West Virginia Mountaineers vs Louisiana State Tigers Box Score on Sep 25, 2010

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 26, 2010
No. 12 LSU capitalized on two first-half turnovers by No. 21 West Virginia and held on for a 20-14 win Saturday night in Baton Rouge, La.

LSU extended its nation-longest non-conference winning streak to 31 games despite scoring only three points in the second half in a game that was dominated by defense.

LSU’s defense limited the Mountaineers’ high-powered offense to 179 yards.

LSU threatened to make the game a blowout early. West Virginia turnovers led to LSU’s first two scores: a one-yard touchdown run by Stevan Ridley and a 49-yard field goal by Josh Jasper. Patrick Peterson’s 60-yard punt return for a touchdown gave the Tigers a 17-0 lead only five minutes into the second quarter.

West Virginia slowed the Tigers’ momentum late in the first half when Stedman Bailey caught a five-yard touchdown pass from Geno Smith to pull the Mountaineers to within 10 points at halftime.

West Virginia tailback Noel Devine, the nation’s active career leading rusher, sustained a foot injury in the first half. He returned to action in the second half, but was ineffective and finished with only 37 yards rushing on 14 carries after starting the season with three consecutive 100-yard rushing games.

Smith connected with Jock Sanders on a 13-yard touchdown pass early in the third quarter to narrow LSU’s lead to 17-14. A 23-yard field goal by Jasper at the start of the fourth quarter extended the Tigers’ lead to 20-14, and LSU’s defense shut down West Virginia the remainder of the game to remain unbeaten.