LSU wide receiver Derrick Dillon #19
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Fresh off a road win against a top ten ranked Texas team in Austin last week, LSU rolled into Tiger Stadium Saturday night as a 51 point favorite over FCS foe Northwestern State.

Oddsmakers are good at their job, as the #4 Tigers defeated the Demons 65-14.

It marks the first time LSU has begun a season with 3 consecutive games of 45+ points since 1930.

Despite 65 points and 607 yards of total offense, it didn't look like the Tigers would rack up the numbers they did after the first quarter of play.

Trailing 7-3 after 15 minutes, LSU only led 24-14 at the half, playing sloppy for large chunks of the first 2 frames.

"We realized they played a little better than we thought they would, and they punched us in the mouth," said LSU head coach Ed Orgeron. "We said we were gonna throw the last punch and we did. I'm proud of our team in the second half, especially our offense. Our defense made tremendous adjustments and shut them out in the second half."

With 27 points in the 3rd quarter, the game began to resemble more of what was expected. A top-ranked team versus an overmatched FCS school.

"Give credit to Northwestern man, they played a lot better than they played all year," said Orgeron, a Demon alum. "We fought for 60 minutes. We had to face some adversity, and we did. We needed a game like this, and it was good."

Quarterback Joe Burrow continued his run of impressive play, going 21 of 24 for 373 yards and an interception late in the 2nd quarter. He added a 5-yard touchdown run in the 3rd.

Despite the win and a solid stat line, Burrow wasn't satisfied.

"We scored on a lot of our possessions, but I don't think we played as well as we could have," explained Burrow. "I was pretty disappointed in myself in the 2-minute drill. I threw a pick in the cover 2. I should've seen that guy, so we've got some things to work on."

Burrow was replaced by sophomore Myles Brennan in the 3rd quarter. He tossed 8 completions on 9 attempts for 115 yards.

Justin Jefferson led all receivers with 5 catches for 124 yards, while Terrance Marshall Jr. reeled in 6 passes for 75 yards and 2 touchdowns.

The Tigers rushed for 6 touchdowns and 122 yards as a team, never breaking a long run, averaging 3.5 yards on 35 carries.

"Usually, (with the way we played) in the first quarter, I'd usually be mad, I guess," said a grinning Orgeron. "I kept cool, because I knew we were gonna come back there. I have a lot of confidence in our offense. I have a lot of confidence that we're gonna move the ball. I have a lot of confidence in (defensive coordinator) Dave (Aranda) that he's gonna get after it and he did."

The victory marks the 800th in school history for LSU, who improves to 3-0 on the season. They are the 12th FBS program to reach the milestone.

Next week, LSU begins SEC play on the road for a matchup with Vanderbilt. Kickoff in Nashville is set for 11:00 am.

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