BATON ROUGE, La. - LSU showed its national championship form.
The running game got on track with Alley Broussard rushing for a career-high three touchdowns and the Tigers defense held Mississippi State to seven first downs and 130 yards in a 51-0 victory Saturday.
It was almost enough to make coach Nick Saban happy.
"We did this once, now are we going to be satisfied with that or is this going to be the trademark of the team?" Saban said. "Can we go down the stretch and do it like we did last year, game in and game out?"
LSU rolled up 594 yards and led 34-0 at halftime, a week after the offense sputtered badly in a 10-9 loss to Auburn.
LSU had four interceptions, recovered a fumble and scored a touchdown against the Bulldogs. On the way to the 2003 BCS title, LSU scored seven defensive touchdowns while forcing 33 turnovers.
"Defensively we executed a lot better," LSU cornerback Travis Daniels said. "I don't think we had as many mental breakdowns or missed tackles."
The Bulldogs, who are rebuilding under first-year coach Sylvester Croom, have lost seven straight in Tiger Stadium and 12 of 13 overall against LSU.
AUBURN 33, CITADEL 3: Jason Campbell passed for 194 yards in the first half and the host Tigers had no problem overcoming a few sloppyplays against the I-AA Bulldogs. They have a six-game win streak for the first time since opening the 1997 season 6-0 and only missed their second shutout of the season on a field goal in the fourth quarter.
Auburn outgained The Citadel 593-169 in total yards, allowing just 71 yards passing and eight first downs. Carnell Williams rushed for 95 yards and a 1-yard touchdown on 22 carries, then he and Campbell sat out the second half.
TENN. 42, LA. TECH 17: Erik Ainge threw three touchdowns and Cedric Houston ran for 160 yards and two more scores for the host Vols. Ainge again got the bulk of the playing time while alternating with fellow freshman Brent Schaeffer. Ainge finished 10-of-15 for 198 yards, and Gerald Riggs had a career-high 116 yards on 16 carries. The Bulldogs lost starting quarterback Donald Allen at the end of his first series with an injury. Matt Kubik, who started the season opener, replaced him and was intercepted twice. Tech's Ryan Moats, who entered as the nation's leading rusher at 198.3 yards a game, ran 21 times for 97 yards, including a 37-yard touchdown.
NAVY 29, VANDY 26: Aaron Polanco threw for 176 yards and ran for 84, including a 22-yard touchdown, as host Navy remained undefeated. Navy improved to 4-0 for the first time since the Midshipmen opened the 1979 season with six straight wins. Tied 14-all at the half, Navy fell behind 19-14 early in the third on a safety and a field goal. Navy countered, driving 74 yards in 10 plays, with Frank Divils scoring from the 5. Kyle Eckel added a two-point conversion run to put Navy up 22-19. The Midshipmen went ahead 29-19 on Polanco's 22-yard run, which capped a 68-yard drive.
S. CAROLINA 17, TROY 7: Syvelle Newton had a 6-yard touchdown run and the defense held off an upset attempt by visiting Troy. Newton, a sophomore splitting time with senior Dondrial Pinkins, led the only scoring drive of the second half for South Carolina. Troy reached South Carolina's 11 with three minutes left, but Aaron Leak was picked off by linebacker Lance Laury with 2:13 left.
WYOMING 37, MISS. 32: Josh Barge returned a punt 87 yards and caught a 69-yard pass, both for touchdowns, to lead the host Cowboys. Mississippi quarterback Ethan Flatt, making his second start, was intercepted four times and fumbled the ball away once, leading to 13 Wyoming points in the schools' first meeting.
