Sam Leavitt, Jackson Harris shine as LSU roars past Auburn for second straight win
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Sam Leavitt, Jackson Harris, and LSU quickly made sure they weren’t the latest team to fall victim to upset-minded Auburn.
Leavitt threw for 387 yards and three touchdowns, Harris pulled in a career-best 178 yards and two TDs, and LSU sacked Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown six times in a 38-10 rout at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
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A week after the host Tigers stunned top-ranked Georgia 27-24 on Alex McPherson’s last-second field goal, they hoped to carry that momentum into a second straight victory. But Alex Golesh‘s team was no match for the visitors, who led 17-10 in the second quarter, then scored the next 21 points to pull away.
LSU found the end zone first with 3:48 left in the first quarter, as Leavitt connected with Harris from 10 yards out to make it a 10-3 ballgame. With just over five minutes gone in the second quarter, Leavitt stretched the lead to 17-3 with his second touchdown of the day, this time finding Trey’Dez Green in the star tight end’s return to action since exiting Week 3’s game against Ole Miss with a sprained ankle.
Auburn found a little life later in the frame. With 5:42 to go, Byrum Brown punched it in from a yard out to cut the deficit to 17-10.
LSU, though, restored its two-touchdown lead just over a minute later. Leavitt stroked one over the middle to Harris, who outran his defenders and took it to the house for a 70-yard score, making it 24-10 with 4:29 left before the break. That lead grew to 31-10 with 17 seconds remaining as Leavitt ran it in from four yards out.
Dillin Jones, who finished with 92 yards on 21 carries, made it 38-10 with a 12-yard run early in the 4th. Auburn backup QB Tristan Ti’a scored a consolation touchdown with 24 seconds remaining for the game’s final margin.
LSU totaled 552 yards of total offense to Auburn’s 271. Auburn averaged just 1.9 yards per carry on 35 attempts. Brown threw for 160 yards and no touchdowns on 15-of-24 passing.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
