November 15, 2008 - Troy vs #19 LSU

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• published: 13 Aug 2016
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LSU Storms Back With School-Record Comeback, Topples Troy: LSU needed the most remarkable comeback in its long football history Saturday to beat Troy, as the Tigers stormed back from a four-touchdown deficit to win 40-31 at Tiger Stadium. After almost three quarters of painfully inept football that saw it fall behind 31-3, LSU somehow discovered its mojo on homecoming and snatched victory from what seemed a certain, humiliating defeat. The improbable game featured 113 combined passes. The Tigers previous best comebacks were against Houston -- 20 points in 1996 -- and Ole Miss -- 21 in 1977. LSU turned it on in the second half Saturday, scoring five touchdowns and a field goal. The turnaround stunned what was left of a crowd of 92,103, after thousands of discouraged fans left early. Senior fullback Quinn Johnson scored on two 1-yard runs, the last with 1:35 remaining to complete the astonishing win for No.¤19 LSU (7-3), which will host Ole Miss on Saturday. Both redshirt freshman Jarrett Lee and true freshman Jordan Jefferson contributed at quarterback, although it took both most of the game to get untracked. At first, neither could generate much offense, and a microcosm of the Tigers' early miserable performance came on the final plays of the first half when, after recovering a fumble with less than a minute to go, LSU's offense stalled again in Troy territory. Junior tailback Charles Scott failed to get a yard on third down, and with 3 seconds left, LSU called its final timeout and sent David in to attempt a 42-yard field goal. Instead, LSU holder Brady Dalfrey bungled the snap, and the Tigers got nothing but boos, as they headed to the locker room for halftime. For most of the game, LSU repeatedly had running plays that went for no gain. Lee and Jefferson were off-target early. And the defense could not stop the Trojans (6-4), repeatedly allowing quarterback Levi Brown to connect for first downs on third-and-long situations. That led to several long drives for Troy. Its first touchdown came at the end of a 16-play, 88-yard drive on which Brown converted four third downs. The last of those was a third-and-10 at the LSU 17-yard line on which Brown hit Jerrel Jerrigan to set up first-and-goal at the LSU 7-yard line. Two plays later, Patrick Cherry caught a 7-yard strike, the first of two touchdowns passes by Brown, who completed 34 of 72 attempts. The play was a Trojans staple all night long -- a quick slant for a nice gain. Another short kickoff from Troy followed, and though LSU took possession at its 39-yard line, it gained just one first down and was forced to settle for a 52-yard field goal by Colt David. Troy then marched 67 yards on seven plays, capped by Kennard Burton's 1-yard touchdown. A field goal by Sam Glusman expanded the lead to 17-3 early in the second quarter, which was followed by Terence Moore's interception. Moore weaved through the LSU offense to the end zone, and it marked Lee's seventh interception returned for a touchdown this year. Suddenly, unexpectedly, it all changed. On a fourth down from Troy's 3, LSU Coach Les Miles sent Jefferson back in, and he scored to cut the Trojans lead to 31-10. The game still seemed out of reach for the Tigers, but they regained possession and scored on a 33-yard strike from Lee to wide receiver Brandon LaFell to cut it to 31-17 with 14 minutes remaining. The momentum shifted, in large part by Lee and LaFell, who caught 12 passes for 126 yards. That came to pass on Johnson's runs and a 4-yard scoring plunge by Scott. LSU capitalized on Troy's miscues and twice took over on downs when the Trojans looked like a team which felt the game slipping away. Johnson's first touchdown came with 10:33 remaining, and safety Chad Jones intercepted Brown to set up the Tigers at the Troy 13. David's second field goal -- a 27-yarder -- cut it to 31-27. Danny McCray then recovered a muffed punt at the Troy 20, and Scott punched it in from the 4, as LSU had its first lead at 33-31 with 4:50 remaining.