GAMEDAY College Football
Louisiana State 72, Grambling 10
By DAVID FOLSE
Associated Press
BATON ROUGE, La. - Jayden Daniels threw a career-high five touchdown passes, all in the first half, leading No. 14 LSU in a 72-10 rout of Grambling.
Bouncing back from a season-opening loss to Florida State a week earlier, LSU (1-1) scored touchdowns on its first 10 possessions and was led by Daniels' career passing game. The senior quarterback went 18 for 24 for 269 yards.
Daniels got things going for LSU on its opening drive. Daniels led an eight-play, 77-yard march that was punctuated by a 25-yard touchdown pass to Brian Thomas Jr.
After Daniels connected with Malik Nabors for his third touchdown early in the second quarter, Grambling (0-2) kicker Tanner Rinkler missed a 23-yard field goal try and LSU countered with TDs on three consecutive possessions to put the game out of reach.
Logan Diggs scored on a 3-yard run and Daniels found Thomas with a 10-yard touchdown pass. He also hit Kyren Lacy with a 3-yeaer scoring strike that gave LSU a 42-10 lead.
Daniels gave way to backup Garrett Nussmeier at the start of the second half. The five touchdown passes by Daniels were the most for an LSU quarterback in a game since Max Johnson against Central Michigan in 2021.
One of the few bright spots for Grambling was the first-half performance of sophomore running back Chance Williams, who had seven carries for 106 yards.
Grambling’s lone touchdown came on its first possession when Myles Crawley found JR Waters on a 13-yard scoring pass. Rinkler added a 24-yard field goal on the team's second possession.
LSU's 72-point performance was its highest scoring game since a seven overtime loss to Texas A&M in 2018.
THE TAKEAWAY
Grambling: The legendary HBCU program that has won 15 Black College National Championships and 25 SWAC titles, Grambling made its first trip to Tiger Stadium and kept the game close early, scoring on its first drive and trailing only 14-10 at the end of the first quarter
LSU: After scoring only seven points in the second half against Florida State, the Tigers offense broke loose for 42 points in the first half, as Daniels completed passes to seven receivers in the game.
DEFEND THIS HOUSE
LSU remains dominant in home openers with the victory, moving to 103-22-4 overall. LSU has won 26 of its last 28 home openers and hasn't lost a season opener at home at since 1994.
INJURIES
Grambling: Near the end of the third quarter, sophomore linebacker Jaquavis Richmond was carted off the field after suffering an injury defending a punt return. Surrounded by his teammates before leaving the field on a stretcher, Richmond gave the thumbs-up sign with his left hand.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
Louisiana State athletics press release
September 9, 2023
| Scoring Summary | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Quarter | Gram | LSU | |||
| LSU | TD | 12:16 | Brian Thomas Jr. 26 yard TD pass from Jayden Daniels (Damian Ramos Extra Point) | 0 | 7 |
| Gram | TD | 9:15 | JR Waters 13 yard TD pass from Myles Crawley (Tanner Rinker Extra Point) | 7 | 7 |
| LSU | TD | 8:24 | Chris Hilton Jr. 47 yard TD pass from Jayden Daniels (Damian Ramos Extra Point) | 7 | 14 |
| Gram | FG | 2:21 | Tanner Rinker 23 yard field goal | 10 | 14 |
| Second Quarter | Gram | LSU | |||
| LSU | TD | 14:17 | Malik Nabers 7 yard TD pass from Jayden Daniels (Damian Ramos Extra Point) | 10 | 21 |
| LSU | TD | 7:22 | Logan Diggs 3 yard TD run (Damian Ramos Extra Point) | 10 | 28 |
| LSU | TD | 2:00 | Brian Thomas Jr. 10 yard TD pass from Jayden Daniels (Damian Ramos Extra Point) | 10 | 35 |
| LSU | TD | 0:01 | Kyren Lacy 3 yard TD pass from Jayden Daniels (Damian Ramos Extra Point) | 10 | 42 |
| Third Quarter | Gram | LSU | |||
| LSU | TD | 9:30 | Garrett Nussmeier 1 yard TD run (Damian Ramos Extra Point) | 10 | 49 |
