BATON ROUGE, La. – Brandon Frazier scored his first career touchdown but a slow start proved costly for Auburn in No. 22 LSU's 48-18 victory Saturday in front of 102,321 at Tiger Stadium.
"Difficult night for us," Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said. "They beat us every way you could. We had no answers. We've got to go back to work and hopefully get better. This will test us. The only way to get out of this funk is to work hard. To do that, you've got to have the right attitude, be able to put the past behind, but at the same time own what we're doing."
Described by Freeze before the game as a Heisman candidate, LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels looked the part, throwing for three touchdowns and producing 418 yards of total offense.
"That's a really good offense and we didn't play our best, that's for sure," Freeze said.
Trailing 20-7 at the half, Robby Ashford threw deep down the middle to Frazier for 39 yards, Auburn's longest gain of the game, setting up Alex McPherson's 38-yard field goal, pulling the Tigers within 10 points early in the third quarter.
LSU regained momentum with a 60-yard kickoff return and a 25-yard touchdown pass from Daniels to Kyren Lacy that gave the Bengal Tigers a 27-10 lead with 8 minutes left in the quarter.
Daniels threw his third touchdown pass on LSU's next possession, a 13-yarder to Josh Williams at the 3:53 mark of the third quarter for a 34-10 advantage.
Jay Fair's highlight-reel catch of Payton Thorne's pass netted 32 yards to help Auburn drive 84 yards in 10 plays, scoring on the first play of the fourth quarter on Ashford's 3-yard touchdown pass to Frazier.
Ashford and Frazier connected again for a 2-point conversion that made it a two-score game at 34-18 with 14:56 to play.
"Happy for him," Freeze said of Frazier's three-reception, 52-yard night. "Those tight ends go to work every day. Great leadership in that room. They're really vital to us. It's good to see Frazier get some balls come his way."
LSU put the game out of reach with a 75-yard, 11-play drive that consumed 6 minutes and 5 seconds, taking a 41-18 lead on Logan Diggs' 5-yard touchdown run.
The Bengal Tigers scored touchdowns on all four of their second-half possessions with Williams scoring on a 1-yard rush for the game's final points.
LSU scored on its first four possessions while taking a 17-0 lead on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Daniels to Malik Nabers, a 30-yard field goal and John Emery Jr.'s 2-yard rush.
Auburn answered on its third drive, marching 75 yards on eight plays and scoring on Jarquez Hunter's 2-yard rush after a direct snap. Thorne opened the drive with back-to-back completions to Camden Brown totaling 27 yards.
After LSU extended its lead to 20-7 on another field goal, Auburn's defense stopped the Bengal Tigers on consecutive possessions, forcing a punt then intercepting Daniels when Jaylin Simpson deflected a pass that D.J. James intercepted.
Auburn drove to midfield but a sack on third-and-10 forced the Tigers to punt in the closing seconds of the half.
Eugene Asante again led Auburn in tackles with a career-high 12 and a sack.
Daniels completed 20 of 27 passes for 325 yards and three TDs, adding 93 yards rushing on 11 carries.
Freshman Jeremiah Cobb led Auburn with 69 yards rushing on 10 carries. Thorne completed 12 of 23 passes for 102 yards. Ashford was 3-for-4 for 52 yards and a touchdown.
The Tigers (3-3, 0-3) return to Jordan-Hare Stadium next Saturday to host No. 13 Ole Miss at Jordan-Hare Stadium at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN and the Auburn Sports Network.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
Postgame Notes
>> Captains: Luke Deal, Elijah McAllister, Kam Stutts, Payton Thorne
>> Coin Toss: Auburn wins the coin toss and defers; LSU to receive
>> Attendance: 102,321 (capacity)
TEAM NOTES
>> First-time starters for Auburn: Keldric Faulk, Caleb Wooden, Caleb Burton III
>> Auburn has scored in 135 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in school history.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: OFFENSE
>> Brian Battie has passed the 2,000-yard rushing mark for his career. He had 1,842 yards rushing at USF.
>> Jarquez Hunter scored his third rushing TD of the season and 13th of his career.
>> Jarquez Hunter is now 35th among Auburn career rushers with 1,480 yards, passing Cam Newton (1,473 in 2010); next is Tommy Lorino (1,486 in 1956-58).
>> Brandon Frazier's 39-yard reception was a career long; Frazier's 3-yard TD catch was the first score of his career.
>> Robby Ashford's TD pass to Frazier was his second touchdown pass of the season and ninth of his career.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: DEFENSE
>> D.J. James records his second interception of the season, his third at Auburn and the fifth of his career (two at Oregon).
>> Eugene Asante has surpassed 100 tackles for his career (62 at North Carolina); he now has 110. His 12 tackles tonight tie a career high.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: SPECIAL TEAMS
>> Oscar Chapman's 53-yard and 58-yard punts give him 32 punts of 50+ yards during his career.
>> Alex McPherson has made 12 consecutive field goals.