Scott Rabalais: Three things we learned from LSU’s Saturday matinee win against Auburn | LSU

Sports columnist Scott Rabalais with his three takeaways from No. 18-ranked LSU’s 38-17 romp over Auburn on a sunny Saturday in Auburn, Alabama:

1. EARLY START, EARLY FINISH

Saturday’s game marked a second straight 11 a.m. kickoff for LSU. Early to play, early to rise up for the visiting Tigers, who played one of their best halves of football this season to take a convincing 31-10 halftime lead. LSU was up 10-3 when a bad pass by Sam Leavitt resulting in an interception was reversed on review. Leavitt threw for two scores and ran for one after that as the rout was on.

2. WELCOME BACK, TREY’DEZ GREEN

Out since suffering a knee injury Sept. 19 at Ole Miss, Green was the subject of much speculation all week after being left off LSU’s availability report. Green started and played a big part, catching a 15-yard touchdown pass from Leavitt after that reversed interception to complete a 95-yard drive. Green finished with five catches for 50 yards, not a dominant day but an excellent sign for LSU heading into the final month of the season.

3. DUAL THREAT, LITTLE THREAT

Much was made about the dual threat of Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown after he had 265 yards of total offense (150 rushing, 115 passing) in the Tigers’ 27-24 upset of No. 1 Georgia. Brown did break free on a 34-yard run to set up his 1-yard keeper for Auburn’s first touchdown, but the LSU pass rush wreaked havoc on him with six sacks. He finished with 21 net yards rushing as Auburn managed just 67 yards on the ground.