Garrett Nussmeier passed for 352 yards and three touchdowns as No. 16 LSU held off UCLA for a 34-17 win on Saturday in Baton Rouge, La.
Nussmeier completed 32 of 44 passes and the Tigers (3-1) shut out the Bruins (1-2) in the second half. UCLA scored more points before the break than it had totaled in its highest-scoring game of the season entering Saturday (16).
Ethan Garbers completed 22 of 36 passes for 281 yards with two touchdowns and one interception to lead UCLA.
On its first possession of the second half, LSU drove 96 yards in 14 plays, the last of which was Josh Williams’ 2-yard touchdown run that gave the Tigers a 24-17 lead that held up through the end of the third quarter.
Caden Durham caught a short pass from Nussmeier and turned it into a 35-yard touchdown that pushed the lead to 31-17 with 11:15 remaining in the game.
Damian Ramos kicked a 32-yard field goal to complete the scoring with 5:48 left.
The Tigers converted 10 of 15 third-down plays and didn’t turn the ball over while taking it away twice.
The Bruins, who entered the game averaging 83.5 rushing yards, finished with just 14 on Saturday.
LSU received the opening kickoff and needed just six plays to drive 75 yards, as Nussmeier threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Zavion Thomas.
UCLA answered on its first possession, with Garbers throwing a 20-yard touchdown pass to Jack Pedersen, and Mateen Bhaghani’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bruins a 10-7 lead by the end of the first quarter.
On the third play of the second quarter, Nussmeier threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Parker to give the Tigers a 14-10 edge.
LSU increased the lead on Ramos’ 22-yard field goal before Garbers threw an 11-yard scoring pass to Logan Loya with two seconds left in the second quarter to tie the score at 17 at the break.
–Field Level Media