Tigers rout Bulldogs; top of all three polls

LSU overcame a slow start and scored 31 points in the second half during a 58-10 rout over Louisiana Tech on Saturday in Tiger Stadium in front of 95,512 people.

One day after the blowout win, the Tigers (9-1) moved to the top of all three polls (Bowl Championship Series, Associated Press, USA Today Coaches).

The BCS top spot was the first time LSU has ever been in that position during the regular season. The Tigers won the 2003 BCS National Championship after beating Oklahoma, 21-14, in the Sugar Bowl in January 2004.

Against Louisiana Tech, LSU jumped out to a 10-0 lead after a 1-yard touchdown run by Matt Flynn with 12:51 left and a 31-yard field goal by Colt David with 3:35 left in the first quarter.

The Bulldogs closed to three points on a quick drive, but a 44-yard field goal by David and two touchdown passes by Flynn (71-yarder to Terrance Tolliver and a 37-yarder to Brandon LaFell) put the Tigers up 27-7 at the half.

LSU blew the game wide open in the third quarter David started the scoring with a 28-yard field goal with 12:17 left, but then Jacob Hester registered an 87-yard touchdown run up the middle and after Richard Dickson hauled in a 14-yard touchdown pass from Flynn with 8:02 left in the third quarter, the Tigers were up 44-7.

Trindon Holliday added a 14-yard run with just over nine minutes left in the game and Mit Cole caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Perilloux with 4:42 left in the contest to account for the final score.

LSU, which wrapped up the SEC West Championship before taking the field on Saturday thanks to losses by Alabama and Auburn, will now finish its SEC slate with a contest at Ole Miss Saturday and a Nov. 23 contest at home against Arkansas.

The game against Ole Miss will be nationally televised on CBS at 2:30 p.m.

The Rebels are 3-7 overall and are the only winless team in the SEC. Ole Miss beat Memphis 23-21 to start the season, topped Louisiana Tech 24-0 on October 6 and edged Division I-AA Northwestern State, 38-31, on Nov. 3.

How bad has the season been for the Rebels?

The 38 points scored against the Demons, who are 3-7 overall and 2-4 in the Southland Conference, are the most points Ole Miss has scored since 2004.

Northwestern outgained the Rebels in total offense, 499-387. The victory over the Demons was only the 10th for Ed Orgeron, who recently got a vote of confidence from the University administrators.

Ole Miss, which was idle last week, drew only 23,283 fans to the Northwestern State contest. With a strong LSU following in Mississippi, the crowd is expected to be close to the 60,000 mark on Saturday.

The Tigers will play Georgia or Tennessee in the SEC Championship Game on December 1 in Atlanta.

Hoops time

The LSU girls’ basketball team started with an 86-38 win over Samford on Friday and a 73-54 victory over TCU on Saturday.

LSU will play host to Michigan State on Thursday at 7 p.m.

In the win over Samford, Quinna Chaney had a career-high 25 points and Allison Hightower poured in 17 points.

Sylvia Fowles had 10 points, six rebounds and four steals. Against TCU, Fowles scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds. Chaney added 14 points and Hightower chimed in with 12 points.

The men’s team starts its season on Monday when it plays host to Southeastern Louisiana. On Tuesday, LSU will play host to McNeese State at 7 p.m. and then head to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational from Nov. 19 to 21.

Soccer team advances

The LSU soccer team advanced to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament over the weekend in Orange Beach, Ala., but fell to Florida, 1-0, on Friday in two overtimes. The Lady Tigers (11-4-7) beat Auburn in a shootout on Wednesday in the first round of the tournament. The two teams played to a 2-2 tie after two overtimes.

LSU defender Caroline Vanderpool and goalie Valerie Vogler were named to the SEC All-Tournament team for their efforts. It was only the second time the Lady Tigers advanced to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament.

LSU will now wait to see if it receives an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, which starts on Friday.

Volleyball takes two

The LSU volleyball team knocked off two road opponents this weekend and in the process took over the SEC West Division lead.

On Friday, the Lady Tigers topped Mississippi State and on Sunday, they beat Alabama.

LSU now stands at 22-6 overall and 13-5 in the SEC. The Lady Tigers play host to Georgia on Friday (7 p.m.) and Auburn on Sunday (1:30 p.m.).

Against Alabama, Elena Martinez posted a school record 43 digs in the match. Lauren DeGirolamo had a team-best 22 kills and nine blocks.

Kyna Washington and Marina Skender each finished with 16 kills, while Skender posted 17 digs and Washington had 16.

Brittnee Cooper added 11 kills for the Tigers.

Brittney Johnson finished two kills in her first career triple-double, recording eight kills, 60 assists and 11 digs. Michelle Hensgens added 16 digs.

Against MSU, DeGirolamo had 20 kills and 11 blocks.

Cooper added 12 kills with eight blocks, while Washington posted 10 kills, four service aces and a career-high eight blocks.

Martinez had 20 digs and three service aces. Skender added 13 digs in the match.

Photo by Matt McGehee

• Tri-Parish Times LSU quarterback Matt Flynn looks for an open receiver in the Tigers 58-10 rout over Louisiana Tech.