| LSU | TD | 4:47 | Kaleb Jackson 5 yard TD run (Damian Ramos Extra Point) | 10 | 56 |
| Fourth Quarter | Gram | LSU | |||
| LSU | TD | 13:30 | Kaleb Jackson 3 yard TD run (Damian Ramos Extra Point) | 10 | 63 |
| LSU | TD | 10:39 | Noah Cain 1 yard TD run (Nathan Dibert Extra Point) | 10 | 70 |
| LSU | SF | 9:15 | Team safety | 10 | 72 |
| Team Stats | ||
|---|---|---|
| Grambling State | LSU | |
| First downs | 16 | 34 |
| Rushing | 8 | 18 |
| Passing | 7 | 14 |
| Penalty | 1 | 2 |
| 3rd Down Efficiency | 3-12, 25% | 11-14, 79% |
| 4th down efficiency | 0-1, 0% | 2-3, 67% |
| Rushes-Yards | 29-163 | 48-302 |
| Passing Yards | 157 | 320 |
| Return Yards | 93 | 108 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int | 15-31-1 | 24-34-0 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost | 1-1 | 1-3 |
| Punts | 4 | 0 |
| Fumbles Lost | 1-1 | 1-0 |
| Penalties - Yards | 13-104 | 2-20 |
| Grambling State Passing | |||||
| Player | Cmp | Att | Yds | TDs | Int |
| M. Crawley | 14 | 25 | 148 | 1 | 1 |
| J. Calvez | 1 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Jones | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| LSU Passing | |||||
| Player | Cmp | Att | Yds | TDs | Int |
| J. Daniels | 18 | 24 | 269 | 5 | 0 |
| G. Nussmeier | 4 | 6 | 48 | 0 | 0 |
| R. Collins | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Grambling State Rushing | ||||
| Player | Carries | Yds | Avg | TDs |
| C. Williams | 7 | 106 | 15.1 | 0 |
| J. Jones | 4 | 47 | 11.8 | 0 |
| F. Chalk IV | 7 | 25 | 3.6 | 0 |
| D. Richard | 5 | 7 | 1.4 | 0 |
| K. Elder | 3 | 1 | 0.3 | 0 |
| J. Calvez | 1 | -1 | -1.0 | 0 |
| LSU Rushing | ||||
| Player | Carries | Yds | Avg | TDs |
| L. Diggs | 15 | 115 | 7.7 | 1 |
| K. Jackson | 11 | 62 | 5.6 | 2 |
| J. Williams | 6 | 43 | 7.2 | 0 |
| N. Cain | 7 | 33 | 4.7 | 1 |
| J. Daniels | 5 | 29 | 5.8 | 0 |
| R. Collins | 3 | 19 | 6.3 | 0 |
| G. Nussmeier | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 |
| Grambling State Receiving | ||||
| Player | Rec | Yds | Avg | TDs |
| A. Jones | 7 | 81 | 11.6 | 0 |
| J. Robinson | 1 | 25 | 25.0 | 0 |
| N. Dickerson | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 0 |
| J. Waters | 1 | 13 | 13.0 | 1 |
| L. Rash | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 0 |
| T. Williams | 1 | 11 | 11.0 | 0 |
| C. Williams | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 |
| J. Quiett | 1 | 0 | 0.0 |
0 |
| F. Chalk IV | 1 | -2 | -2.0 | 0 |
| LSU Receiving | ||||
| Player | Rec | Yds | Avg | TDs |
| M. Nabers | 5 | 87 | 17.4 | 1 |
| B. Thomas Jr. | 6 | 78 | 13.0 | 2 |
| K. Lacy | 3 | 62 | 20.7 | 1 |
| C. Hilton Jr. | 2 | 53 | 26.5 | 1 |
| L. Diggs | 1 | 18 | 18.0 | 0 |
| A. Anderson | 4 | 13 | 3.3 | 0 |
| M. Markway | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 0 |
| K. Pimpton | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 |
| M. Taylor | 1 | 0 | 0.0 |
0 |
| Grambling State Interceptions | ||
| Player | Int | Yards |
| LSU Interceptions | ||
| Player | Int | Yards |
| G. Penn III | 1 | 0 |
| Grambling State Punting | |||
| Player | Punts | Yards | Avg |
| J. Iles | 4 | 176 | 44.0 |
| LSU Punting | |||
| Player | Punts | Yards | Avg |
| Grambling State Punt Returns | |||
| Player | Ret | Yards | Average |
| LSU Punt Returns | |||
| Player | Ret | Yards | Average |
| G. Clayton Jr. | 1 | 22 | 22.0 |
| Grambling State Kick Returns | |||
| Player | Ret | Yards | Average |
| M. Britten | 2 | 27 | 13.5 |
| J. Johnson | 2 | 35 | 17.5 |
| J. Robinson | 1 | 3 | 3.0 |
| K. Elder | 1 | 10 | 10.0 |
| C. Guidry | 1 | 18 | 18.0 |
| LSU Kick Returns | |||
| Player | Ret | Yards | Average |
| K. Jackson | 3 | 72 | 24.0 |
| G. Clayton Jr. | 1 | 14 | 14.0 |
| Grambling State Missed FG | |
| Player | Length |
| T. Rinker | 23 |
| LSU Missed FG | |
| Player | Length |
