LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels had a historic performance last Saturday against Florida and continued that in this game against Georgia State. The Tigers gave up a couple of scores early but would take care of business against the Panthers and improve to 8-3 in a 56-14 win in their first-ever matchup between one another.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Georgia State received the ball to begin the game and had no problem driving down the field. LSU’s defense jumped offside twice on the drive as quarterback Darren Grainger eventually found Tailique Williams for the six-yard touchdown.
Jayden Daniels responded quickly as he juked to the inside to move the sticks on third down and then got LSU across midfield with a 29-yard scramble. Malik Nabers ran a dig route that ended the Tigers’ first possession with an 18-yard score with 9:20 remaining in the first quarter.
The Tigers would force a punt after Panthers running back Marcus Carroll could only pick up seven yards on 3rd &16. Javen Nicholls returned the ball 27 yards to the LSU 47-yard line. Daniels would end up rushing the football himself for a 14-yard touchdown with seven seconds to go in the opening quarter.
Georgia State tied the ball game soon after with a five-play 75-yard drive that resulted in Carroll running 44 yards down the left sideline to pay dirt.
Following that, LSU with a 27-yard touchdown catch by Kyren Lacy. Daniels was 4/5 on the drive, including a 33-yard catch and grab by Nabers.
The Panthers drained over seven minutes off of the clock with an 11-play drive. Grainger’s pass on 4th & 7 fell incomplete and the Tigers would get the ball back on their own 30-yard line. LSU would score quickly as Daniels connected with Brian Thomas Jr for the 70-yard score to put the Tigers up 28-14 with 2:26 left in the first half.
Georgia State would go three-and-out the next possession and LSU put together a 3-play drive that went 60 yards and ended with Daniels finding Lacy for another touchdown, this time from 13 yards out.
LSU went into the locker room with a 35-14 lead as they got the ball to start the second half and wasted no time extending their lead as they went 70 yards in eight plays. Noah Cain had a big 20-yard run that set up a three-yard catch by Mac Markway to put the Tigers up by 28 points four minutes into the third quarter.
Georgia State would threaten to score as they got to the LSU 34-yard line but Grainger was sacked on 4th & 6. The Tiger got down to the one-yard line and were stuffed on 4th & GOAL but a horse collar penalty reset the downs and Daniels was able to score himself to go up 49-14 early in the fourth quarter.
After a Panthers punt, LSU would score one more time as Daniels went to Nabers for a 40-yard score. Georgia State would get the ball one more time and couldn’t convert on fourth down. Head coach Brian Kelly brought in the reserves to finish the game and LSU would win the game 56-14 to move up to 8-3 on the season.
BIG NUMBER: 3
LSU had three receivers who had 100-yard games. Malik Nabers with 140, Brian Thomas Jr. had 103, and Kyren Lacy finished with 101. This is the second time ever happened for the Tigers, the other occurrence was in 2019 vs Texas when Justin Jefferson had 163, Ja’Marr Chase finished with 147, and Terrace Marshall’s 123 was the cherry on top.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Jayden Daniels
The Heisman hopeful had another dazzling performance as he completed 25 out of 30 passes for 413 yards and six touchdown passes. Daniels also carried the ball ten times for 96 yards and scored twice on the ground as LSU beat Georgia State 56-14.
UP NEXT: The LSU Tigers will close out the regular season with a game at home versus Texas A&M. Kickoff at Tiger Stadium is scheduled for Saturday, November 25th at 11:00 a.m. and the action can be heard on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette 104.1 Lake Charles.