The passing game was able to soften up Mississippi State’s defense and allow Fournette to get loose to the tune of 147 yards and 2 touchdowns on 28 carries.
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BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) Trips to Auburn haven’t been kind to LSU in recent years.
In typical Les Miles fashion, he wouldn’t name Etling the outright starter for the rest of the season, but when asked if Etling had to be anxious about being pulled for making a mistake, Miles answered with a strong, “No”. Auburn was 1-1 entering its SEC opener at home against Texas A&M Saturday night. It was as nasty as it was powerful, the type of move that will make National Football League scouts salivate over the potential that LSU’s stud running back possesses.
Etling completed six of his first eight passes for 100 yards, including a 46-yard touchdown strike, but finished 6-of-14 after missing on all six of his second-half passes with two turnovers – an interception and fumble. For LSU the past two seasons, those numbers were the missing link. Like the list of those he follows on Twitter, a list that includes a wide cross section of teammates and LSU assistant coaches, media types, Donald Trump and Leonardo DiCaprio. You make sure you communicate with your teammates. The hope is that Etling can at least provide that threat.
The first half featured an efficient, balanced offense as LSU threw for 172 yards and ran for 110 while limiting Mississippi State to 82 yards. “I was maybe a little nervous at Purdue”. I think they care more about their cocktails at the tailgate than the game in the stadium.
“I liked the effort our guys played with at the end”. But, that is not going to be the deciding factor.
“You know what, I really care about these players”, McElwain told reporters. “I’m glad the team, my coaches, Danny could put me in a position to handle the ball for my team”.
11 Victories, one loss and one tie for LSU when the Tigers open their SEC schedule against Mississippi State.
“Danny does a great job moving the ball around”, Miles said. “So I said, ‘OK, I’ve got to get him. Should this offense come to play for 60 minutes, we’d be happy about it”. I fear that LSU could be in for more offensive struggles against Mississippi State.
Right tackle Toby Weathersby was the one starter who was unavailable at the end of the game with the Bulldogs. Maea Teuhema, who started the game at right guard, moved to Weathersby’s right tackle spot and Boutte played right guard.
“The offensive goes through (Fournette)”, Mullen said. “We had seven different combinations”. But those two plays had a domino effect, with the Fournette fumble as the biggest trigger that breathed a wave of new life into the Bulldogs. No one is rigid about staying in one place. When you see something like that, it’s my responsibility when their parents aren’t here to be their parents. “We can’t be focused on who’s across the line of scrimmage”, Steele said. This was much more what we were in search of.
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It’s both a sign of improvement for a team that’s a quarter through its season, and a demonstration of just how far this team has to go if it does want to seriously contend for a championship.
