Category: Sports

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Joe Burrow bounced up immediately from a high-speed hit that looked like it could have given the LSU quarterback whiplash as he was sent crashing into the Auburn bench area.

 

Trotting resolutely back to the line of scrimmage, Burrow resumed his school-record eighth career 300-yard passing performance in a tense, top-10 clash that put a premium on grit and perseverance.

Burrow passed for 321 yards and a touchdown, ran for 47 yards and another score, and second-ranked LSU edged No. 9 Auburn 23-20 on Saturday.

“If your quarterback shows toughness like that, it can kind of get your team going,” Burrow said. “If you lay down on the field and don’t hop right back up, it shows your team that you are not really into it.”

The victory ensured LSU (8-0, 4-0 SEC) would be unbeaten heading into its highly anticipated Nov. 9 tilt at Alabama, which entered this weekend ranked No. 1.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire rushed for 136 yards and touchdown for LSU, which wasn’t able to put away Auburn (6-2, 3-2) until Derrick Dillon recovered an onside kick with 2:31 left.

“It was a gut check tonight,” LSU coach Ed Orgeron said, praising the way his players stuck together. “They didn’t want to be denied.”

While LSU’s prolific, up-tempo spread offense rolled up 508 yards, the unit didn’t approach its 50.1-point scoring average against an Auburn defense that thwarted LSU drives into its territory with a pair of fourth-down stops and an interception.

“They fought their guts out and our defense played unbelievable,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. “We had opportunities and we didn’t seize the moment. We just didn’t get it done offensively.”

LSU had not previously scored fewer than 36 points in a game, but Auburn’s defensive front put pressure on Burrow, sacking him three times.

Still, Burrow didn’t flinch when he was leveled along the sideline after 14-yard scramble on third-and-12 in the first half. He completed five of his next six throws, ending with a 20-yard touchdown on a fade to Terrace Marshall Jr.

Burrow completed 32 of 42 passes. His top target was Ja’Marr Chase, who caught eight passes for 123 yards.

“We showed toughness today. It was not a pretty win by any means,” Burrow said. “SEC games aren’t going to be pretty. When you can come out on top of a top-10 team and feel like you could have played better, it’s always a good thing.”

Bo Nix completed 15 of 35 passes for 157 yards and one late touchdown to Seth Williams that gave Auburn the opportunity to set up a meaningful onside kick.

D.J. Williams rushed for 130 yards for Auburn, which looked primed to go ahead by a touchdown in the third quarter when Williams sprinted into the open field from his own 20.

Safety Grant Delpit forced Williams out of bounds just inside the 10, and Auburn couldn’t parlay the 70-yard run into a touchdown, settling for a field goal to make it 13-10.

That lead lasted until five minutes remained in the third quarter, in part because Burrow’s screen to Chase was stopped on fourth-and-goal from the Auburn 2. Later in the quarter, Burrow’s pass intended for Chase was intercepted by Roger McCreary at the Auburn 2.

LSU hadn’t trailed that late in a game all season, but LSU finally pushed in front by going back to a running game that had struggled most of the first three quarters. Edwards-Helaire ran four straight times for gains for 45 yards, capped by his 6-yard score to put LSU in front 16-13.

Burrow’s 7-yard rushing TD, capping another run-heavy drive, widened the lead to 23-13.

THE TAKEAWAY

Auburn: Nix looked more prepared to play in a hostile environment than he did at Florida two weeks earlier. The freshman made his share of plays, but wasn’t quite consistent enough for Auburn to keep pace with a more seasoned and prolific LSU offense down the stretch.

LSU: Defensively, the game was encouraging for LSU, which sacked Nix three times, held his completion percentage below 50 percent.

“When our defense plays like that, nobody is going to beat us,” Burrow said.

But the offense has stalled in the red zone a half dozen times in the past two games. LSU has gotten away with it so far, but that might not cut it in Tuscaloosa.

