Auburn didn't become the third top-10 SEC West team to lose Saturday night.
It wasn't even close, either. Auburn ran out to a 17-0 lead over LSU en route to a 41-7 win over the other Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium to move to 5-0 and 2-0 in the SEC.
LSU couldn't stop Auburn's running game, which racked up 298 yards. However, it couldn't stop Auburn's passing game either. Nick Marshall was 14-22 for 207 yards and two touchdowns -- in addition to 119 yards rushing -- and Jeremy Johnson was 3-3 for 61 passing.
But even if LSU would have stifled Auburn's passing game, it still didn't have a shot thanks to QB woes of its own. Brandon Harris and Anthony Jennings were a combined 8-23 for 142 yards. Oh, the LSU offense was 0-12 on third downs. It was simply a miserable day.
LSU's lone score came after Auburn had gotten the three-score lead as Kenny Hilliard scored a TD from a yard out to cut the deficit to 17-7 at the end of the first quarter. It was all the life LSU would get as Auburn scored twice in the second quarter to create a 31-7 halftime lead. The game was over at that point and at 0-2, LSU is tied for last in the SEC West with Arkansas.
While Auburn is two games ahead of LSU and a game ahead of Texas A&M and Alabama, teams who both lost Saturday, its schedule gets incredibly tough. The Tigers face ranked teams in five of its remaining seven games, including a visit to undefeated peer Mississippi State on October 11. Oh, and one of its unranked opponents is South Carolina. Did we mention the schedule was tough?
With the losses by Alabama and Oregon, Auburn will likely be No. 2 when polls are released on Sunday. And if it keeps winning, the Tigers will stay there. The other Tigers? Well, LSU has QB issues to figure out. Harris started Saturday in place of Jennings and was ineffective.
Will coach Les Miles go back to Jennings, who finished the game? Or stick with Harris? LSU travels to Florida, another team with QB problems, next week.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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