Rewind: LSU 45, Kent State 13

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Zach Mettenberger threw three touchdown passes and Jeremy Hill ran for two touchdowns as LSU defeated Kent State 45-13 at Tiger Stadium on Saturday night.

HOW THEY SCORED

Score: Hill 58-yard run. Colby Delahoussaye PAT. LSU 7, Kent State 0

Drive: 5 plays, 86 yards

Time of Possession: 2:41

Time Remaining: 12:19, first quarter

Key Play: On third-and-five, Mettenberger completed a 17-yard pass to Odell Beckham for a first down at LSU's 36.

Score: Jarvis Landry 21-yard pass from Mettenberger. Delahoussaye PAT. LSU 14, Kent State 0

Drive: 6 plays, 57 yards

Time of Possession: 2:28

Time Remaining: 8:16, first quarter

Key Play: On second-and-12, Mettenberger completed a 36-yard pass to Travin Dural for a first down at Kent State's 23.

Score: Hill 12-yard run. Delahoussaye kick. LSU 21, Kent State 0

Drive: 4 plays, 37 yards

Time of Possession: 1:35

Time Remaining: 2:36, first quarter

Key Play: On third-and-five, a pass interference penalty by Darius Polk against Beckham gave LSU a first down at Kent State's 17.

Score: Colin Reardon 2-yard run. Anthony Melchiori PAT. LSU 21, Kent State 7

Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards

Time of Possession: 4:37

Time Remaining: 12:59, second quarter

Key Play: On third-and-six, Reardon completed a nine-yard pass to Tyshon Goode for a first down at LSU's 32.

Score: Delahoussaye 25-yard field goal. LSU 24, Kent State 7

Drive: 6 plays, 68 yards

Time of Possession: 2:56

Time Remaining: 10:03, second quarter

Key Play: On first-and-ten, Mettenberger completed a 52-yard pass to Connor Neighbors for a first down at Kent State's 23.

Score: Landry 31-yard pass from Mettenberger. Delahoussaye PAT. LSU 31, Kent State 7

Drive: 8 plays, 93 yards

Time of Possession: 3:40

Time Remaining: 4:14, second quarter

Key Play: On first-and-ten, Mettenberger completed a 20-yard pass to Beckham for a first down at Kent State's 16.

Score: Melchiori 37-yard field goal. LSU 31, Kent State 10

Drive: 4 plays, 0 yards

Time of Possession: 1:11

Time Remaining: :17, second quarter

Key Play: Nick Holley recovered a Dural fumble at LSU's 20.

Score: Melchiori 36-yard field goal. LSU 31, Kent State 13

Drive: 10 plays, 49 yards

Time of Possession: 4:23

Time Remaining: 3:16, third quarter

Key Play: On third-and-two, Reardon completed a seven-yard pass to Ernest Calhoun for a first down at LSU's 26.

Score: Beckham 5-yard pass from Mettenberger. Delahoussaye kick. LSU 38, Kent State 13

Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards

Time of Possession: 3:21

Time Remaining: 14:55, fourth quarter

Key Play: On second-and-eight, Mettenberger completed a 28-yard pass to Travis Dickson for a first down at Kent State's 2.

Score: Terrence Magee 12-yard run. Delahoussaye PAT. LSU 45, Kent State 13

Drive: 5 plays, 60 yards

Time of Possession: 1:43

Time Remaining: 10:44, fourth quarter

Key Play: On second-and-five, Magee ran 25 yards for a first down at Kent State's 12.

TURNING POINT

List of recruits in attendance at LSU-Kent St. gameClick On LSU's second possession of the game, it found itself with a third-and-20 at Kent State's 21. That situation turned out to be no problem as Mettenberger promptly hit Landry for a 21-yard touchdown pass. That score pushed the Tigers ahead 14-0 and they were well on their way to a lopsided victory.Here to view this Link.

LSU KEY OFFENSIVE PERFORMERS

There was great offensive balance exhibited by the Tigers. Mettenberger completed 13 of 18 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns. Beckham and Landry combined for nine completions - good for 142 yards. Landry had two scoring receptions, while Beckham had one touchdown catch. Hill, making his first start, ran for 117 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries. Magee added 108 yards and one touchdown on just nine attempts.

LSU KEY DEFENSIVE PERFORMERS

Tackle Ego Ferguson had the best game of his Tigers career with eight tackles, including 1½ behind the line of scrimmage. He was responsible for one of LSU's two sacks. Micah Eugene, who got the start at safety as a replacement for the injured Craig Loston, was credited with six tackles. Cornerback Jalen Collins, who lost his starting job to freshman Tre'Davious White played just in the second half and made five tackles with a pass breakup. White finished with four tackles, including one behind the line of scrimmage, and one forced fumble.

