BATON ROUGE, La. – The 14^th ranked LSU Tigers’ offense shined as they defended a packed-out Tiger Stadium defeating South Alabama 42-10 in the first ever matchup between the two schools.

The LSU offense got off to a quick start, scoring on their very first play with a quick swing pass to running back Zavion Thomas, who turned it into a 71-yard touchdown. Following an empty possession by South Alabama, LSU would again score quickly in just 2 plays highlighted by a Caden Durham 81-yard touchdown run.

South Alabama would get on the board late in the first quarter with a Laith Marjan 49-yard field goal, but this would be the Jags’ only points in the first half. LSU continued to run all over the South defense with an impressive 429 yards in the first half and led 35-3 at the half.

 South Alabama would open the second half strong, driving 75 yards in five minutes. This drive would be capped off with a 27-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Gio Lopez to freshman receiver Anthony Eager. 

An interception on the following LSU drive by Jaden Voisin would give the Jags good field position, however the Jags were not able to capitalize. LSU would make a big goal line stand, stopping a run by Gio Lopez inside the one forcing a turnover on downs. LSU would turn this into an impressive 99-yard touchdown drive.

Neither team would score again with LSU winning the game 42-10. The LSU offense put up a staggering 667 total yards of offense behind quarterback Garret Nussmeier who threw for 409 yards and two touchdowns.

“Obviously, we just started very poorly. Defensively, we gave up two huge plays. We had a touchdown and an explosive play to the one-inch line. We have to look at ourselves as coaches and figure out how we can prepare our guys differently to give them a better opportunity to win,” said South Alabama head coach Major Applewhite to AL.com.

Despite a lackluster defensive performance by South Alabama, the offense had some positive takeaways, including an all-around solid performance by redshirt freshman Gio Lopez. South Alabama will look to build on this as they enter conference play in the upcoming weeks. More information about this game and all South Alabama athletics are available on usajaguars.com.