AUBURN, Ala. — Nick Marshall passed for two touchdowns and ran for two to give No. 5 Auburn a 41-7 win over No. 15 LSU on Saturday night.
Marshall and the Auburn offense did most of their damage in the first half, building a 31-7 lead. The senior quarterback led the Tigers on scoring drives on their first four possessions.
Marshall finished 14-of-22 passing for 207 yards and rushed for 119 yards on 16 carries.
Auburn added a field goal by Daniel Carlson in the third quarter and a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter on a 12-yard t
Auburn wideout Sammie Coates (18) had a big game against LSU. (John Reed-USA TODAY Sports)
ouchdown run by running back Corey Grant.
Marshall’s favorite target was wide receiver Sammie Coates, who had his best game of the season with four receptions for 144 yards and a touchdown.
Auburn running back Cameron Artis-Payne rushed for more than 100 yards for the fourth time this season, finishing with 126 yards on 24 carries.
Auburn (5-0, 2-0 SEC) amassed 566 total yards and its stingy defense held LSU (4-2, 0-2) to 280.
LSU freshman quarterback Brandon Harris struggled in the first start of his career, completing only 3 of 11 passes for 58 yards. Anthony Jennings replaced Harris midway through the third quarter but didn’t fare much better, finishing with 84 yards on 5-of-10 passing.
Running back Leonard Fournette led LSU with 42 yards on the ground.
After Auburn was held to a field goal on its first drive, the Tigers increased its lead to 10-0 when Coates hauled in a 56-yard pass from Marshall with 7:05 left in the first quarter.
Marshall scored his first rushing touchdown on 7-yard run with 3:38 left in first quarter to give Auburn a 17-0 lead.
Running back Kenny Hilliard got LSU on the board with a 1-yard touchdown run with 1:24 left in the first quarter to cut Auburn’s lead to 17-7. The five-play, 75-yard drive was highlighted by Harris’ 52-yard pass to wide receiver Malachi Dupre.
Marshall connected with wide-open tight end C.J. Uzomah on a 9-yard pass to extend the Tigers’ lead to 24-7 early in the second quarter. Marshall later added a 29-yard touchdown run with 2:12 remaining in the half to make it 31-7.
NOTES: Auburn true freshman Tre’ Williams and junior Anthony Swain started in place of weak-side LB Kris Frost and MLB Cassanova McKinzy. Frost and McKinzy sustained injuries in last week’s game against Louisiana Tech, but both saw action Saturday. … LSU true freshman QB Brandon Harris made the first start of his career, replacing Anthony Jennings. Harris led LSU in rushing in the first half with 35 yards. … Auburn CB Nick Ruffin was called for a targeting penalty for his hit on LSU WR Trey Quinn and ejected from the game with 4:50 left in the first half. … Auburn gained 247 total yards in the first quarter, the most in any quarter of Tigers coach Gus Malzahn’s tenure. … The 31 points scored by Auburn in the first half were the most the Tigers have scored in a half against LSU in series history.