FLAG FEST

Auburn and LSU combined to commit 27 penalties for 226 yards. Auburn was flagged 15 times, and much like in their loss at Florida, there were several pre-snap penalties that Malzahn called “a huge problem.”

“We talked about that. I thought we were going to do better. We didn’t,” Malzahn said. “It was loud and all that, but it doesn’t matter.”

‘BAMA BECKONING

LSU players have largely avoided talking about the tilt in Tuscaloosa for fear of getting ahead of themselves. Now it sounds like they’re ready to embrace it.

Discussing how he expects his team to handle the next two weeks, LSU defensive lineman Rashard Lawrence said, “We live for the big moment.”

UP NEXT

Auburn: Hosts Mississippi on Saturday.

LSU: Heads into its usual off week before its traditional early November date with Alabama.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — After constantly talking to his team about the importance of playing complementary football, coach Jimbo Fisher was thrilled to see Texas A&M score touchdowns off each of Mississippi State’s three turnovers in a win on Saturday.

 

“You learn to feed off each other, that’s what sports is about,” Fisher said. “We capitalized today.”

Kellen Mond threw for 234 yards and accounted for five touchdowns to lead Texas A&M to the 49-30 victory.

“Kellen I thought really managed the game well today. …he was so accurate with the football,” Fisher said. “He just keeps growing as a football player.”

The Aggies (5-3, 3-2 SEC) led by 18 points at halftime after taking advantage of two turnovers by Mississippi State (3-5, 1-4).

They didn’t waste any time getting going in the second half when Jalen Wydermyer scored a touchdown on a 52-yard catch and run on the fourth play of the third quarter to make it 35-10.

Garrett Schrader threw a 14-yard pass to Isaiah Zuber for a score to cut the lead to 35-17 on Mississippi State’s first drive of the second half.

But freshman Isaiah Spiller had a 4-yard TD run after that to stretch it to 42-17.

Kylin Hill had a 39-yard run on Mississippi State’s next drive and capped it with a 4-yard touchdown run to get the Bulldogs within 42-24 early in the fourth.

Texas A&M had to punt on its next possession, but Stephen Guidry fumbled after a 25-yard reception on the first play of the next drive and the Aggies recovered. A 2-yard touchdown run by Cordarrian Richardson came after that to make it 49-24 with five minutes left to seal the victory.

Mond had scoring runs of 1 and 12 yards and threw TD passes of 16, 19 and 52 yards.

“Obviously we can still get better as an offense, but it was really good,” Mond said.

Shrader was 13 of 30 for 194 yards with three touchdowns and one interception as the Bulldogs lost their fourth in a row. Hill ran for 150 yards and a score.

It’s the first time the Bulldogs have dropped four straight since a seven-game losing streak in 2005.

“This isn’t where we want to be, and this isn’t what we’re about,” Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead said.

There were about seven minutes left in the first quarter when Mond scored his first touchdown on a 1-yard run that made it 7-0.

Mississippi State was driving on its next possession when Shrader, who was under heavy pressure, threw a pass which was intercepted by Devin Morris.

Moorhead was asked about Shrader’s struggles before halftime.

“I thought (it was) a little bit of it was protection, a little bit of it was where his eyes were,” he said.

The Aggies cashed in on the error when Mond faked a handoff to Spiller and scrambled 12 yards for the touchdown to push the lead to 14-0 near the end of the first.

Hill had a 36-yard run on the first play of the second quarter. Two plays later Shrader connected with Guidry on a 32-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 14-7.

Mond took a hit so hard at the end of a 25-yard run that it knocked off his right shoe. The run got A&M down to the 4-yard line, but Colton Prater was called for unsportsmanlike conduct for a late hit that pushed the Aggies back.

They were still able to get in the end zone on the next play when Mond hit Jhamon Ausbon on a 19-yard touchdown pass to push the lead to 21-7 with about 10 minutes left in the second.

Nick Gibson fumbled later in the second and the ball was recovered by Texas A&M’s Debione Renfro.

