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LSU bounces back, tops Tulane

Nov 2, 2008 - 3:50 AM BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (Ticker) -- One week after getting embarrassed on defense, Louisiana State re-asserted itself with a dominant performance.

The 15th-ranked Tigers allowed three points on defense en route to a 35-10 victory over Tulane on Saturday.

Charles Scott led the ground attack with 114 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown for LSU (6-2), which was trampled at home in a 52-38 loss to No. 8 Georgia last week.

"Any time you lose a game, you want to come back and get a victory, and that's what we did (Saturday)," Tigers linebacker Darry Beckwith said. "We took a step forward on offense in the game. As far as the defense, we have to take this and continue to move forward. We played well against South Carolina and came back and didn't play so well against Georgia. We have to play consistently as a team and as a defense."

The down notes for the Tigers came in terms of the injury report, with starting quarterback Jarrett Lee and tight end Richard Dickson leaving the game in the fourth quarter.

Lee was shaken up when he was hit hard with 7:33 left, leading to a floating pass that Travis Burks picked off and returned for a touchdown, the Green Wave's final score. Lee walked off the field under his own power but yielded to freshman Jordan Jefferson the rest of the way.

"I just got the breath knocked out of me," Lee said. "I hadn't got the breath knocked out of me since second grade, so I just forgot how it felt. But I'm fine and looking forward to preparing for next week.

"I think things turned out pretty good. That pass at the end that got intercepted is something I still need to work on, but overall I thought we played well."

The Tigers blew open a tight game in the final minutes of the second quarter, finding the end zone twice in a 25-second span.

Lee capped an 11-play drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Brandon LaFell to put LSU on top, 14-3, with 2:12 remaining before the break. After the ensuing kickoff, the Green Wave (2-6) got two plays off before Joe Kemp was sacked by defensive end Rahim Alem, causing a fumble.

Defensive back Chris Hawkins recovered the loose ball and returned it 23 yards to give the Tigers a 21-3 edge at the half.

"Just getting our swagger back," LSU defensive end Tyson Jackson said. "Just getting our identity back as a defense. Knowing where we are on the field and knowing what guys on the field are capable of making plays. I think our defense made a big statement tonight."

Keiland Williams added a 3-yard touchdown run on LSU's first possession of the second half to give the Tigers three TDs in just over six minutes of game time.

"One thing we wanted to do was secure victory and come off the field with a good rushing attack and backs a certain number of carries," LSU coach Les Miles said. "We also wanted to throw the football well, but we wanted to do so in spots and pick our spots. After we got a lead, we started throwing a little more, but I still wanted to make sure we rushed the football."

The Tigers allowed 158 yards on defense en route to becoming bowl-eligible.

"There were too many mistakes, but what we did see was a better defense and I thought we rushed the football better," Miles said.

Tulane has dropped four in a row.

"They kept pounding on us, and we had a hard time stopping them," Green Wave coach Bob Toledo said. "You have to give credit to them. They're a good football team.

"We're a team that's in transition right now. We've got a bunch of young guys trying to play. We were playing 12 true freshmen and nine redshirt freshmen and playing with some seniors who have a lot of heart right now and giving us good leadership. We were a little mismatched (Saturday), and it was hard to move the ball. When they wanted to run the ball, it was hard for us to stop them."