LSU got its first win of the season.

It scored at will in a 72-10 victory against outmanned FCS opponent Grambling on Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.

The No. 14-ranked Tigers got the bad taste of the 45-24 loss to Florida State in the season opener 6 days earlier out of their mouth.

But they didn’t fix everything.

The defense allowed Grambling to drive 83, 80 and 69 yards on its first 3 possessions. That produced just 10 points thanks to LSU stiffening at the 6 and the 5 and Grambling making just 1 of 2 chip-shot field goals.

After that the game quickly got out of hand because LSU scored touchdowns on all 6 of its first-half possessions to take a 42-10 halftime lead.

Player of the Week: QB Jayden Daniels

Daniels completed 18 of 24 passes for 269 yards and 5 touchdowns – in the 1st half.

He had no problem carving up the Grambling defense and sharing his 5 touchdown passes among 4 receivers – Brian Thomas Jr. (2), Chris Hilton Jr., Malik Nabers and Kyren Lacy. Daniels was the primary reason that LSU was in total command by halftime, and he was able to give way to Garrett Nussmeier to start the second half.

Freshman of the Week: KR/RB Kaleb Jackson

He started the game as the Tigers kickoff returner and had 3 returns for 72 yards.

As the blowout proceeded, he got some second-half action at his primary position – running back. He wound up rushing 11 times for 62 yards and touchdowns from 5 and 3 yards. LSU likes his potential as a running back, but he’s starting off fairly far down the depth chart – even with John Emery Jr. and Armoni Goodwin unavailable.

Biggest surprise: Just 1 sack

Maason Smith returned from his 1-game suspension. He and Mekhi Wingo are supposed to be one of the best defensive tackle tandems in the country. Harold Perkins is supposed to be an elite pass rusher.

Presumably those leaders and others are bigger, stronger and more athletic than Grambling’s FCS blockers. Presumably they should have been able to get into the backfield with regularity and get the Grambling quarterbacks on the ground a few times. But they didn’t getting their lone sack (on 31 pass attempts) for a 1-yard loss until late in the 3rd quarter.

Biggest concern: The pass defense

Even before factoring in the near absence of sacks, the pass defense was a concern coming into the season because LSU was counting on so many newcomers at cornerbacks. That proved to be problematic against Florida State’s elite receiving corps. It was still less than what Brian Kelly and defensive coordinator Matt House would like it to have been – at least in the early going against Grambling.

After those first 3 long drives by Grambling, LSU’s defense – especially the pass defense – played much better. In the end it allowed just 157 passing yards, partly because it took advantage of Grambling’s backup quarterback – and limited passes – in the second half.

Developing trend: The rushing workload

The Tigers are trying to use their improved depth at running back to lessen the rushing burden on Daniels. It didn’t work out well against Florida State as Daniels was the busiest rusher, finishing with 15 carries for 64 yards while 3 running backs totaled 12 carries for 49 yards.

Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock put Logan Diggs to work right away and he finished with 15 carries for 115 yards and a touchdown while Daniels had just 5 rushes for 29 yards. In addition to Jackson’s mop-up duty, Josh Williams had 6 carries for 43 yards and Noah Cain had 7 carries for 33 yards and a 1-yard touchdown. Eventually LSU would like to have consistent roles for the running backs, but that remains a work in progress. The lessened burden on Daniels on Saturday was an important development.

Key stat: LSU had 622 total yards

The dominance of the LSU offense – and the balance (320 passing yards, 302 rushing yards) – is what enabled the Tigers to dominate early and prevent the slow start defensively from becoming problematic.

First impression about Week 3: at Mississippi State

LSU didn’t turn the ball over against Grambling, so that wasn’t a problem. Still, the Tigers might want to put an added emphasis on ball security as they prepare to open SEC play at Mississippi State next Saturday.

The Bulldogs forced turnovers on Arizona’s first 4 possessions – 3 straight interceptions, then a fumble recovery – in their 31-24 overtime victory Saturday night in Starkville. Once the Wildcats stopped turning the ball over (they had 1 more in the 2nd half), they had some success moving on State (touchdown drives of 77, 75 and 80 yards) – providing a blueprint for LSU’s offense to follow next week.