Three plays Kendrick Rogers caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Mond to make it 28-7. Rogers looked to be stopped around the 5-yard line, but he wriggled and rolled away from two defenders before shedding another would-be tackler right before the goal line for the score.

The Bulldogs added a 33-yard field goal just before halftime to cut the lead to 28-10.

THE TAKEAWAY

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs need to clean up their mistakes and execute better if they hope to end their losing streak next week against Arkansas before a visit from top-ranked Alabama on Nov. 16 after an off week.

Texas A&M: The Aggies looked good against the struggling Bulldogs and have two more home games where they’ll try to improve before things heat up with trips to 10th-ranked Georgia and No. 2 LSU in consecutive weeks to end the season.

NO TOLERANCE

Fisher was unhappy with the two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties that his team had on Saturday.

“You’ve got to play smarter,” he said. “I don’t care if a guy hits your quarterback or what. We had a couple of (penalties) that I won’t tolerate.”

UP NEXT

Mississippi State: Visits Arkansas next Saturday.

Texas A&M: Takes a break from SEC play by hosting Texas-San Antonio next Saturday.

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi’s off week comes at an optimal time for the Rebels because it gives them an opportunity to recover from a bruising 24-17 loss to Texas A&M.

 

Freshman quarterback John Rhys Plumlee is having a minor knee procedure this week and should be back in time for Ole Miss’ next game Nov. 2 at No. 9 Auburn. Jerrion Ealy, who took a blow to the head in the first half of the loss to Texas A&M, is in concussion protocol and is day-to-day.

Plenty of other Rebels also are dealing with injuries.

Wide receivers Braylon Sanders and Elijah Moore have hamstring issues. Offensive lineman Alex Givens and running back Scottie Phillips have minor knee injuries that require rest over the off week. Center Eli Johnson and right guard Ben Brown are nursing ankle injuries.

“The open date does come at a good time, so we’ll get these guys rested and ready to go against Auburn,” Ole Miss coach Matt Luke said.

The injury report isn’t the only uncertainty looming over Ole Miss.

Through eight games, the Rebels haven’t established an offensive identity. That issue is underscored by Ole Miss’ use of a two-quarterback system with the fleet-footed Plumlee and Matt Corral, who began the season as the starter but missed two games with a rib injury.

The two quarterbacks platooned in the loss to Texas A&M, and the results were suboptimal.

Ole Miss (3-5, 2-3 SEC) had just two touchdown drives, one of which came on a 69-yard touchdown rush by Ealy. Corral was 9 of 17 for 112 yards with an interception. Plumlee was 4 of 12 for 31 yards and had 16 carries for 38 yards.

The issue the Rebels face is that opposing teams don’t respect the throwing ability of Plumlee, who has completed just 47.6 percent of his pass attempts.

When Corral is in, it likely signals a passing play, even though the Rebels have run the ball 62 percent of the time overall.

Being one-dimensional and predictable is tough to overcome in the Southeastern Conference.

“It’s based on certain plays we want to run, which ones they do better and trying to keep the defense off balance,” offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez said. “Listen, I don’t care what people think about playing two quarterbacks, getting into a rhythm and all of that. They don’t understand how we work things. That’s not a concern of mine. We do it in practice all the time.”

Luke didn’t commit to continuing to play both quarterbacks in the game against Auburn. It is unclear if Plumlee’s knee procedure and absence in practice will have an effect on that decision.

The loss to Texas A&M put Ole Miss’ postseason hopes on life support. The Rebels have Auburn, New Mexico State, No. 2 LSU and Mississippi State left on the schedule and must go 3-1 through that stretch to become bowl eligible.

Ole Miss has lost a number of winnable games through the first two months of the season, and now must upset either Auburn or LSU to have a shot at six wins.

