Michael Van Buren Jr. threw for 202 yards and a touchdown Saturday night as LSU suffocated Western Kentucky’s high-powered offense for a 13-10 nonconference win in Baton Rouge, La.
Van Buren, who completed 25 of 42 passes with an interception, gave the Tigers the lead for hood when he hit Trey’Dez Green for an 11-yard scoring strike with 1:32 left in the first half. It capped an eight-play, 62-yard drive.
Damian Ramos added to the lead with an 18-yard field goal with 5:55 remaining in the third quarter and a 29-yarder at the 11:15 mark of the fourth. LSU (7-4) finished with 328 yards and was only 3 of 16 on third down.
But that didn’t matter because the Tigers simply smothered the Hilltoppers (8-3) and a passing attack that entered the night ranked 10th in the FBS with 296.1 yards per game. Quarterback Rodney Tisdale Jr. completed only 20 of 39 attempts for 128 yards and two interceptions.
Tisdale wasn’t helped by a spate of drops and an offensive line that couldn’t stop LSU’s strong pass rush. The Tigers bagged five sacks, two by Jimari Butler, and limited Western Kentucky to 4 of 15 on third down and 0-for-3 on fourth down.
The Hilltoppers’ lone touchdown occurred with 1:05 left on a 71-yard fumble return by Dylan Flowers. However, their onside kick didn’t travel the required 10 yards and was recovered by Davhon Keys anyway to seal the outcome.
The Hilltoppers scored first with 11:43 left in the first quarter when John Cannon connected on a 36-yard field goal, polishing off a 57-yard drive. They had a chance to add to the lead in the second quarter when they got a first-and-goal at the 6.
But a gadget play didn’t work on second down when backup quarterback Marvis Parrish’s pass to a wide-open Tisdale was short and then dropped. On fourth down from the 4, Tisdale tried to hit Matthew Henry in the back of the end zone but the pass was incomplete.
