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Hester, Scott each rush for two TDs to lift LSU

Sep 29, 2007 - 8:35 PM NEW ORLEANS (Ticker) -- It took a half for Louisiana State and Tulane to look how they were supposed to.

Jacob Hester and Charles Scott each rushed for two touchdowns and the second-ranked Tigers overcame a sluggish first half en route to a 34-9 victory over the Green Wave on Saturday.

Nearly a six-touchdown favorite, the Tiger's (5-0) hardly resembled one of the nation's top teams in the first half when they had more penalties (11) than points (10).

"I told our team at halftime that we shot ourselves in the foot," LSU coach Les Miles said. "We came here and played liked we didn't have intentions or purpose. We turned that around in the second half."

Perhaps part of the Tigers' struggles could have been attributed to looking ahead to next Saturday's showdown against defending national champion Florida.

But with their dominant defense, the Tigers regained their focus and took control after the break to beat their intrastate rivals for a 16th straight time.

Hester, who opened the scoring in the first quarter with a three-yard touchdown run, plowed up the middle for a one-yard TD with 5:53 left in the third, giving the Tigers a 20-9 cushion.

Scott, a fullback, added to the lead by rumbling up the middle for a 35-yard TD three minutes into the fourth quarter for a 27-9 advantage. He also contributed a three-yard TD with 8:49 left.

"We were in a dogfight. We just said at halftime, hey, let's buckle down and play," Scott said.

After being held to minus-11 yards rushing in the first half, the Tigers finished with 134 overall.

The running game helped overcome an inconsistent game from Matt Flynn, who completed 16-of-30 passes for 258 yards and an interception. He also was sacked six times.

Flynn also was called for intentional grounding in the end zone in the second quarter resulting in a safety.

The Green Wave (1-3) then embarked on an 11-play, 58-yard drive against the nation's top defense. Andre Anderson capped the march with a five-yard TD run, giving the Green Wave a surprising 9-7 lead with 4:11 left in the half.

Colt David converted a 36-yard field goal with 1:33 left in the half, allowing LSU to take the lead into the intermission.