BATON ROUGE, LA – No. 16 LSU outscored UCLA 17-0 in the second half to defeat the Bruins 34-17 on a hot mid-September afternoon at Tiger Stadium.

The Tigers, currently 3-1 overall, return to Death Valley next Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT to face South Alabama on the SEC Network.

Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who completed 32 of 44 passes for 352 yards and three touchdowns, wasted no time on the opening drive, finding junior receiver Kyren Lacy for a 17-yard pickup across the middle of the field to the LSU 42-yard line on the first play of the game. Two plays later, Nussmeier found redshirt sophomore receiver Aaron Anderson for a 21-yard pass to the Bruins' 33.

Josh Williams, a sixth-year senior, continued the drive's momentum with a 23-yard run up the middle of the field, bringing the football to the UCLA 5. On the next play, Nussmeier threw the ball forward to Zavion Thomas, who caught a five-yard touchdown pass, capping a 75-yard drive that lasted six plays and two minutes, 41 seconds.

On third and four from the Bruins' 31-yard line, quarterback Ethan Garbers came under pressure but found Keegan Jones, who threw a 28-yard pass to the LSU 41-yard line. The onslaught continued when UCLA decided to go all out on fourth and two, throwing a 13-yard pass to the LSU 20-yard line. Garbers took advantage on the next play, throwing a touchdown pass to Jack Pederson, who scored a 20-yard touchdown. The game was tied 7-7 with 8:10 left in the first quarter.

On third-and-6 from the UCLA 46-yard line, Garbers found Devin Kirkwood for a 29-yard pass to the LSU 25-yard line. After a few stops, the Bruins managed another third-and-7 attempt from the LSU 22-yard line, but Garbers was sacked by Paris Shand for a seven-yard loss. Bhaghani's 47-yard attempt was good, giving UCLA a 10-7 lead with 17 seconds left in the quarter.

The Tigers opened their next drive with a 15-yard gain after a pass attempt from Nussmeier to Lacy drew a flag for pass interference, moving the ball from the LSU 25 to the LSU 40. On the first play of the second quarter, Nussmeier found Mason Taylor for a 4-yard pickup and another first down. LSU retook the lead after Nussmeier completed a beautiful 45-yard touchdown pass to redshirt freshman Kyle Parker, making it 14-10 to the Tigers with 13:57 left to play before halftime.

The Tigers got a much-needed stop on the next drive, as veteran defensive end Bradyn Swinson picked up where he left off a week ago by sacking Garber for a loss of 11 points, forcing the first UCLA punt of the game.

Swinson made his presence felt again with 6:48 left in the second quarter, forcing Garber to fumble, which was recovered by Saivion Jones at the UCLA 38. The Tigers were quick as Nussmeier found CJ Daniels in the middle of the field for a 23-yard pick, but the drive only ended in three points. On fourth and fifth attempts, Damian Ramos' 22-yard attempt was good, extending LSU's lead to 17-10 with 3:45 left in the first half.

The Bruins were able to score more points before halftime when Garber found Kwazi Gilmer for a 32-yard pass to the LSU 3. On 3rd-and-11, Garber found Logan Loya for an 11-yard touchdown pass with two seconds left in the half. The game was tied 17-17.

Nussmeier found Taylor on a big 43-yard pass early in the second half, moving the ball to the UCLA 48-yard line with 10:26 left. On 3rd-and-5 from the UCLA 43-yard line, Josh Williams moved the chains with a nifty 8-yard gain to the Bruins 35-yard line.

After a few positive possessions and a pass interference call against UCLA, the Tigers were able to capitalize when Williams scored a 2-yard touchdown run with 6:11 minutes left in the third quarter, giving LSU the lead again at 24-17. It was a 96-yard touchdown drive that spanned 14 plays and six minutes and 43 seconds. It was the Tigers' longest drive this season and the longest drive in Death Valley since October 8, 2022 against Tennessee (also 96 yards).

On that drive, Taylor became the tight end with the most receiving yards (990) in LSU history. Taylor already holds the record for most receiving yards all-time as an LSU tight end.

On the next drive, Nussmeier found Caden Durham – the freshman running back who had established himself as a star in Columbia last week – in the flat field for a 35-yard touchdown pass, extending the Tigers' lead to 31-17 with 11:15 minutes left in the game.

The defense forced another possession when a tough quarterback from Jones forced Garber to throw an interception pass to Jardin Gilbert, giving LSU the ball back at the UCLA 45-yard line. The Tigers were able to score more points with a 35-yard field goal from Ramos to extend the lead to 34-17 with 5:48 left.