No. 1 LSU crushes No. 19 Auburn 45-10

Randle caught scoring passes of 42 yards from Jordan Jefferson and 46 yards from Jarrett Lee, and No. 1 LSU once again overcame off-the-field distractions in style with a 45-10 victory over 19th-ranked Auburn on Saturday. “It just seems like no matter who goes down or who’s out, we have guys who are ready to step in … and not just to fill a spot but to go in and dominate,” said LSU center T-Bob Hebe
LSU was without star cornerback Tyrann Mathieu, leading rusher Spencer Ware and defensive back Tharold Simon—all suspended one game for violating the team’s drug policy. They watched the game on TV, teammates said, after being told to stay away from Tiger Stadium.

“I almost feel like everybody else makes a bigger deal about it than we do,” Hebert said of the periodic lineup upheaval, and the public scrutiny of the misbehavior that has caused it.

“It’s not distracting to us. This team is so good about staying focused, one-track mind, not letting anything on the outside get to them because we don’t want to have any regrets.”

Off next week, LSU (8-0, 5-0 SEC) will be unbeaten entering what is bound to be a highly hyped showdown at No. 2 Alabama on Nov. 5. The Crimson Tide were playing at home Saturday night against struggling Tennessee. Lee was 14 of 20 for 165 yards and two touchdowns, the second a 10-yarder to Shepard. Jefferson completed two of three passes for 54 yards.

“I feel really comfortable with the rhythm that I have with both quarterbacks,” Randle said. “That was shown in both touchdown passes today.” With Michael Ford leading the way (12 rushes, 82 yards), LSU gained 174 yards on the ground.

Even without two key defensive backs, LSU held Auburn first-time starter Clint Moseley to 145 yards passing, sacked him six times and intercepted him once.

“It’s really difficult to really assess how he did,” Auburn coach Gene Chizik said of Moseley. “That was an anemic job of protecting the quarterback. We have a lot of work to do and a lot of research to do to figure out how to stop the bleeding in that regard.”