Kent State falls 45-13 to LSU in first road test
9/14/2013 10:22:00 PM | Football
BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU used a 21-point first quarter to break away early on its way to a 45-13 victory over Kent State on Saturday night at Tiger Stadium.
Jeremy Hill exploded for a 58-yard touchdown run to cap the game's opening drive, then added a 12-yard scoring run later in the quarter to highlight a big day for the LSU running back. Tigers' quarterback Zach Mettenberger added touchdown passes to Jarvis Landry of 21 yards in the first quarter and 31 yards in the second quarter.
"It is a loss, but LSU is a very good football team," said Kent State head coach Paul Haynes. "Our guys fought. We talked at halftime and said we were going to keep grinding and keep fighting … and we did that. This is a difficult atmosphere with one of the top five programs in the country. And our guys still battled and fought like crazy."
After spotting LSU its 21-0 lead, Kent State (1-2) found a saprk on offense, using a 2-yard touchdown run by quarterback Colin Reardon and 37 and 36-yard field goals by Anthony Melchiori to outscore the Tigers 13-10 during the second and third quarters.
Reardon led the Golden Flashes on a nine-play, 75-yard march that closed with the first touchdown run of his career with 12:59 to play before halftime. The freshman connected on eight of his 10 passes for 84 yards in the opening half and 20-of-29 for 190 yards overall while completing his third straight interception-free game to open his college career.
"Each week Colin is continuing to get better," said Haynes. "Our offensive line is also starting to get better. They are starting to gel as a group up front so we are protecting Colin a lot better … And more and more guys around him are making plays."
Ten different Kent State players caught passes from Reardon, including Josh Boyle, who led the Flashes with 53 yards on three receptions.
"We started moving the ball because we started to cut down on some mistakes we had been making," said center Phil Huff. "We really start picking up steam once we start moving."
LSU (3-0) finished strong, adding to its lead in the fourth quarter on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Mettenberger to Odell Beckham and a 12-yard scoring run by Terrence Magee.
Mettenberger completed 13-of-18 for 264 yards and three scores while Hill led the LSU rushing attack with 117 yards on 11 first-half carries before giving way to the trio of Terrence Magee, Alfred Blue and Kenny Hilliard. Those backups combined for another 176 yards on 34 attempts as the Tigers finished with 307 rushing yards and an 8.3 per-carry average.
"We knew what they were going to run and they weren't trying to hide anything," said defensive back Jordan Italiano. "We just did not do a good job executing. It was fundamental stuff that gave up big plays. We have to correct that."
The Golden Flashes go back on the road in the next two weeks with games at Penn State on Sept. 21 and at Western Michigan on Sept. 28.
"It's not going to get any easier," said Haynes. "We have to go on the road against another good football team next week. But our guys are still hungry and we can still reach every goal we wanted to accomplish this season … I love this locker room and I love this team. We will continue to get better and I am excited about the future."
Postgame Notes
Senior Tyshon Goode raised his career catch total to 150 and is two shy of second place among Kent State's career leaders.
Redshirt freshman Colin Reardon scored his first rushing touchdown early in the second quarter. He went his third straight game without an interception, going 20-29 for 190 yards.
Freshman Nick Holley had his first career fumble recovery on a second quarter punt.
Senior Dri Archer made his first catch of the season.
Sophomore Anthony Melchiori matched a season-long 62-yard punt. He also made his first two field goal attempts of the night.
Senior tight end Tim Erjavec made his first catch of the season.
Redshirt freshman William Woods made his first career catch.
Redshirt freshman Ernest Calhoun made a career-high four catches.
Sophomore Jordan Italiano had a career-high eight tackles.
Ten different Kent State receivers caught passes Saturday, the most this season.
The Golden Flashes won the turnover battle for the first time this season and did not turn the ball over for the first time this season.
The loss snapped Kent State's six-game winning streak in true road games.
Postgame Quotes
KENT STATE HEAD COACH PAUL HAYNES QUOTES
Opening statement…
"Make no mistake, it is a loss. LSU's a very good football team. I give them a lot of credit. They had a good game plan, and it was very well coached. Our guys fought. We talked about it at halftime, after (LSU) scored 31 points, and it was 31-10. We said we were going to keep grinding and keep on fighting, and there are a lot of things that we can continue to get better at during the second half. We saw that. Each week, we have to continue to get better, and it's not getting any easier. We have to go on the road again against another good football team. We have to stick together, we have to make sure that we continue to get better and we will. Our guys are still hungry, and every goal that we wanted to accomplish we still can."
On QB Colin Reardon …
"I still think he's continued to get better each week. Plus, our offensive line is getting better also. I think we're starting to gel as a group up there on the front. We're protecting him a lot better. He's continued to get better, and we will get better as a group. We'll get back. We'll lick our wounds on this plane ride back, and we'll get ready for Penn State tomorrow."
On making improvements …
"When you come into an atmosphere like this – and this is by far to me one of the Top 5 programs in the country – you go out there and you battle, and our guys did. They fought like crazy, and we will learn from this game. There will not be another setting like this that we will have to sit there and go into. We're ready for it. Next week will be a hostile environment, but we've been on the road with a hostile environment like this one. We'll be a little bit more prepared for it. I love this locker room, and I love this team. We will continue to fight and get better, and I'm excited for the future."
KENT STATE OFFENSIVE PLAYER QUOTES
OL Phil Huff
On the first half …
"We studied and we were ready for some blitzes. LSU brought some we studied, and I think that they brought a couple of new ones. They did not show some we thought that they were going to. There were just a lot of mistakes, a lot of mental mistakes. We cannot have all of the penalties; they just killed drives that we had going."
