BATON ROUGE – Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier threw for a career-high 409 yards and two touchdowns to lead No. 13 LSU over South Alabama 42-10 on Saturday night in Death Valley.

The Tigers have a bye week before returning to Death Valley to host Ole Miss on Oct. 12. Kickoff, which will take place between 5 and 7 p.m. CT, is not expected to be announced until Monday at the earliest.

Talk about a quick start. On the first play from scrimmage, Nussmeier found freshman running back Caden Durham, who took a screen pass 71 yards for a touchdown. With 14:36 ​​left in the first quarter, LSU took an early 7-0 lead.

On the next offensive possession, Durham made its first run from scrimmage of 86 yards before being brought down at the USA 1. Nussmeier punched the ball in for a 1-yard scoring rush, putting the Tigers up 14-0 with 10:47 to play in the first quarter. LSU's two shots on goal lasted a total of one minute and eight seconds.

The freshman continued to have an incredibly dominant quarter. At 4:45, Durham rushed for an 8-yard touchdown to extend LSU's lead to 21-0, capping an 11-play drive of 79 yards and four minutes, 15 seconds.

On 4th-and-9 from the 31, Laith Marjan's 49-yard attempt was good to get South Alabama on the scoreboard, cutting the deficit to 21-3 with 14:15 remaining in the half.

On the return play, Zavion Thomas continued to flash and took the USA kickoff 39 yards to the LSU 40. Nussmeier then found junior receiver Kyren Lacy for a 25-yard reception to the Jaguars 31. On the next play, Nussmeier found Thomas for one 26-yard reception. Yard pickup to the USA 5, where LSU's QB burst up the middle for a 5-yard touchdown run, extending the Tigers' lead to 28-3 with 11:55 left in the half.

On the 1st-and-10 play from the LSU 47, Nussmeier completed a strike to Mason Taylor for a 30-yard completion to the USA 23. On the next play, Nussmeier found redshirt sophomore Aaron Anderson for a 23-yard scoring connection and thus gave him the decisive goal. The Tigers lead confidently with 35:3, 4:27 minutes before the end of the half.

LSU's 429 yards of total offense was the Tigers' most in a half since LSU's win over Oklahoma in the 2019 CFP semifinals (497).

The Jaguars came out in the second half and scored methodically. Quarterback Gio Lopez orchestrated a nine-play, 75-yard drive that lasted four minutes, 43 seconds and was capped by a 27-yard touchdown connection to Anthony Eager. The TD reception would cut the deficit to 35-10 with 10:17 left in the third quarter.

With 8:05 left in the third quarter, Nussmeier's pass to Lacy was intercepted by Jaden Voisin and returned 24 yards to the USA 34. It was Nussmeier's second interception of the game.

The Jags took advantage when Lopez found Eager again for a 38-yard completion, moving the ball to the LSU 9. However, on 4th-and-goal from the 4, the Tiger defense stuffed Lopez after a three-yard pickup. force a turnover on downs. The stop was attributed to Major Burns and Whit Weeks. LSU still led 35-10 with 4:47 to play in the third quarter.

Nussmeier opened the fourth quarter with a bang when he found Lacy for a 35-yard pickup across the middle of the field, taking the ball to the USA 5. On 1st-and-goal from the 4, Josh Williams recovered the ball with a 4-yard touchdown rush that extended the Tiger lead to 42-10 with 14:08 remaining. It capped a 12-player, 99-yard drive that lasted five minutes and 39 seconds – LSU's longest scoring streak in program history, most recently on September 4, 2022 against Florida State.