7405123000

LSU Defense

#Player (Starter)TotTkSoloSackTFLIntBrUpQBHFF
40H.Perkins Jr. (LB)83000000
1S.Banks4100.50000
3G.Brooks Jr. (S)41110100
6M.Jones Jr. (LB)4000.50000
33W.Weeks41120000
2M.Garner (DB)31010000
11A.Gaye (DE)3111.50000
24J.Bernard-Converse (CB)33000000
99J.Roy (DL)3000.50000
12D.Davis Jr.20000000
23M.Baskerville22000000
35S.Jones (DE)21110000
92M.Wingo (DL)20000000
17Z.Carter10000000
25K.Fields10000000
27L.Welch11000000
32D.Tolan10000000
93Q.Wiggins10000000
TOTALS4915480100

LSU Punt Returns

ReturnerNOYDSAVGLNGTD
CLAYTON JR.,G22010200
BECH,J3000110
TOTAL52004200

LSU Kick Returns

ReturnerNOYDSAVGLNGTD
HILTON JR.,C12323230

LSU Team Stats By Quarter

1stRushPassCAITotYAvg3rdsPens
1st66-228-1067-8-01289.10-11-15
2nd713-4513-11811-13-01636.34-62-25
3rd811-9811-939-11-01918.70-20-0
4th711-547-976-7-01518.43-32-20
Total2841-21939-41433-39-06337.97-125-60

LSU Scoring Summary

QtrClockScoreTypePlayDriveScore
109:52TDRUSHA.Goodwin 5 yd rush
PAT kick by D.Ramos (GOOD)
8/57/2:497-0
102:23FGD.Ramos 31 yd Field Goal7/71/3:1110-0
200:23TDRUSHA.Goodwin 1 yd rush
PAT kick by D.Ramos (GOOD)
15/88/5:4417-0
305:27TDRUSHN.Cain 1 yd rush
PAT kick by D.Ramos (GOOD)
11/80/5:4424-0
301:45TDRUSHN.Cain 49 yd rush
PAT kick by D.Ramos (GOOD)
4/74/1:2631-0
413:14TDPASSB.Thomas Jr. 57 yd reception thrown by G.Nussmeier
PAT kick by D.Ramos (GOOD)
4/73/1:3338-0

New Mexico Passing

#PLAYERC-AYDSTDIC%RTG
5KENDRICK,M5-7470071127.8

New Mexico Receiving

#PLAYERNOYDSTDLNGAVGTGTC%YACDR
15WYSONG,L2004036790
28HULLABY,J138038381100250
8PORTER,G16066110000
25JONES,N13033110030
4 RECEIVERS5470389.4771370

New Mexico Rushing

#PLAYERATTYDSTDLNGAVG
25JONES,N8330104.1
22WASHINGTON,C213086.5
9WHITE,S39053
28HULLABY,J28044
8PORTER,G27053.5
15WYSONG,L3-101-0.3
5KENDRICK,M5-2100-4.2
7 RUSHERS26410101.6

New Mexico Punting

PunterNOYDSAVGLNGI2050+
RODRIGUEZ,A938943.25531

New Mexico Field Goals

KickerTimeDistResult
TOTAL0-0LONG OF 0

New Mexico All Purpose Yards

PlayerTotRushRecKORPRIR-FRTDs
WASHINGTON,C6913056000
HULLABY,J468380000
JONES,N363330000

New Mexico Defense

#Player (Starter)TotTkSoloSackTFLIntBrUpQBHFF
44R.Hannah (LB)114000000
24A.Haulcy (S)102000000
58C.Moon (LB)103000000
9J.Reed II (DB)95000000
18A.Morenco (LB)82000000
97J.Harris (DL)64220000
4A.Odums (CB)52000000
95J.Saltonstall (DL)51000000
42D.Hunter52110000
8D.Martin41000000
92O.Darame (DL)41000000
16B.Johnson43000000
36S.Riley43000000
51B.Santana43110101
45K.Drake3100.50000
6R.Wilson (DB)21000001
12A.Hunt20000000
21Z.Morris22000000
26T.Zimmerman11000000
52I.Shewell1000.50000
85T.Bruckler11000000
99J.Phillips10000000
TOTALS10242450102

New Mexico Punt Returns

ReturnerNOYDSAVGLNGTD

New Mexico Kick Returns

ReturnerNOYDSAVGLNGTD
WASHINGTON,C35619230