On an afternoon when high ranked teams above and below them fell, No. 5 Auburn refused to meet the same fate, hosting, and then handily beating No. 15 LSU by a 41-7 margin.
LSU vs Auburn final score: 3 things we learned from War Eagle’s 41-7 win.
A dominant statement in all phases of the game by Auburn.
It is rare that a John Chavis defense has been so thoroughly undressed, but Gus Malzahn and offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee managed to do exactly that starting from right after the opening kick. The Tigers -- the ones in burnt orange and navy blue -- quickly rolled up a 31-7 lead after 30 minutes of play.
Even with Cameron Artis-Payne's workman like production (161 all-purpose yards for Auburn), the game clearly belonged to Nick Marshall, with this being only one of four first half touchdowns he was responsible for:
If that play looks somewhat familiar, it's because it is. LSU essentially repeated the defensive performance they put out against sudden Heisman contender Dak Prescott two weeks ago, once again unable to contain a dual-threat quarterback. This time, though, they were barely able to contain anybody, as LSU looked uncharacteristically sloppy trying to tackle blue jerseys at all.
By the time the defense stabilized -- the visiting Tigers allowed just 10 points after the half -- it was already too late, as they remained unable to get anything going on offense, even after a quarterback change.
Three things we learned
1. Don’t go penciling Auburn in for a playoff berth just yet. Despite the blowout victory over LSU and the message it sent to the rest of the conference, this is only the first of many remaining hurdles to clear for Auburn. Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Georgia and Alabama -- all of whom are ranked -- are still ahead, and South Carolina is no cakewalk either. There’s a long way to go in deciding the SEC West, although there is certainly some glee in Jordan-Hare following Alabama’s loss. That has to make the prospect of repeating as division champions at least a little bit easier.
2. LSU's offense continues to sputter along. Brandon Harris, named the starter after the Mississippi State game, looked noticeably shaky in the pocket, often abandoning it early in order to overthrow his receivers or back across his body. Sometimes, he even did both at once. Granted, Harris was making his first start on the road and Auburn gets credit for harassing him into such poor play all evening long, but it's undeniable that Harris was a definite contributor to the early deficit -- the true freshman completed just three of his 13 passes for 58 yards and converted no third downs, leaving an already-tired LSU defense to take the field again and again as a result.
He was eventually pulled for Anthony Jennings in the second half, although whether or not that means Jennings will start next week against Florida remains to be seen.
3..This may finally be the year that the "LSU lost too much talent to the NFL" narrative comes true. Les Miles has done a remarkable job producing players for the next level, but that puts continual stress on the Tigers, as they reset their depth chart far sooner than most teams around them. And so they did, season and season again, rarely ever missing a beat. This time around, it seems as if their departures in personnel -- Odell Beckham, Jarvis Landry, and Jeremy Hill among them -- may be too much to overcome, and fifth straight double digit win season looks to be in jeopardy now, especially since they have yet to face Alabama, Ole Miss, or Texas A&M.
See More:
