BATON ROUGE (AP) — LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels emerged from the locker room with red, swollen bruises around his left eye — and a smile on his face.
His fearless scrambles frustrated and wore down Mississippi State while helping LSU open its Southeastern Conference slate on a triumphant note.
“I came over to the sideline and it was bleeding,” Daniels said with a chuckle when asked about his facial cuts and welts. “It is what it is — a battle scar. It’s going to swell up a little bit. But you know, it’s football.”
Daniels accounted for more than 300 yards of offense, including one touchdown passing and one rushing, and the Tigers wiped out a 13-point deficit en route to a 31-16 victory over Mississippi State on Saturday night.
“The one thing I know about this group for certain, and we are still trying to learn more about each other every day, is that they are fighters,” first-year LSU coach Brian Kelly said.
Daniels completed 22-of-37 passes for 210 yards without an interception, and also rushed for 93 yards, mostly on scrambles.
LSU (2-1, 1-0 SEC) outscored MSU (2-1, 0-1) 21-0 in the fourth quarter and 31-3 during the game’s final 31 minutes.
The Tigers finished it off with Armoni Goodwin’s 47-yard touchdown run with 4:50 left and Jay Ward’s interception of Bulldogs QB Will Rogers.
The Tigers didn’t take their first lead until early in the fourth quarter, when they cashed in on Austin Williams’ muffed punt on his own 10.
Daniels’ spinning, tackle-slipping scramble up the middle on third and goal from the 3 made it 17-16 on what was also LSU’s first third-down conversion of the game.
The Tigers widened the margin with a 14-play, 85-yard touchdown drive that consumed six minutes. Daniels connected with Malik Nabers on three drive-sustaining passes — two on third down, followed by a surprise, 27-yard floater on fourth and 3. Josh Williams powered in from 7 yards out on the next play to make it 24-16.
Nabers finished with six catches for 76 yards.
LSU’s defense initially looked like it might struggle with third-year Mississippi State coach Mike Leach’s “Air Raid” offense. The Bulldogs drove 87 yards for a touchdown on their opening possession, capped by Jo’quavious Marks’ 37-yard run.
But the Tigers twice stopped MSU runs on fourth-and-short in the first half to keep the game close.