Tiges cruise past Kentucky

BATON ROUGE -- LSU senior running back Terrence Magee started the game with a career-long kickoff return and finished his evening with two touchdowns runs in the third quarter to spark the Tigers past Kentucky, 41-3, on Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.

Magee, LSU's No. 18, tallied a career-best 220 all-purpose yards including 127 rushing on only nine carries, with touchdown runs of 9 and 23 yards in the third quarter. He added three catches for a team-high 44 yards.

LSU (6-2, 2-2 SEC), which became bowl eligible for a school-record 15th-straight season, complimented Magee's big night with defense and special teams that took a firm hold of the game in the first 10 minutes and let loose.

Magee opened the game with a 49-yard kickoff return that setup a 1-yard touchdown run by Leonard Fournette, before Tre'Davious White returned a punt 67 yards for a touchdown that put the Tigers ahead 17-0 with 5:47 remaining in the opening quarter.

LSU added 10 more points in the final 44 seconds of the first half to lead 27-3 at the break. A 32-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Anthony Jennings to wide receiver Travin Dural was followed by catching Kentucky off guard on the ensuing kickoff that the Tigers recovered behind the Wildcats front line. Colby Delahoussaye capped the half 35 seconds later with a 35-yard field goal.

The Tigers return to Tiger Stadium next Saturday at 6:15 p.m. CT on ESPN, as No. 3-ranked Ole Miss (7-0, 4-0 SEC) comes to town undefeated for the first time since 1963.

Jennings started for the Tigers and played into the fourth quarter, completing 7-of-14 passes for 120 yards including the Dural touchdown. Backup QB Brandon Harris entered late and ran once for eight yards.

Fournette and Jennings each added 40 rushing yards, while freshman Darrel Williams ran 10 times for 61 yards and Kenny Hilliard added 29.

LSU outgained Kentucky, 423-217, including 303-71 rushing. The Tigers were 7-of-13 on third down and averaged 6.4 yards per play.

The Tigers defense spent a good portion of the game in the Kentucky backfield, collecting eight tackles behind the line of scrimmage including two sacks. Linebacker Kendell Beckwith led the way with nine tackles, while Jamal Adams had eight. Defensive end Danielle Hunter batted down three passes and had six tackles.

Kentucky (5-2, 2-2 SEC), which entered Tiger Stadium with five wins for the first time in history, left with a loss for the 24th time in its past 28 visits. In its most recently four games in Baton Rouge, the Wildcats have now been outscored, 159-10.

Kentucky managed only 217 yards of total offense including 71 on the ground. Quarterback Patrick Towels was 19-of-36 passing for 146 yards and ran seven times for 16 yards. Mikel Horton led the Wildcats with 29 rushing yards on five carries, while Demarco Robinson had 52 receiving yards.