The Recap: LSU 72, Grambling State 10

The LSU football team bounced back from a Week 1 loss to Florida State with a 72-10 win over Grambling State in Tiger Stadium on Saturday night.

LSU’s offense scored touchdowns on the first 10 drives of the game, which spanned into the game’s final minutes after the Tigers played three different quarterbacks (Jayden Daniels, Garrett Nussmeier and Rickie Collins).

Meanwhile, the defense gave up 10 points in the first quarter and allowed the GSU offense to get into the red zone on the team’s first three drives on offense. The result was a touchdown, a field goal and a missed field goal.

The Tigers closed out the half by forcing a pair of punts on defense, then started the second half with an interception that led to another LSU touchdown on offense. By game’s end, the LSU defense closed out with eight drives that resulted in five punts (and a safety), an interception, a fumble recovery and a turnover on downs.

Here’s the complete rundown of every scoring drive during the game.

FIRST QUARTER

Grambling wins toss and defers; LSU will receive; GSU will defend North end-zone.

Notre Dame transfer running back Logan Diggs got the start for the Tigers, and he took his first carry in purple-and-gold 12 yards for a first down.

Then came some more chunk plays. First, Jayden Daniels hit Kyren Lacy for a 21-yard gain. Then, Daniels found an open Brian Thomas Jr. for a 26-yard touchdown.

LSU 7, Grambling State 0 – 12:11 remaining in first quarter

Not to be outdone on the opening drive, Grambling State had an answer against an LSU defense that allowed 31 points in the second half against Florida State in Week 1.

Quarterback Myles Crawley hit Antonio Jones for a 34-yard grab, and running back Chance Williams followed it up with an impressive 22-yard run.

After a 15-yard pass got the offense into the red zone, Crawley found JR Walters in the end zone, and Walters did the rest with an impressive grab over LSU cornerback Denver Harris – who was seeing his first game action for the Tigers after transferring in from Texas A&M this offseason.

LSU 7, Grambling State 7 – 9:09 remaining in first quarter

After a 12-yard run by Daniels, the Tigers struck for another score.

Wide receiver Chris Hilton went vertical on the third snap of the series and Daniels hit him in stride for the 47-yard touchdown.

LSU 14, Grambling State 7 – 8:30 remaining in first quarter

Grambling State got backed up on a 3rd-and-15 from their own 21-yard line, but the Tigers couldn’t stop running back Chance Williams as he took off for a 36-yard run to move the chains. Williams then added 19 more yards on his next two carries, and GSU got back into the red zone on a 16-yard pass to Antonio Jones.

Facing a 4th-and-goal from the 6-yard line, GSU elected to kick the field goal.

LSU 14, Grambling State 10 – 2:21 remaining in first quarter

LSU started fast, once again. Jayden Daniels found Malik Nabers for a 30-yard gain. Then came a pair of 12-yard rushes by Daniels and running back Josh Williams.

SECOND QUARTER

After a couple quick dump offs to wide receiver Malik Nabers, he found the end zone for the first time this season to extend LSU’s lead less than a minute into the first quarter.

LSU 21, Grambling State 10 – 14:17 remaining in second quarter

A pass interference call on LSU cornerback Denver Harris got GSU’s drive going, then the offense quickly hit on some big gains of 25 yards and 27 yards, with the 27-yard run coming on another 3rd-and-long for the LSU defense.

Back inside the 10-yard line, the GSU offense ultimately settled for a field goal attempt, which was missed wide right.

LSU took over and marched down the field for a fourth touchdown on four drives. The MVP of the drive was running back Logan Diggs, who had carries of 8 yards, 6 yards, 16 yards, 1 yard and 3 yards, which he took in from the goal line for his first score at LSU.

LSU 28, Grambling State 10 – 7:22 remaining in the second quarter

After forcing a quick 3-and-out, Grambling State punted for the first time in the game – which came less than six minutes before halftime.

For the fifth time in five drives, LSU’s offense marched down the field and scored.

Kyren Lacy’s 38-yard grab on the first snap moved the offense into Grambling State territory, and a couple runs by Josh Williams moved the chains twice. On 3rd-and-Goal from the 10-yard line, Daniels found Brian Thomas in the end zone for his second touchdown catch of the game.

