Southeastern Louisiana defensive lineman Kaleb Proctor broke through and corralled LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier shortly before halftime for his second sack.
But the No. 3 Tigers’ veteran passer popped back up and immediately delivered a 17-yard touchdown strike to Barion Brown the next play.
The Lions (2-2), though a strong Southland program and defense, may not have represented quite the same challenge as Florida a week ago or Ole Miss and others on the horizon. And LSU may not have set records.
But the 56-10 victory appeared to show signs of progress toward high expectations for the unit as Nussmeier continues to get over the hump of a torso injury that has hindered him some early in the season.
“We have a standard of the way we wanted to play, and I thought we upheld that standard,” coach Brian Kelly said. “There’s no perfection out there, but there was definitely some progress. So we made the progress that we were looking for. Now we’ve got to build on that.”
Nussmeier’s throw to Brown already marked a season-high scoring output at 28-0, and he found Zavion Thomas (John Ehret less than two minutes later for another first-half touchdown.
The Tigers’ star quarterback added a 23-yard touchdown to tight end Bauer Sharp, the Oklahoma transfer’s first in purple and gold, to stretch the margin to 42-0.
Nussmeier finished 25-for-31 (81%) for 273 yards and three touchdowns — season-highs in yards, touchdowns and completion percentage — in two and a half quarters of action.
“You look at the efficiency in which he threw the football, he was targeting the football, seeing the field,” Kelly said. “Whether (opponents) are a step behind or not, it’s still recognition and feeling comfort in terms of him throwing and then certainly running the football as well. Yeah, we’re not saying we beat the No. 1 team in the country. But it still requires the technical development we hadn’t seen. And now that he’s healthy he’s able to do a lot more.”
Kelly and company showed their confidence early in Nussmeier’s turning the corner in his recovery as they called and converted a pair of short-yardage keepers on their second possession: moving the chains on a third-and-2, then cashing in a first-and-goal.
Nussmeier went on to add a career-long 26-yard run in the second quarter and connected on a season-high seven completions of 15 yards or more.
“It was great,” he said. “I thought (offensive coordinator Joe) Sloan did an awesome job calling the game, and so I thought we executed very well and took opportunities down the field and made plays.”
Thirteen different receivers caught passes — including 10 from Nussmeier — led by Sharp’s 72 yards on five receptions.
And sophomore running back Ju’Juan Johnson, the former record-setting Lafayette Christian quarterback, had a career night with eight carries for 43 yards and his first two college rushing touchdowns — adding to a scoring catch against Nicholls State early last season.
“I just think he sees the game really well,” Kelly said. “I think his natural instincts took over at that position, and I think we all saw the same things — very impressed with the way he played, the way he ran, catches the football, does a lot of really good things for us. He’s a really good football player, and we knew that, right? I think we all knew about him coming out of high school in terms of what he could do, and we saw a bunch of that tonight.”
LSU closed the night with a season-high 530 total yards and a season-best 9-for-14 (64.3%) third-down efficiency, including 6-for-9 with Nussmeier at the helm.
Mississippi State transfer Michael Van Buren Jr. relieved Nussmeier and went 9-for-11 for 120 yards and a 27-yard touchdown to Kyle Parker — the redshirt sophomore’s first of the season — and rushed four times for 16 yards and a touchdown.
Sophomore safety Dashawn Spears (Denham Springs) had four tackles to lead eight different Tigers with at least three stops. And freshman Damien Shanklin‘s first two career sacks and the first by Dylan Carpenter (St. Amant) highlighted the defense’s four-sack night.
“When it happens out there on the field, it’s like you’re back in high school,” veteran defensive tackle Jacobian Guillory (Alexandria) said of seeing young players gain confidence. “When you see it click, like, ‘Oh, I deserve to be out here’ — when you see that in guys, that’s the stuff that you don’t get to see with the football team. Those are the most wonderful moments.”
Proctor (Oak Grove) and linebacker K.K. Reno (Catholic-New Iberia) were again among Southeastern Louisiana’s defensive leaders.
Reno led all players with 14 tackles, including one for loss, and Proctor’s five tackles included game-highs of two sacks and three tackles for loss.
And former Edna Karr running back Deantre Jackson helped the Lions finally reach the end zone on a 14-yard catch-and-run from Carson Camp.
Southeastern Louisiana returns home next week to open conference play against Texas-Rio Grande Valley (4-0).
LSU (4-0, 1-0) will visit No. 13 Ole Miss (4-0, 1-0).