AUBURN-LSU: Tigers dominate inexperienced LSU

Scenes from the Auburn Tigers’ win over LSU on Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium. (Todd Van Emst/Auburn Media Relations)

By TIM GAYLE

AUBURN - There was no controversy at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday.

For the first time this season, the referees took their place in the background at an Auburn home game. No excessive flags, no need for constant replays, no explanatory tweets sent from the conference office.

The Auburn defense feasted on an inexperienced quarterback and turned TJ Finley’s miscues into touchdowns in a 48-11 rout of LSU on Saturday afternoon.

The 48 points were the most ever scored in the 54-game series and the 37-point margin of victory was the largest in the series. It was the worst loss by LSU since Gerry DiNardo’s second team was routed at Florida 56-13 in a game also televised by CBS. 

With both teams looking for answers to early-season struggles, Auburn took the opportunity to humiliate the visiting Tigers on the first play of the fourth quarter with a 91-yard bomb from Nix to Anthony Schwartz for a 48-3 lead.

That pass gave Bo Nix his third touchdown pass of the game and a 300-yard performance, giving Auburn coach Gus Malzahn more ammunition in his verbal battle with detractors.

“Here at Auburn sometimes, you face more adversity than at other places,” Malzahn said. “We did that, we overcame it. Look at our quarterback. He was 18 for 24, no interceptions, three touchdowns and 300 yards. He rushed the ball 11 times for 81 yards and a touchdown. He’s a real quarterback. Just wanted to make sure everybody understands that.”

Auburn did it with an offense that piled up 506 total yards, including 206 rushing yards. In a game where both teams needed to establish the run, LSU was held to just 32 rushing yards, led by John Emery’s 21 yards on nine carries.

“Stop the run, make them one dimensional and we can pin our ears back and get after a true freshman quarterback on the road,” Malzahn said. “This is one of the toughest places, traditionally, to play in college football, so that was our plan. I told our guys we need to rush for 200 yards against these guys, we need to stop the run and make them one dimensional, get after the rookie quarterback and take some shots.”

Both teams get a week off from the conference schedule, with Auburn (4-2) feeling a lot better about postseason opportunities and the finish ahead, while LSU (2-3) will return home and try to regroup for a Nov. 14 game with Alabama in Tiger Stadium.

“We just did not play very well,” LSU coach Ed Orgeron said. “And Auburn played their best game. The (pass) rush was all over our guys. It starts with protection. Can’t put that on our young quarterbacks.”

What was supposed to be an even matchup was just that through the end of the first quarter, with the only scoring threat coming on the first play of the second quarter as Cade York’s 54-yard field goal attempt was wide right.

Auburn took over and promptly marched to the end zone, but Seth Williams’ reception was punched out by LSU cornerback Derek Stingley just short of the goal line, resulting in a touchback.

Then came the first of Finley’s mistakes as he badly overthrew Terrace Marshall. Nehemiah Pritchett gathered in the interception and sprinted 48 yards to the end zone. He was ruled out of bounds on the LSU 4, but Bo Nix threw a touchdown pass to Eli Stove on the next play for a 7-0 lead three minutes into the second quarter.

Two possessions later, Finley’s next mistake cost LSU another touchdown. Sandwiched between Auburn pass rushers Derick Hall and Colby Wooden on a third-down pass play, the freshman attempted to lift up the ball and find a receiver, but lost the handle. As the ball rolled into the open field, Christian Tutt was there to pick it up and return the fumble to the end zone for a 14-0 lead.

“The momentum really swung hard our way,” Malzahn said. “We could feel it and I think they could feel it.”

Auburn would put together its longest drive of the season, marching 99 yards late in the first half for a 21-point lead as Nix hit an uncovered Ze’Vian Capers for a 9-yard touchdown, but LSU took the ensuing kickoff 33 yards in 37 seconds, getting on the board with a 51-yard field goal by York as the first half ended.

Finley replaced injured starter Myles Brennan last week in a rout of South Carolina and was a last-minute decision to start on Saturday, but didn’t have nearly the same level of success against the Tigers.

After a Nix touchdown run made it 28-3 three minutes into the second half, Finley’s first play of the second half was a slant-in pass that was batted into the air and intercepted by Auburn’s Big Kat Bryant, leading to a short drive for another touchdown. Finley was replaced at that point by fellow freshman Max Johnson.  

It was reminiscent of the last time an experienced quarterback ventured into Jordan-Hare Stadium. Alabama’s Mac Jones, making only his third start, threw a pair of interceptions returned for touchdowns in Auburn’s 48-45 win last November.

Unlike that battle, the fight was gone out of the visitors by halftime. By the time Auburn freshman Tank Bigsby ran untouched into the end zone for a 42-3 lead with 1:33 remaining in the third quarter, LSU’s offense had the ball just four plays in the second half.

“I think we played our best game,” Malzahn said. “They’re defending national champs. They’ve played really well the last two weeks. To dismantle them the way we did, I think it says a lot about our overall team.”

Johnson gave LSU its only touchdown with a 43-yard pass to Kayshon Boutte with 8:43 remaining. Johnson ran in the two-point conversion following the touchdown.