“We’re going to focus on Auburn and go recruiting, keep stacking those good classes on top of each other and build this thing and get it to where we want it to be,” Luke said. “I’m very disappointed and sick to my stomach that we didn’t win the (Texas A&M) game. I felt like we had our opportunities to, but I’m also encouraged to know that we’re right there and we’re very close.”

Texas A&M is coming off an important road win that gave the Aggies a dose of confidence. That’s not the case for Joe Moorhead, who didn’t like what he saw as his Mississippi State team lost last week to No. 2 LSU.

 

Moorhead was initially excited about the energy and fight his struggling team showed against LSU. Then he watched the film of the 36-13 loss, the Bulldogs’ third straight.

“There were a ton of missed opportunities throughout that game in all three phases that would have made it a much closer game,” he said. “I am not saying it would have (turned it) into a win, but there were a bunch of plays — and it is not just coach speak — that were left on the field.”

The Bulldogs (3-4, 1-3 SEC) have had a lot of success against Texas A&M recently, winning the last three meetings and four of the last five.

They will face an Aggies team opening a three-game home stretch before wrapping up the regular season with back-to-back road games against top-10 opponents.

The Aggies shook off a loss to top-ranked Alabama by beating Mississippi 24-17 last week

“We’re nowhere close to the way we can play, but our ability to compete, handle moments, momentum swings, ups and downs of the game with a lot of young guys … showed a lot of maturity,” coach Jimbo Fisher said.

After Saturday, the Aggies (4-3, 2-2) host UTSA, have a bye week Nov. 9 and host South Carolina on Nov. 16 before trips to No. 10 Georgia and LSU.

Fisher hopes that his team can use this home stretch to get better before things really heat up again at the end of the season.

“Keep growing, there’s a lot of little things that we can see as coaches that we’re getting better at,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll consistently grow in all three areas as we go. Kids had a great attitude, though, a great demeanor and relentless effort to compete in the game. They did a good job.”

RUNNING DOGS

Mississippi State leads the SEC and is tied for seventh in the nation with 54 running plays of 10 yards or more. Running back Kylin Hill and freshman dual-threat quarterback Garrett Shrader lead the way in that category with 22 such plays each. Hill ranks fourth in the league with 643 yards rushing with five touchdowns. He has a knack for making first downs and 33 of his 134 carries this season have resulted in first downs. Shrader has ran for 440 yards this season and topped 100 yards in a win over Kentucky earlier this season with a career-best 125 yards rushing.

LIMITING BIG PLAYS

The Aggies allowed 250 yards rushing last week against Ole Miss, but the majority of those yards came on a handful of plays, leaving Texas A&M’s team focused on limiting big plays this week.

“(We) played very well in those situations except for only four or five. That’s a low percentage,” Fisher said. “But the results of those four or five are something that we can’t live with. So we have to learn to eliminate those and also, as I say, minimize the damage when you do make a mistake.”

SPILLER’S WORK

Texas A&M freshman Isaiah Spiller ran for 78 yards and a touchdown last week to get back on track after managing just 36 yards rushing combined in the previous three games. Fisher raved about Spiller’s work last week and said he’s been impressed with the strides he’s made this season.

“He just keeps getting better … his confidence overall is growing and you see the consistency and how he’s playing,” Fisher said.

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Ed Orgeron doesn’t have to think long or hard to express what he expects when No. 2 LSU hosts No. 9 Auburn on Saturday.

 

After a youth spent in south Louisiana, rooting for his home state Tigers against a historical Southeastern Conference rival with the same mascot; after his experience as an LSU coach, competing with Auburn’s staff for prized prospects; and after experiencing three thrilling match-ups in the past three seasons, Orgeron has a handle on it.

“We know a lot about them. They know a lot about us. It’s going to be a war,” Orgeron said. “A lot of those guys (at Auburn), we recruited. A lot of our recruits, they recruited.”

LSU (7-0, 3-0 SEC) is favored by more than a touchdown, and that sounds about right to its quarterback, Joe Burrow, who has led an offense averaging 50.1 points per game this season.