LSU MISSED SCORING OPPORTUNITIES

Increased LSU running-game results in better performanceClick For the second consecutive week, the Tigers capitalized on all of their scoring opportunities. LSU scored points on seven of its eight possessions in Kent State territory. The one time the Tigers didn't score was at the end of the game when they took a knee inside the Golden Flashes' 20. LSU did have to settle for a field goal after having a first-and-goal at Kent State's 10 in the second quarter. Three Kenny Hilliard runs gained nine yards. The Tigers tried to go on a quick snap on fourth down, but were flagged for a false start. Delahoussaye came on to kick a 25-yard field goal. Here to view this Link.

LSU CRITICAL MISTAKES

The worst aspect of the game involved the Tigers' 11 penalties. Coach Les Miles was most perturbed about the false start flags. Dural fumbled a punt which led to a Kent State field. LSU allowed three consecutive completions on the Golden Flashes' lone touchdown drive of the game. Jamie Keehn's lone punt traveled only 33 yards.

KEY STATISTICS

LSU nearly set a school record with yards per play. The Tigers averaged 10.4 yards with 571 yards on 55 snaps - the second best number ever. LSU gained 11.1 yards per play in its 49-0 victory against Kentucky in 2006. The Tigers had just six third-down plays and converted four of them. Mettenberger averaged slightly more than 20 yards per completion. Both Magee (12.0) and Hill (10.6) averaged more than ten yards per carry. LSU's four tailbacks averaged 8.6 yards per attempt - 34 carries for 293 yards. Kent State running back Trayion Durham was held to 36 yards on 18 attempts.

NOTES

Les Miles post-game videoClick White and Eugene made their first career starts. . .LSU extended its nation's-best regular-season non-conference winning streak to 44 games. . .For the first time in seven years, the Tigers scored touchdowns on their first three series. LSU did the same against Alabama in 2006. . .The Tigers' 571 yards of offense were their most in six seasons. LSU gained 595 yards against Louisiana Tech in 2007. . .For the second time under Miles, the Tigers scored points - four touchdowns and a field goal - on their first five series of the game. LSU scored touchdowns on its first five possessions against Mississippi State in 2006. . .The Tigers won their 29th straight game when wearing purple jerseys. Their last loss in purple jerseys came at Florida in 2000. . .LSU had two 100-yard rushers in a game (Hill and Magee) for the first time since the 2012 season-opener when both Kenny Hilliard and Alfred Blue reached triple digits. . .Mettenberger has nine touchdown passes through three games - the most ever for a Tigers quarterback in that stretch. Mettenberger eclipsed the 250-yard passing mark for the sixth time in his last eight games. . .Hill's 58-yard touchdown run was the longest of his career. Hill also recorded the fifth multi-touchdown game of his career. . .Landry has caught a touchdown pass in five straight games. The last LSU player to accomplish that feat was Dwayne Bowe in 2006. Landry caught more than one touchdown pass in a game for the first time in his career. . .Fullback Connor Neighbors' 52-yard reception was the Tigers' longest pass play of the season. . .Linebacker D.J. Welter made his first career sack. . .Ferguson and Eugene had career highs in tackles with eight and six, respectively. Loston and defensive tackle Quentin Thomas did not play due to injuries. . .Linebcacker Lamin Barrow didn't return after an injury in the first half. Lorenzo Phillips and Deion Jones divided time at weakside linebacker in Barrow's absence. . .Reardon completed 20 of 29 passes for 190 yards. . .Running back Dri Archer, a 1,000-yard rusher in 2012, had one touch - a seven-yard pass reception. Archer has been bothered by an ankle injury. . .LSU is 3-0 for the seventh consecutive season. Kent State is 1-2. . .The paid attendance was 89,113. The last time LSU sold fewer than 90,000 tickets for a home game was in 2005 against North Texas.Here to view this Link.

WHAT THE HEAD COACH HAD TO SAY

LSU coach Les Miles: "We did what we were supposed to do. We rushed for 300 yards and we threw for 270 with 55 snaps on offense. We gave up 248 yards on defense and played pretty well at times. The things we have to correct certainly are the missed tackles we had in the contest. We had 11 penalties for 86 yards and we can't fumble a punt. We have to eliminate some of the mistakes, but all-in-all it was a nice outing. We are looking forward to facing a quality SEC opponent in our stadium next week."

NEXT UP

LSU will play host to Auburn in its SEC opener next Saturday at Tiger Stadium. Auburn (3-0) rallied in the final seconds to defeat Mississippi State 24-20 on Saturday night. Kickoff is set for 6:45 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN.

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