LSU roars late to overcome, put away Mississippi State, 31-16

LSU had allowed other opportunities to slip away Saturday in its effort to overcome a stagnant offensive start.

But a muffed punt by Mississippi State (2-1, 0-1) at its own 9-yard line in the final minute of the third quarter proved the golden chance the Tigers (2-1, 1-0) needed to take its first lead en route to the 31-16 victory.

"The one thing I know about this group for certain ... is they're fighters," coach Brian Kelly said. "They'll fight. We saw that against Florida State. We obviously were very talented going against a Southern team. That probably wasn't a great glimpse. But I knew that they would fight tonight.

"The areas that we have to get better at is we have a standard of preparation that has to get better each and every week. And if we continue to work toward that standard of preparation, they're gonna be pretty good."

Junior quarterback Jayden Daniels spun his way to the end zone three plays later to tie the game at 16-16 and set up the go-ahead extra-point in the opening moments of the fourth quarter.

The LSU defense continued a strong performance overall by forcing a pair of quick three-and-outs on the Bulldogs' next two possessions.

And Daniels and the offense continued to gain momentum and confidence with an 85- and 59-yard scoring marches to put an exclamation point on the first SEC victory of Kelly's tenure.

"Just a classic battle of two really good defenses and then, you know, guys making plays in the second half. Jayden Daniels made a lot of plays for us in the second half. Receivers stepping up, the backs stepped up and what was evident to me was our physical conditioning in the third and fourth quarters. We were able to control the line of scrimmage."

A 27-yard pass to sophomore receiver Malik Nabers on a tense fourth-and-3 play set up a 7-yard insurance touchdown carry by junior running back Josh Williams.

And sophomore running back Armoni Goodwin snuck through a gap up the middle to scamper 47 yards to seal the game with 4:50 remaining.

The late onslaught marked the first time the Tigers had scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns since Joe Burrow, Justin Jefferson, Ja'Marr Chase and company did so Sept. 7, 2019, at Texas.

LSU hadn't scored three touchdowns to overcome a fourth-quarter deficit since Zach Mettenberger, Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, Jeremy Hill and company did so at home against Ole Miss on Nov. 17, 2012.

"It's a long football game," Daniels said. "Me being a leader, just giving positive thoughts and positive talk to the guys, because we don't want anybody to turn on each other or start throwing fits or start thinking negative because that would be a cancer. Just positive thoughts because it's a long football game."

The Tigers held the Bulldogs to 289 yards on 64 plays, including just 105 after halftime.

"We were wired the whole game like, 'We've got to talk. We've got to communicate,'" senior defensive end Ali Gaye said. "Because we knew they were gonna try to move some things around to mess with our eyes, but we've just got to be disciplined with our eyes. And they did the same things over and over in the game, so at some point we caught onto it and it was easy to shut down."

LSU settled down — and excelled — on defense after allowing an 87-yard drive and 37-yard Joquavious Marks touchdown run on Mississippi State's first possession.

The Bulldogs' next four chances ended with a pair of punts and pair of failed fourth downs.

"I think it was inconsistency," Mississippi State coach Mike Leach said. "I thought we played real hard. I thought it was a contested game. We have just got to be consistent, especially against a team like that. Those guys are some of the most decorated recruits in the nation. And sometimes that is wrong, but some of them are really good. And when you play somebody like that, you have to be consistent."

But the Tigers could never sustain anything offensively, tallying just 57 yards on their first six possessions and eventually gifting Mississippi State prime field position to increase its lead.

The Bulldogs moved ahead 13-0 on a quick three-play, 48-yard strike in the final minutes of the half before their hosts could finally muster some scoring.

LSU sped up its offense out of necessity in the final minutes of the first half and found success to the tune of a 75-yard drive capped by an 8-yard touchdown from Daniels to senior wide receiver Jaray Jenkins.

"It was huge just getting that rhythm getting," Daniels said. "Mississippi State did a good job going out there and mixing up things and forcing us to communicate late. When we get into that tempo, urgency mode — not just in the two-minute, but just overall — we're a better offense. Just going out there, we can put up with the best of them."

The teams traded field goals in the third quarter: a 35-yarder by freshman Damian Ramos to pull the Tigers within 13-10, and a 45-yarder by graduate student Ben Raybon to extend Mississippi State's lead back to 16-10.

LSU's next two possessions ended in a turnover on downs from the 50 and a punt from the Bulldogs' 45 before transfer long-snapper Slade Roy could pounce on the ball and help spark the strong finish.

"I think there were a number of moments that you could look to, but certainly we got one back there," Kelly said.

Daniels finished 22-for-37 for 210 yards and a passing touchdown with 93 yards and another score on 16 carries.

Nabers led the receiving corps with six catches for 76 yards, and junior Kayshon Boutte added 31 yards on three receptions.

Goodwin rushed nine times for 75 yards, and junior John Emery Jr. had 32 yards on 11 carries in his first game since 2020.

Senior defensive back Jay Ward led all players with 11 tackles, including 1.5 for loss, and a fourth-down pass breakup in the third quarter and game-clinching interception on Mississippi State's final drive.

"Playing him low and giving him the opportunity to run-fit," Kelly said. "He was outstanding. He was all over the place. One of the things we were concerned about was the ball getting outside. It got outside him one time where he got a little over-aggressive. But he was all over the place."