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Defense puts up best showing of season in 42-6 blowout win of Utah State

Tigers force three interceptions, allow 159 total yards against formidable Aggie offense
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For two weeks now, the LSU defense has had to answer constant questions about poor fundamentals, injuries to the front seven and if the new, fast-paced, LSU offense is affecting them in their production on the field.

Well, the LSU defense answered many questions about its performance, holding the Utah State offense led by quarterback Jordan Love, to 159 total yards and six points en route to a 42-6 win. 

The defense came out hot in the first half, holding the Aggies to 107 yards on 28 plays (3.8 YPP) with four starters injured.

"What an outstanding day for our team," coach Ed Orgeron said. "We played probably our most complete game. Our defense tackled well in space and I thought we played lights out on defense to hold those guys without a first down."

One of the big questions defensively was how much LSU would play Kristian Fulton in the slot safety position. In the first half on third downs, the Tigers would move Fulton to the slot and stick freshman Cordale Flott on the outside.

The first three times, it worked to perfection as the LSU defense was able to force fourth down. The hiccup came in the second quarter as Flott was beat down field by Jordan Nathan for a big pickup of 35 yards that put Utah State in LSU territory.

Two plays later, however, Derek Stingley Jr. made the play of the first half, picking off Love at the one-yard line that kept points off the board. That's how the LSU defense went Saturday. It would give up a big catch here and there but make the timely plays to force Utah State into punts or settled field goals.

Orgeron said he'd have to take a look at the film before making a definitive answer if moving Fulton to the slot on third down worked and whether they'll continue to do it moving forward.

The Tigers attacked the Aggie quarterback Love all day, holding him to 130 yards passing with three interceptions and no touchdowns. For Orgeron, one of the things he was most proud of was the defense holding a very capable offense to no touchdowns.

"I thought we were tighter in our coverage and I think we had a better pass rush today and the guy didn't have all day to throw," Orgeron said. "With K'Lavon coming back and we thought they were going to pass, it opened up some lanes for us. I thought Neil Farrell played better and Breiden Fehoko played better. It's good to see those guys perform but K'Lavon definitely helps." 

Standouts on defense included Patrick Queen, Derek Stingley Jr. and Kary Vincent. Queen was all over the field Saturday, racking up six tackles, three of which went for losses. Meanwhile Stingley and Vincent both hauled in interceptions on the afternoon while safety Grant Delpit accounted for the third.

While the offense was, for the most part, productive in all phases, one noticeable change was the pace of the offense. LSU averaged just over two minutes per scoring drive heading into Saturday's game with Utah State. 

However, in the first half, LSU had scoring drives of  4:19, 2:42 and a season-long 6:42 drive that put the Tigers up 21-6 in the first half. In the second half, LSU remained "methodical" with scoring drives of 4:15 and 3:40.

Orgeron said the part of the gameplan was to keep the ball out of the Utah State offense's hands and considers it job well done after dominating time of possession 41:03-18:57.

"It gave us rest, we didn't have to go right back in," Orgeron said. "We made some big plays with the picks, forcing three and outs and our guys were on the sideline resting and make adjustments. I think clock management really helps."

"It means we can take a gameplan and whatever it is I think this team can do it."

Joe Burrow led the way on offense, completing 27-of-38 passes for 344 yards and six total touchdowns, five of which were through the air. The connection between Burrow and junior receiver Justin Jefferson has been well documented and the two were back at it again Saturday, teaming up for nine receptions for 155 yards and two touchdowns. 

Burrow did throw a interception in the first half and the running backs coughed the ball up a few times as well. Orgeron said those are things that need to be corrected before the team takes on Florida next week.

"We don't want those things, we had some fumbles, some interceptions  so we have to get back to our drills," Orgeron said. 

The run game also had a nice showing, though it did fumble twice. The Tigers ran for 248 yards on an average of five yards per run.

"Just watching their tempo and I think it slowed their tempo down," Orgeron said of the running attack. "So it was just a chess match out there but we wanted to control the clock, give our defense some rest and let them play."

One area the team struggled with on offense in the first half were penalties. Coming into Saturday the Tigers season-high was seven penalties for 70 yards but after two quarters, had five penalties for 41 yards on Saturday. That was easily corrected in the second half as LSU wasn't penalized in the second half. 

As a result, the LSU offense scored 21 second half points including a touchdown throw to Thaddeus Moss in the fourth quarter. It was the first touchdown of Moss' career at LSU.

"Thaddeus has had a good camp and our guys believe in Thaddeus," Orgeron said. "I think you're going to see more of Thaddeus Moss as the season goes on."

Burrow was replaced by Myles Brennan for the remainder of the fourth quarter but wasn't able to show much as the Tigers stuck with the ground game much of the fourth quarter.

No. 4 LSU will be back in action next weekend in one of the big showdowns of the season with top-10 Florida coming to town.