LSU 35, Grambling State 10 – 2:00 remaining in the second quarter

Some poor tackling on a 13-yard run moved Grambling State near midfield, but the team’s two-minute drill didn’t result in much from there. GSU punted the ball back to the Tigers with a little more than a minute remaining in the half.

An 18-yard run by LSU running back Logan Diggs got the offense to midfield, and a 15-yard catch-and-run by Malik Nabers got the ball near the 25-yard line with less than 20 seconds until halftime.

After Brian Thomas got the Tigers inside the 10-yard line, Daniels capped it off with a touchdown pass to Kyren Lacy, who made a nice grab to secure the score in the corner of the end zone.

LSU’s offense scored a touchdown on every drive of the first half.

LSU 42, Grambling State 10 – 0:01 remaining in the second quarter

HALFTIME: LSU 42, Grambling State 10

THIRD QUARTER

Grambling received the ball first, and after picking up a first down, the Tigers forced the game’s first turnover when linebacker Greg Penn came up with an interception. Harold Perkins was credited with the quarterback hurry on the play.

LSU switched from Jayden Daniels to Garrett Nussmeier at quarterback after halftime. Daniels finished the first half 18-for-24 passing for 269 yards and five touchdowns. He rushed it five times for 29 yards.

Nussmeier quickly found Malik Nabers for a 29-yard pass, then Logan Diggs added a 21-yard run to get the Tigers inside the GSU 5-yard line. After three straight runs by Diggs got just three yards, the Tigers went quarterback sneak with Nussmeier at the goal line to get the touchdown on fourth down.

To this point, LSU has scored touchdowns on all seven possessions for the offense.

LSU 49, Grambling State 10 – 9:30 remaining in the second quarter

After a three-and-out by the Grambling offense that resulted in a punt, GSU linebacker Jaquavis Richmond was injured on the play. The lengthy stoppage of play resulted in Richmond being carted off the field on a stretcher.

When play resumed, the Tigers turned to true freshman running back Kaleb Jackson for six carries that resulted in 32 yards and his first career touchdown.

LSU 56, Grambling State 10 – 4:37 remaining in the third quarter

After another three-and-out by the GSU offense, Nussmeier and LSU took over near midfield.

The Tigers drove the ball into the red zone again, with a 21-yard gain coming on a run by Jackson after fellow true freshman Shelton Sampson Jr. dropped a would-be touchdown on a throw from Nussmeier.

The quarter ended with LSU picking up a first down on a run by Logan Diggs.

FOURTH QUARTER

Nussmeier came out in the fourth quarter and delivered a great throw into the corner of the end zone for freshman Shelton Sampson, but another would-be touchdown was dropped.

No matter, the Tigers got into the end zone thanks to another touchdown run by freshman Kaleb Jackson – his second of the night.

LSU 63, Grambling State 10 – 13:30 remaining in the fourth quarter

After true freshman Da’Shawn Womack got in on his first collegiate tackle, the Tigers forced a fumble on third down, and Florida transfer and former Live Oak standout defensive lineman Jalen Lee grabbed the loose ball to give the LSU offense possession.

LSU subbed in true freshman quarterback Rickie Collins, who scampered for a six-yard gain on his first collegiate touch. Then, the Tigers turned to running back Noah Cain for a handful of carries, eventually punching it into the end zone on a 1-yard run.

LSU 70, Grambling State 10 – 10:39 remaining in the fourth quarter

Another three-and-out by GSU’s offense resulted in a punt, and a bad snap gave the Tigers a safety and two more points.

LSU 72, Grambling State 10 – 9:15 remaining in the fourth quarter

The LSU offense took the kickoff back 14 yards on the return by Greg Clayton, and the Tigers stuck with true freshman quarterback Rickie Collins.

A heavy dose of freshman quarterback Rickie Collins and running back Noah Cain ate about five minutes off the clock, and the Tigers chose to hand the ball off on fourth down instead of kicking the field goal. The run was short of the chains, and GSU took the ball back on offense.

It was the first LSU drive of the game that didn’t result in a touchdown.

GSU’s offense took the ball back with a little more than 4 minutes in the game.

After crossing midfield, GSU wasn’t able to get any points in the game’s final minutes.

FINAL: LSU 72, Grambling State 10