Nussmeier, No. 3 LSU Dominate Southeastern Louisiana in 56-10 Rout

Peter Forest/AP

Garrett Nussmeier showed why LSU’s championship aspirations rest firmly on his shoulders. The junior quarterback accounted for four touchdowns — three through the air and one on the ground — as No. 3 LSU overwhelmed in-state opponent Southeastern Louisiana 56-10 on Saturday night at Tiger Stadium. The Tigers (4-0) delivered their most explosive offensive performance of the young season, piling up 28 points in the second quarter to put the game well out of reach. LSU’s defense set the tone early, holding the Lions (2-2) to just 30 yards of total offense in the first half.

“We have a standard of how we want to play and I thought we upheld that standard,” LSU coach Brian Kelly said. “There is no perfection out there, but there was definitely some progress.”

After Ju’Juan Johnson found the end zone twice on short runs in the second quarter, Nussmeier engineered back-to-back scoring drives. He connected with Barion Brown on a 17-yard touchdown strike, then hit Zavion Thomas from nine yards out to stretch the lead to 35-0 by halftime. Nussmeier, who has been managing a torso injury this season, looked sharp and confident. He finished 25 of 31 for 273 yards before exiting after a 23-yard touchdown pass to tight end Bauer Sharp on LSU’s opening drive of the second half.

“This week was about trying to find our rhythm and getting into stride heading into SEC play,” Nussmeier said. “I think we just did a better job as an offense. We were out there having fun, and that’s when we play our best football.”

Backup quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. took over late, scoring on a keeper in the fourth quarter for his first career touchdown. By then, LSU had long since put the game away.

Southeastern Louisiana’s lone highlight came midway through the third quarter when quarterback Carson Camp hit Deantre Jackson for a 14-yard touchdown pass against LSU’s second-unit defense. The game wasn’t without its blemishes. For the second straight week, LSU had a player ejected for a personal foul. Offensive lineman D.J. Chester was tossed for targeting during a third-quarter kick return after a missed 59-yard field goal attempt.

Still, Kelly was encouraged by the Tigers’ step forward.

“The goal tonight was to play to the standard, not the opposition,” Kelly said. “We had the better team and the better players, but it comes down to execution. I thought we did some good things tonight.”

Takeaways

• Southeastern Louisiana: The Lions hung around early, trailing only 7-0 after one quarter, but managed just two first downs in the opening half.

• LSU: The Tigers’ offense finally clicked, producing 12 plays of 10 yards or more and posting their highest first-half point total since a 2023 win over South Alabama.

Up Next

• Southeastern Louisiana returns home to face UTRGV next Saturday.

• LSU travels to Oxford to open SEC play against Mississippi.