Coming in as a heavy favorite for the second straight week, LSU didn’t start with the same fire as they did in their home opener. The offense sputtered early on as Louisiana-Monroe brought the heat. Luckily, LSU’s defense was up to the task and held the Warhawks scoreless. Darrel Williams registered the only touchdown of the half when he took a handoff 22 yards to pay dirt.

Anthony Jennings had no time to get comfortable in the pocket for the majority of the half. Jennings was 9-of-16 for 97 yards in the first two quarters. He was flushed out of the pocket multiple times, forced to make decisions on the fly. In a two-minute drill to end the half, the pressure got to Jennings and he threw an interception off of his back foot.

The running game had a hard time opening up holes as well, with center Elliott Porter returning to the lineup. LSU kept pounding the ball, eventually racking up over 100 yards in the half. Kenny Hilliard was the team’s leading rusher in the half with 25 yards, but he needed eight carries to get there.

LSU’s defense came out with some serious teeth, holding the Warhawks without a first down until midway through the second quarter. The defensive line generated plenty of pressure, disrupting ULM QB Pete Thomas and harrying him into 7-of-16 passing for 31 yards. They stifled the run game as well, limiting ULM to 13 yards on the ground.

Travin Dural got the start at wide receiver as Les Miles said he would and had four catches for 33 yards in the first half. On defense, three players – Davon Godchaux, Deion Jones and Duke Riley- got their first career starts, and all three were listed as backups on the depth chart.