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Hester, LSU run over South Carolina in SEC showdown

Sep 23, 2007 - 1:00 AM BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (Ticker) -- Jacob Hester and Louisiana State passed the first of several tests in the Southeastern Conference.

Hester paced a balanced ground attack and the second-ranked Tigers dominated the first three quarters en route to a 28-16 victory over No. 12 South Carolina on Saturday.

It was the 11th straight victory and the 16th consecutive home win for LSU (4-0, 2-0 SEC West), which won the final seven games of the 2006 campaign.

Saturday's contest was billed as a possible thriller between two of the top defensive teams in the SEC. But LSU pounded out 290 rushing yards to improve to 15-2-1 all-time against South Carolina.

"Considering it was a quality opponent, I thought our team played pretty well," Tigers coach Les Miles said. "We had to deal with adverse conditions."

Hester was the catalyst for the Tigers' running game, grinding out 88 yards and a TD on 17 carries. Trindon Holliday and backup quarterback Ryan Perrilloux also made big contributions on the ground, collecting 73 yards and 59 yards, respectively.

"Trindon and I are totally different runners," Hester said. "We really pounded at them the first couple of series and then opened it up for Trindon."

"The offense is coming together real good," Holliday added. "We started off real slow, but we've picked it up as we've gone along."

The Tigers' overwhelming running game overshadowed a poor performance by Matt Flynn, who completed just 8-of-19 passes for 70 yards and an interception.

However, LSU's defense also answered the call, limiting the Gamecocks (3-1, 1-1 East) to just 16 yards on the ground.

"As a defense, we're stingy," said defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, who recorded eight tackles. "We don't want to give up anything. We just have to make corrections this week and get ready for the next game."

It was an excellent all-around performance for a Tigers squad which has upcoming games against ranked conference foes Florida, Kentucky and Alabama on its schedule.

"They (LSU) potentially could be (the best team in the country)," South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said. "They have the line on both sides. Up front, they're as good as anybody. We're not anxious to play LSU again, let's put it that way. We're not at their level."

South Carolina struck first when Mike Davis plunged into the end zone from a yard out to open the scoring with 2:46 left in the opening quarter.

But it was all LSU from there, as Holliday raced for a 33-yard touchdown run to forge a 7-7 tie just 90 seconds later. The Tigers took the lead for good with 12:13 left in the first half when Flynn found tight end Richard Dixon for a one-yard score to make it 14-7.

LSU used some trickery to double its advantage right before halftime. With placekicker Colt David lined up for a 32-yard field goal, Flynn received the snap as the holder.

In a perfectly executed play, Flynn flipped the ball over his right shoulder to David, who scampered untouched for a 15-yard TD to make it 21-7 with 1:10 left in the first half.

"We run that in practice every day," David said. "I was excited. I was nervous about my footing. I didn't want to slip when I was taking off. It's good - I liked it. It's my first touchdown. I never scored one in high school."

Hester closed out the scoring for LSU nine minutes into the third quarter with a nine-yard TD run to make it 28-7.

After closing within 28-10 on Ryan Succop's 23-yard field goal with 7:44 to play, South Carolina made things interesting when Chris Smelley found Kenny McKinley for a one-yard TD pass.

However, the Gamecocks failed to convert the ensuing two-point conversion, keeping their deficit at 28-16.

"We had some chances, and our defense held them pretty well in the second half," Spurrier said. "We didn't get any real big plays (defensively), but our guys hung in there."

Smelley looked sharp after replacing the ineffective Blake Mitchell, completing 12-of-26 passes for 174 yards and a score. Mitchell finished just 7-of-16 for 70 yards and an interception.