AUBURN, Ala. — Nick Marshall passed for 207 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 119 and two more scores to lead No. 5 Auburn to a 41-7 blowout of No. 15 LSU on Saturday night.
Auburn (5-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) dominated from the start on a week when No. 2 Oregon, No. 3 Alabama and No. 4 Oklahoma were upset. The 41 points equaled Auburn’s highest total in the rivalry — set with the same margin in the 1999 game.
LSU (4-2, 0-2), which turned to freshman quarterback Brandon Harris, has dropped its first two SEC games for the first time in coach Les Miles’ decade-long tenure.
Harris completed 3 of 14 passes for 58 yards before getting replaced late in the third quarter by former starter Anthony Jennings.
With Marshall playing again like the Heisman Trophy candidate many expected him to be, Auburn could rise to the No. 2 spot it held after last season.
He completed 14 of 22 passes, had 16 carries and supplied a steady diet of big plays. Marshall threw touchdown passes of 56 yards to Sammie Coates and 9 yards to tight end C.J. Uzomah, and scored on runs of 7 and 29 yards.
Cameron Artis-Payne ran 24 times for 126 yards and gained 35 yards on three catches. Coates had his first big game of the season with 144 on four catches after coming in with 56 receiving yards.
Auburn outgained LSU 566-280. LSU had won the past three meetings but couldn’t muster much fight in this one and is likely already out of the hotly contested SEC West race.
LSU coach Les Miles sent in the former starter Jennings to replace Harris late in the third quarter, but the results didn’t change dramatically. Neither managed to convert any of their combined 13 third-down attempts.
Harris had led LSU to touchdowns on nine of his previous 10 drives but a 52-yarder to fellow freshman Malachi Dupre and a 36-yard run were his only real highlights in his first game before a hostile crowd.
Jennings was 5-of-10 passing for 84 yards after struggling against New Mexico State a week ago.
The long pass set up Kenny Hilliard’s 1-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter in a freshman-sparked drive with the Harris-to-Dupre strike and the runs of Leonard Fournette.
Jennings came in with LSU down 34-7 after Marshall lost a fumble at his own 35. The result was more of the same: four plays, no first down.
Fournette gained 42 yards on 10 carries. Leading receiver Travin Dural had one catch for 40 yards.
The tone was set early.
Marshall led scoring drives on each of Auburn’s first four possessions, while LSU failed to get a first down on five of its opening six.
Auburn raced to a 31-7 halftime lead, the most the program had ever scored in a half against LSU. The 247 first-quarter yards was also the high mark in any quarter under coach Gus Malzhan.
Auburn linebackers Kris Frost and Cassanova McKinzy didn’t start but played much of the game after getting injured against Louisiana Tech. Right tackle Patrick Miller didn’t play.
The fans at Jordan-Hare Stadium got a cheer minutes into the game when the celebratory scene of No. 11 Mississippi’s win over Alabama was shown on the scoreboard.
Auburn’s team gave them plenty more reasons to applaud.
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