“This is the third top-10 team we’ve played,” Burrow said, alluding to victories earlier this season against Texas and Florida . “Going back to last year, we have a lot of guys who have played in a lot of meaningful football games. They do too. Both teams are battle tested. It’s going to be a fun game.”

Burrow’s first big moment for LSU came at Auburn last season, when he led a comeback victory that was capped by Cole Tracy’s field goal as time expired.

In 2017, Orgeron enjoyed one of the top early highlights in his first season as LSU’s permanent head coach against Auburn. LSU trailed 20-0 before storming back to win 27-23 .

And LSU’s visit to Auburn in 2016 precipitated Orgeron’s elevation from defensive assistant to interim head coach — after a wild ending. LSU thought it had won on a touchdown pass from Danny Etling to D.J. Chark as time expired, and began celebrating wildly, initially unaware that officials had ruled the clock hit zero a moment before the snap. Auburn’s 18-13 victory was preserved and then-head coach Les Miles was fired a day later .

This season, Auburn (6-1, 3-1) generally has looked strong on both sides of the ball except for two weeks ago at Florida , where freshman quarterback Bo Nix was intercepted three times.

Still, Auburn has arguably the best defensive line —led by Derrick Brown and Marlon Davidson — that LSU will have faced this season.

Auburn is allowing about an average of 17 points and has yet to give up more than 24 in a game this season.

Auburn also comes in with a sense of urgency, knowing that with one more loss, it loses control of its ability to win the SEC West without help.

When asked if Auburn had to win Saturday, Davidson responded, “Yes, of course.”

MUTUAL RESPECT

Auburn coach Gus Malzahn has gushed about Burrow’s improvement this year.

“When they throw it down the field, they are pretty accurate. They aren’t throwing just to take shots. They usually make you pay,” Malzahn said. “Joe Burrow is very accurate and his timing with his receivers is really impressive.”

Burrow said he remembers being struck as a high school player by Malzahn’s offensive creativity and has enjoyed watching his teams ever since.

“He always has something up his sleeve,” Burrow said. “I’m excited to playing somebody like that.”

BATTLING THE NOISE

Nix sounded confident he could better handle the crowd noise at Tiger Stadium than at Florida, where communication issues plagued Auburn’s offense.

“I felt like it was more on me than it was anybody else,” Nix said. “I didn’t do a good enough job communicating with others, of being loud enough.

“Going forward, I think that the Florida game did help, obviously, a lot, just from experience and being there and doing that,” Nix added. “Now I can just really sit back and do my job and not really worry about the atmosphere.”

LSU defensive lineman Glen Logan said he and fellow pass rushers intend to make Nix’s visit to Death Valley “one he doesn’t want to remember.”

AUBURN LOSING STREAK

Auburn has lost nine straight games at Tiger Stadium, where LSU holds a commanding 18-5-1 advantage in the series. Auburn’s last win in Baton Rouge was a 41-7 victory in 1999.

Current LSU players, some of whom weren’t even born 20 years ago, are still told about Auburn players chomping on cigars on the eye-of-the-tiger logo on the 50-yard line after that last road victory against LSU.

“That won’t happen again,” Logan predicted. “There are going to be lot of things they’re not going to enjoy.”

RECEIVING BOOST

As if LSU’s passing offense needed a lift, Orgeron said receiver Terrace Marshall Jr. is ready to return from a foot injury that sidelined him three games.

Marshall caught six touchdown passes before he went down, but LSU has kept rolling with fellow receivers Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase providing the bulk of production.

“The thing that Terrance gives us, I believe him a Joe have a special connection,” Orgeron said. “You can see that obviously with the success they had and it gives us three big-time receivers out there.”

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Saints coach Sean Payton has made all the right moves during Drew Brees’ absence.

 

As New Orleans (6-1) prepares to put its five-game winning streak on the line against the surging Arizona Cardinals (3-3-1) on Sunday, Payton must decide if now is the right time to bring back Brees in place of Teddy Bridgewater.

