Tiger Stadium didn’t look very pleased with its team’s first-half performance against a Conference USA opponent, but LSU roared out of the break for 35 unanswered points on the way to a 45-10 win over Southern Miss on Saturday night.

What it means: LSU avoids an incredibly salty loss as it ventures off on its daunting five-game stretch against Ole Miss, Alabama, at Arkansas, vs. Florida and at Texas A&M without a hitch. The Bayou Bengals still have plenty to play for with only one conference loss, and even though a defeat to the Golden Eagles wouldn’t have factored into that, it surely would’ve affected the team’s renewed sense of optimism under interim coach Ed Orgeron.

What I liked: There’s no doubting Orgeron had some words for his team after a first half that saw his team get outgained by Southern Miss 135-121. Losing a game to Southern Miss would’ve surely been a noticeable stain on his résumé to become LSU’s coach as the school carried a 46-game win streak against non-conference opponents in Death Valley that dated back to 2000 against UAB. His teammates responded for him, completely dominating the second half by outgaining Southern Miss 338-107. LSU played with the edge the team showed for four quarters in the 42-7 win over Missouri two weeks earlier.

What I didn’t like: Of course, no LSU fan is going to like the team dragging its feet in the first half of this one. That’s especially true in regards to the opening possession of the game when Southern Miss, entering as the highest-scoring team in Conference USA with 40.2 points per game, marched right down the field on an SEC team that had allowed the fewest touchdowns in the entire nation (five) coming in. The Golden Eagles put together a monstrous 15-play, 75-yard TD drive that spanned 8:02 and was capped by a 1-yard TD run by Ito Smith. Although USM couldn’t build on that, neither could LSU on the way to a 10-10 halftime score and a little heartburn for those in attendance.

Who’s the man: That would undoubtedly be Derrius Guice. He only had 9 carries for 40 yards in the first half, but man did he turn it on in the second half. What’s amazing is that he had fewer carries after halftime (7), but he turned those into 122 yards and 2 TDs. After his momentum-changing 61-yard scamper, Guice took advantage of a Southern Miss fumble on the ensuing possession, running 20 yards for a TD two plays later to swell the lead to 24-10.

His exploits on the ground helped a dormant passing game explode for three Danny Etling touchdown passes after that: an 80-yarder to D.J. Clark and a 63-yarder and 23-yarder to Malachi Dupre. Guice finished the day with 16 carries for 162 yards and 2 TDs.

Key plays: There’s no doubt about this one. The fans in Death Valley were getting antsy as they watched a 10-10 ball game against an inferior opponent. On the opening series of the second half, LSU faced a 3rd-and-1 before a big hole opened the flood gates for LSU. Guice went straight through that hole and went 61 yards untouched to the end zone. That led to 35 unanswered points the rest of the way.

What’s next: LSU already had a tough slate of games to finish the season even before a home game against Florida replaced the Nov. 19 game against South Alabama. It all begins with Ole Miss coming to Tiger Stadium next Saturday, a team that’s gotten the better of LSU in two of the last three seasons.