GeauxTo
11-02-2005, 02:18 PM
BATON ROUGE -- On the strength of a passing clinic put on against North Texas on Saturday, LSU rose from No. 5 in the Southeastern Conference and No. 39 nationally in passing efficiency to No. 1 in the SEC and No. 13 nationally.
LSU quarterbacks completed 24-of-28 passes for 383 yards and four touchdowns with one interception in the 56-3 win Saturday. Starter JaMarcus Russell hit 17-of-21 passes for 244 yards and one touchdown with an interception, while backup Matt Flynn was a perfect 7-of-7 for 139 yards and three touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The Tigers' efficiency rating went from 136.4 to 151.0.
"I think our quarterback's wrist is pretty much back to normal," LSU coach Les Miles said in reference to Russell, who has nursed a sore wrist for two weeks.
For the second time this season, Russell threw 21 or more passes with four or fewer incompletions. He set the school record for completion percentage when he hit 21-of-24 passes (.875) for 206 yards and two touchdowns without an interception in the 37-7 win at Mississippi State on Oct. 1. The previous record, based on 21 or more attempts was set nearly a quarter of a century ago by Alan Risher (21-of-26 for .808) in 1981.
Flynn tied the school percentage record, based on a minimum of five attempts but less than 10, by hitting 1.000 percent of his passes. Fred Haynes hit 9-of-9 in a 48-16 win over Baylor in 1968.
Flynn also became the first LSU quarterback to throw three or more touchdowns since Matt Mauck threw four in a 55-24 win over Arkansas in 2003.
"I think we all have confidence in Matt Flynn, and we all anticipated he would play that well," Miles said. "We just needed to get him on the field and see it. I think we'll use Matt as best we can, but I don't know that we'll change his priority in number of snaps. We have great confidence in him and look forward to sending him into games."
That could happen again Saturday when the No. 6 Tigers (6-1, 4-1 SEC) host Division I-AA Appalachian State (6-2, 4-1 Southern Conference) at 7 p.m. in Tiger Stadium.
INJURY REPORT: Backup offensive tackle Peter Dyakowski, who has missed most of the season with an ankle injury, practiced Tuesday and looked like he was nearing full speed. There were no players, other than quarterbacks, in green jerseys for no contact.
"A" GRADE VS. I-AA: LSU will bring a 4-0 record against Division I-AA opponents into its game against Appalachian State on Saturday. The Tigers previously beat I-AA teams Arkansas State 70-14 in 1991, Western Carolina 58-0 in 2000, The Citadel 35-10 in 2002 and Western Illinois 35-7 in 2003.
Appalachian State is capable of scaring a I-A foe, however. The Mountaineers led Auburn 15-7 in the third quarter at Auburn in 1999 before Auburn came back for a 22-15 victory. The only team Appalachian State has played that is ranked higher than LSU was No. 4 Clemson, which defeated the Mountaineers 40-7 in 1984.
ŠThe Shreveport Times
November 2, 2005
LSU quarterbacks completed 24-of-28 passes for 383 yards and four touchdowns with one interception in the 56-3 win Saturday. Starter JaMarcus Russell hit 17-of-21 passes for 244 yards and one touchdown with an interception, while backup Matt Flynn was a perfect 7-of-7 for 139 yards and three touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The Tigers' efficiency rating went from 136.4 to 151.0.
"I think our quarterback's wrist is pretty much back to normal," LSU coach Les Miles said in reference to Russell, who has nursed a sore wrist for two weeks.
For the second time this season, Russell threw 21 or more passes with four or fewer incompletions. He set the school record for completion percentage when he hit 21-of-24 passes (.875) for 206 yards and two touchdowns without an interception in the 37-7 win at Mississippi State on Oct. 1. The previous record, based on 21 or more attempts was set nearly a quarter of a century ago by Alan Risher (21-of-26 for .808) in 1981.
Flynn tied the school percentage record, based on a minimum of five attempts but less than 10, by hitting 1.000 percent of his passes. Fred Haynes hit 9-of-9 in a 48-16 win over Baylor in 1968.
Flynn also became the first LSU quarterback to throw three or more touchdowns since Matt Mauck threw four in a 55-24 win over Arkansas in 2003.
"I think we all have confidence in Matt Flynn, and we all anticipated he would play that well," Miles said. "We just needed to get him on the field and see it. I think we'll use Matt as best we can, but I don't know that we'll change his priority in number of snaps. We have great confidence in him and look forward to sending him into games."
That could happen again Saturday when the No. 6 Tigers (6-1, 4-1 SEC) host Division I-AA Appalachian State (6-2, 4-1 Southern Conference) at 7 p.m. in Tiger Stadium.
INJURY REPORT: Backup offensive tackle Peter Dyakowski, who has missed most of the season with an ankle injury, practiced Tuesday and looked like he was nearing full speed. There were no players, other than quarterbacks, in green jerseys for no contact.
"A" GRADE VS. I-AA: LSU will bring a 4-0 record against Division I-AA opponents into its game against Appalachian State on Saturday. The Tigers previously beat I-AA teams Arkansas State 70-14 in 1991, Western Carolina 58-0 in 2000, The Citadel 35-10 in 2002 and Western Illinois 35-7 in 2003.
Appalachian State is capable of scaring a I-A foe, however. The Mountaineers led Auburn 15-7 in the third quarter at Auburn in 1999 before Auburn came back for a 22-15 victory. The only team Appalachian State has played that is ranked higher than LSU was No. 4 Clemson, which defeated the Mountaineers 40-7 in 1984.
ŠThe Shreveport Times
November 2, 2005