On the second half of the game …
"We cut down on some of the mistakes that we had. Once we started moving I think we picked up some steam pretty well. We were able to throw a little tonight, and that was successful too. Once we get going I think we will be pretty tough to stop."
On success running the ball …
"I think it was just matching up, getting body on body. With Treyion [Durham], if you just get a path halfway opened up he can usually get through some tackles and sneak through some gaps."
KENT STATE DEFENSIVE PLAYER QUOTES
S Jordan Italiano
On the team's performance on defense …
"We knew what LSU was going to run. They were obviously not trying to hide anything. We just did not do a good job executing."
On what can be improved …
"Fundamentals can be improved. Tackling, we gave up big plays, and so on. We need to improve on that. We just need to come back and keep on fighting. We need to do a better job in the next game."
LSU HEAD COACH LES MILES QUOTES
Opening Statement …
"First of all I would like to congratulate the Kent State team. I felt like they had the personnel of a team that had a great team last year. I like their tailback (Trayion Durham) and their quarterback (Colin Reardon). They are very competitive. I like their kicking game. We did what we were supposed to do. We rushed for 300 yards. We threw for 270 on offense with 55 snaps. We gave up 248 yards on defense and played pretty well at times. The things we have to correct certainly are the missed tackles we had in that contest. We had 11 penalties for 86 yards, and we can't fumble a punt. The good news is the guy that fumbled that punt came right back in and put a fair catch up and made a difficult catch. I think that is what we needed to do. Zach (Mettenberger) is off to a really good start at 13-for-18. He has thrown nine touchdown passes in the last three games which is a school record. We had two 100-yard backs. (Jeremy) Hill and (Terrence) Magee both went over 100 yards, so there were some good things. Again, we have to eliminate some of the mistakes but all in all a nice outing. I understand the Auburn team won so we are looking forward to facing a quality SEC opponent in our stadium next week."
On running back Jeremy Hill's performance …
"To be honest with you there were several cuts that (Hill) missed, and there were some landmarks that we didn't enjoy. He is not quite there it appeared to me. I am not saying he is not giving us great effort. That is not what I'm saying at all. What I am saying is he's not quite there yet, but he is coming. His shape is better. It is an interesting thing. You cannot buy snaps. Snaps are a great teacher. He just hasn't had many."
On the defensive personnel …
"We are going to use a lot of guys on defense. It is a very young group and a group that needs some reps. The linebackers rotated very quickly. We will look at that and evaluate that group. The good news is we are rotating some talented guys. We are just going to play the guys that are the best."
On the team's play thus far into the season …
"I think we are on pace. We are minus a couple SEC games of where we need to be. I think it will be a great test next week."
On wide receiver Odell Beckham's injury …
"Odell (Beckham Jr.) is a tough kid. He wants to play. He wants snaps and doesn't want to have a game go by that he doesn't touch the ball and is not counted on to make big plays. That being said we put some tape on it and let some other guys field punts."
LSU DEFENSIVE PLAYER QUOTES
DT Ego Ferguson
On how he feels about the defensive front…
"We got a lot of stuff to work on, but I feel like we are improving each and every game, getting ready for SEC play."
On what improvements he wants to see…
"We just better work on communication and staying low, hitting our pressure points. That's what coach preaches every day. The effort is there, and it is just something we need to work on."
On having Anthony Johnson beside him…
"There's a lot of help. He is one of the best DT's in the country right now, and just with him taking a lot of attention soon enough people aren't going to know who to choose when they need help."
CB Jalen Mills
On the performance of the younger players…
"Coach does a great job with them. Every play and practice starting from Monday until Friday, we always have our safeties saying the down, and he picks a safety every day to say the down and distance to make all the picks. I think that's a great job by coach having those guys communicate to us, the D-line and the linebackers."
On how he views depth in the freshmen class…
"I think it's excellent. Young guys have to be ready to play big roles, just as I did last year, so I think it's good coach is putting those young guys in so they can be ready for when SEC comes along."
On what he thinks the defense can improve on…
"Focus on what we have to do. Sometimes we may get relaxed, and that's when the offence may be running tempo. We really have to focus now and play defense all four quarters like we should."
LSU OFFENSIVE PLAYER QUOTES
QB Zach Mettenberger
On Jeremy Hill's performance against Kent State…
"I think he showed that he is doing pretty well. He picked up right where he left off. It was his first full game back. He hit the ground running, and I'm excited to see what he will do in the future. We have a stable of running backs at LSU. We always have a great running game. The offensive line made a lot of holes out there for those guys and gave me good protection."
On the early start against Kent State…
"The early starts have been great. We just have to keep plowing away and stay consistent. We need to continue scoring every drive. There are moments when we get down and become lackadaisical. We are going to get that right this week."
On next week's first conference game against Auburn…
"It is another game and another step to where we want to be ultimately. We are going to start tomorrow preparing for Auburn."
WR Odell Beckham Jr.
On playing with more confidence…
"It is about confidence. On our offense we are distributing the ball to play makers. There is a lot of chemistry on the offense, and we are clicking on all cylinders. Each and every day we are going to improve."
On Terrence Magee's performance against Kent State…
"His performance didn't surprise me. I told a few people that I just love Terrence Magee. My freshman year I saw him run against Ole Miss, and he is just a tenacious and vicious runner. He is going to be a great running back with Jeremy Hill. We have seen the things he can do. He is only going to improve as well."
RB Jeremy Hill
On starting the game against Kent State…
"I think it was a good weight lifted off my shoulders. I got to get my first start. After that it was just me getting back into the rhythm of things. They put me out there earlier tonight to knock the dust off and get the game speed back. I think next week we will do the same thing and rotate the running backs."
