LSU Tigers look impressive on offense, beat Central Michigan 49-21
The LSU Tigers (1-1) got off to that hot start that fans have been asking for as they raced out to a 21-0 lead before finishing off the game with a 49-21 win over the visiting Central Michigan Chippewas (1-1) in Tiger Stadium on Saturday night.
Watch live postgame press conference here.
LSU's offense was led by a pair of freshmen stand-outs as receiver Deion Smith from Mississippi and running back Corey Kiner from Cincinnati helped pace a LSU offense that scored at least one touchdown in each of the four quarters to take the commanding win.
Tiger quarterback Max Johnson finished the game with 372 yards passing on 26 of 35 attempts with five touchdowns.
Smith paced a LSU receiving corp that saw four players catch five more passes led by Smith who nabbed five catches for 135 yards and two touchdowns.
Freshman tight end Jack Bech also pulled in five catches for 81 yards and a touchdown.
LSU's rushing attack was stymied early, but once Corey Kiner started getting touches the Tigers were able finish the night with a modest 84 yards on 24 carries.
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For the second week in a row the LSU defense both made plays and gave up some big ones on the other side.
The Tiger defense finished with five sacks on the game and scored a defensive touchdown, but also allowed two big busts that led to Chippewas touchdowns that made this game appear closer than it the play on the field.
LSU started the scoring with a 28-yard touchdown toss from Max Johnson to Deion Smith, where the freshman receiver went up over the defender to make the amazing catch.
From there, the LSU defense continued its solid play as they limited the Chippewas to consecutive three and outs.
The Tiger offense answered right back with a three-play scoring drive and another passing touchdown from Johnson to Smith to take the 14-0 lead.
LSU's defense got in on the scoring act as Derek Stingley forced a fumble on a short pass to the running back and Andre Anthony scooped and scored for the Tigers to take a 21-0 lead in the first quarter.
Previous notes from this story:
The LSU Tigers (1-1) will host Central Michigan (1-1) Saturday night in a game that LSU desperately needs to win—while also playing well.
The Tiger offense has struggled to start the season averaging just over 30 points a game but failing to find any consistent play in their first two match-ups of the season.
The Chippewas are also looking to find their footing as they were beaten by Missouri in their first game of the season, losing 34-24, but Central Michigan is coming off a week-two win over Robert Morris, where they won 45-0.
Central Michigan averages 238 yards per game rushing the ball with a big performance from tailback Lew Nichols, who has 214 yards this season with only two touchdowns.
LSU's rush defense has not been great so far. This season they were beaten up by the UCLA ground attack and allow an average of 130 yards per game.
Despite the defensive challenge, LSU will face a larger issue if the offense continues to struggle to find consistent momentum through both their rushing attack and passing game.
The kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. and the game is televised on the SEC Network.