The LSU Tigers did what was expected of them Saturday night, hammering McNeese 63-14 in Tiger Stadium.
LSU, ranked No. 11 in the AP and coaches polls, improved to 4-1. McNeese, a member of the FCD Southland Conference, dropped to 2-4.
LSU led 35-0 at halftime. The Tigers had 347 yards. McNeese had 31. The Tigers had 20 first downs. The Cowboys had two.
LSU finished with 731 total yards, second most in school history. McNeese had 196. The Tigers had 39 first downs, breaking a school record set earlier this season.
LSU Head Coach Lane Kiffin said LSU came out of the game with no major injuries.
“The good part is a lot of our guys got to play,” he said. “I thought our guys outside of some guys late with a few things played really well. I know you’re supposed to win these games big but that doesn’t always happen.
“Or maybe you do well in the first quarter or first half but you come out flat in the third quarter. And I thought our guys really responded well to out of the locker room. Played really good early third quarter. So it was good to see a lot guys make plays.
“The goal was to get up and to evaluate these guys because they’re going to need to play with the injuries that we have down the stretch. Now you’ve got seven conference teams in a row. 101 plays on offense a lot of snaps for backups to do in there and do some things.”
Like most of the LSU starters, Sam Leavitt played only the first half. He completed 18-of-23 passes for 176 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.
Dilin Jones had 16 carries for 79 yards and a touchdown. Harlem Berry had 10 carries for 89 yards. Berry finished with a team-high 125 yards on 15 carries.
Corey Barber Jr. had four catches for 45 yards including touchdown receptions of six and 12 yards. A true freshman, Barber came into the game with one catch and finished with a team-high six for 76 yards.
Landen Clark and Hussan Longstreet both saw action at quarterback in the second half. Clark completed 7-of-16 passes for 126 yards. Longstreet was 6-of-9 for 62.
Seven Tigers carried the ball. Among those was defensive lineman Deuce Geralds, who scored on a one-yard run early in the third quarter.
Redshirt sophomore Stacey Gage rushed for 110 yards on six carries and scored fourth-quarter touchdowns on runs of 46 and 39 yards. Ten LSU players had receptions.
LSU visits Kentucky Saturday. The Wildcats (4-1, 2-1 SEC) defeated South Carolina 35-34 in overtime Saturday.