Scott, No. 7 LSU sweep away North Texas in blowout fashion

 

WERE YOU THERE?

Did you attend this game? If so, start chronicling your sports memories today with ESPN's Sports Passport. Enter the games you attend, upload your photos and share your memories! I was there »

Top 25 Overview

It was over when... Charles Scott broke a 39-yard run for LSU's first touchdown on the Tigers' first play from scrimmage. Gameball goes to... Scott, who broke out for touchdown runs of 39 and 43 yards, and needed only seven carries to compile his 102 yards. Stat of the game... 7.7: LSU piled up 216 yards on just 28 carries for a 7.7 average. Complete Top 25 Overview

Team Stat Comparison
1st Downs	11	24
Total Yards	199	425
Passing	155	209
Rushing	44	216
Penalties	9-81	6-45
3rd Down Conversions	6-17	7-13
4th Down Conversions	0-0	0-1
Turnovers	1	1
Possession	32:22	27:38

Air/Ground Leaders
North Texas Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Vizza 22/40 149 0 0 Tune 1/2 6 0 0	LSU Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Hatch 10/17 125 0 1 Lee 10/18 84 0 0
North Texas Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Montgomery 8 33 0 17 Dunbar 9 11 0 7	LSU Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Scott 7 102 2 43 Murphy 5 36 0 12
North Texas Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Fitzgerald 11 75 0 14 Dibrell 7 49 0 9	LSU Receiving   REC YDS TD LG LaFell 7 69 0 17 Mitchell 4 50 0 20

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER				UNT	LSU
	TD	11:26	Charles Scott 39 Yd Run (Colt David Kick)	0	7
	FG	07:55	Colt David 41 Yd	0	10
SECOND QUARTER				UNT	LSU
	FG	14:55	Jeremy Knott 33 Yd	3	10
	TD	12:54	Charles Scott 43 Yd Run (Colt David Kick)	3	17
	TD	09:43	Trindon Holliday 92 Yd Punt Return (Colt David Kick)	3	24
	FG	00:00	Colt David 37 Yd	3	27
THIRD QUARTER				UNT	LSU
	TD	07:17	Andrew Hatch 7 Yd Run (Colt David Kick)	3	34
	TD	01:46	Quinn Johnson 5 Yd Run (Colt David Kick)	3	41

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Charles Scott keeps breaking loose for long gains and LSU's running game looks as powerful as ever.

If the seventh-ranked Tigers don't find a passing game to match, they may not have it so easy when they begin Southeastern Conference play at Auburn next weekend.

Scott ran for touchdowns of 39 and 43 yards, Trindon Holliday scored on a 92-yard punt return, and LSU cruised to a 41-3 victory over winless North Texas on Saturday night.

Fast Facts

• LSU improved to 16-0 in non-conference games under Les Miles, and 32-0 all-time against current members of the Sun Belt conference.

• LSU has outscored opponents 82-16 through its first two games.

• North Texas falls to 0-9 on the road under coach Todd Dodge.

-- ESPN research

The dominant victory came at a price. Starting linebacker Darry Beckwith left the game with an apparent knee injury. Beckwith could not put any pressure on his injured leg as two trainers helped him to the sideline, where he was given crutches. LSU head coach Les Miles declined to specify what the injury was other than to say "lower body."

"Certianly, it's serious but not a terribly serious injury," Miles said. "It's not something that will cost him the season. He's either ready to play next week or a couple weeks as it appears to me."

For the second time in as many games, LSU (2-0) didn't need much of a passing game to win big. However, coach Les Miles said earlier in the week that he hoped to see his new quarterbacks complete more passes downfield in their second game, and that didn't happen often.

LSU's longest reception was a 28-yard gain by running back Richard Murphy on a quick screen from Jarrett Lee. This against a team that had yielded 726 yards passing in its opening two losses.

Andrew Hatch, who started and got most of the snaps, finished 10-of-17 for 145 and threw his first career interception. His only touchdown came on a 7-yard keeper. Lee was 10-of-18 for 84 yards. Both quarterbacks were guilty of missing badly on throws down field to receivers who appeared open.

Both quarterback only became front-runners to start when Ryan Perrilloux was dismissed last spring. They certainly didn't need their confidence shaken by criticism from their coach, who offered only words of encouragement after the game -- at least publicly.

"Hatch did some really good things today except" for his interception, Miles said. "That's why it's the second game of season. I like both quarterbacks in bits and pieces. ... They learned and they continue to learn."

Scott, who had 160 yards rushing and two TDs against Appalachian State in LSU's opener, wound up with 102 yards on seven carries against North Texas.

Holliday, a track standout who nearly made the U.S. Olympic team as sprinter, also had a 59-yard punt return and finished with 163 return yards.

"The thing that really broke it open was the punt return" for a touchdown, UNT coach Todd Dodge said. "You talk about outkicking the coverage? We outkicked everybody that could handle No. 8."

Holliday's 92-yard return also was his first career TD on a punt (he's returned two kickoffs for scores). He rocketed through a gaping hole in the middle of the field and cut outside on a play that tied for the second-longest punt return in school history with Kenny Konz against Tulane in 1949. Eddie Kennison's 100-yard return against Mississippi State in 1994 was the longest.

North Texas never got closer to LSU's end zone than the Tigers' 16-yard line. That drive, which started at the LSU 25 after Kylie Hill's interception, produced the Mean Green's only points on Jeremy Knott's 33-yard field goal.

North Texas starter Giovanni Vizza was 22-of-40 for 149 yards. Backup Riley Dodge, inserted for a trick play, was intercepted on his only throw by Curtis Taylor

After opening the season with a 41-13 victory over Appalachian State, LSU had an unexpected weekend off after Hurricane Gustav pounded Baton Rouge two days later and forced the postponement of the Tigers' game against Troy from Sept. 6 to Nov. 15. But with generator power at their indoor field, the Tigers didn't miss any practice time and still looked sharp in the running game and on defense.

Scott's first touchdown came on LSU's fourth offensive play and the Tigers finished with 216 yards rushing. Fullback Quinn Johnson barreled over tacklers on a 5-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Colt David had field goals of 41 and 37 yards, the second giving LSU a 27-3 halftime lead.

North Texas was unable to stay in Baton Rouge because Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal had canceled numerous hotel reservations by executive order to make room for power line workers still fixing damage caused by Gustav. North Texas had to stay in New Orleans about 80 miles down the Mississippi River.

Dodge, who is from Port Arthur, Texas, said he spent much of Friday night worrying less about LSU than residents in his home state of Texas as Hurricane Ike made landfall.

"I'm sure coach Miles and his team have had to deal with a lot more than we have," Dodge said. "I'm just praying that my hometown of Port Arthur is [OK]. I don't know what it really looks like right now."