One thing is certain. Payton wasn’t looking to keep his record-setting quarterback on the sideline any longer than necessary, regardless of how well the team performed without him.

The coach said the fact that the Saints have a bye next week — which would give Brees seven weeks of recovery since his Sept. 18 thumb surgery if he sat out against Arizona — won’t enter into the decision “at all.”

“Look, this game coming up this week for Arizona, for us, is a unit. It’s just as important as a game three weeks from now or five weeks from now,” Payton said. “If he’s ready to play, he’s ready to play.”

Brees was in full pads and helmet at practice this week, taking snaps and throwing as he normally would. He asserted earlier this week that he fully intended to make his comeback from thumb surgery this Sunday unless his form in practice wasn’t up to his standards.

After a couple practices, several teammates said the 40-year-old Brees looked like his old, record-setting self.

“He prepares harder than anyone to ever play the game, so he’s been putting in overtime getting ready, getting his game mode on,” left tackle Terron Armstead said. “He looked sharp. He looked good. His communication is right back where he left off and of course we’re excited for him.

“You know what Drew brings to this team, to this city, to this sport, so to have that value be inputted into our offense at any point is going to be uplifting.”

The Cardinals, who’ve won three straight, sounded like a team preparing to face Brees. Arizona rookie quarterback Kyler Murray even indicated he was hoping he’d get a chance to play the Saints with Brees in the lineup.

“I’ve played against a lot of great ones so far, but for me personally, I think he’d be at the top,” Murray said. “What he’s done for the game, what he’s done in his career, not many have been able to do what he’s done. He’s obviously one of the best to ever play, so I’m looking forward to it.”

PAYTON’S PLACE

Brees said he “absolutely” considers the past five weeks a prime example of Payton’s coaching prowess and of how well the Saints have been built in recent years to withstand losses of key players, including top running back Alvin Kamara and tight end Jared Cook, who did not play in a victory at Chicago .

“One of his great strengths is taking the talents and the abilities of what he has and maximizing those, putting everybody in the best position to succeed,” Brees said.

Cardinals first-year coach Kliff Kingsbury called the Saints “a complete team.”

“That’s the scariest part,” Kingsbury said. “For a few years, it looked like they were building the defense to catch up with the offense, and they’ve caught up. To lose your best running back and starting quarterback and go on a win streak and dominate defensively, dominate special teams and still play at a high level offensively, it says a lot about their organization and their coaching.”

EDMONDS’ EMERGENCE

Second-year running back Chase Edmonds had the best game of his career with 126 yards rushing and three touchdowns in last week’s rain-soaked win over the New York Giants . Even if starter David Johnson is at full strength after an ankle injury, Edmonds will likely have a big role because of his hard running and pass-catching ability. Edmonds is averaging 5.6 yards per carry this season and has also caught 10 passes.

“They’ve got a good one-two punch at running back,” Saints linebacker Demario Davis said. “We’re going to have our hands full.”

BIG BAD JONES

Veteran linebacker Chandler Jones continues to put up big numbers for the Cardinals and was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week after having a career-high four sacks in Sunday’s win over the Giants. The 6-foot-5, 255-pounder has 8½ sacks this year, which ranks third in the league, and has forced four fumbles. Jones said it was nice for the defense to get some national recognition, even if it was an individual award.

“It feels good for sure,” he said. “Hopefully, we can keep it going. Hopefully it gives us some momentum for us to play better and get the snowball effect rolling.”

DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE

The Saints haven’t allowed a 100-yard rusher in 33 straight games, including playoffs, and in the shorter term have held their past four opponents to 257 or fewer yards. The past four games have been perhaps the most dominant stretch by a New Orleans defense since 1992, when the club held five straight opponents to 254 or fewer yards.

“The preparation of his team has been outstanding and the focus has been outstanding, and I think everybody’s taken care of their bodies,” linebacker A.J. Klein said. “We’re just in a good place.”