Baton Rouge, LA – Ronald Martin had two interceptions and ran one in for a touchdown, while Kenny Hilliard ran for a pair of scores in No. 3 LSU's 63-14 rout of Idaho.
Hilliard carried to ball 11 times for 114 yards, Jeremy Hill added 60 yards on the ground with two touchdowns and Alfred Blue tallied 45 yards rushing and a score for the Tigers (3-0), who routed Washington last Saturday, 41-3.
Zach Mettenberger completed 17-of-22 passes for 223 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in the win.
"I think our football team was imperfect today," said LSU Head coach Les Miles. "I think everyone can see that we can be a dominant football team. In all three phases at different times we were dominant in this game. We need to eliminate some mistakes in the red zone. Frankly, we will learn from this game and we will be better for it. We will improve."
Old Dominion transfer Dominique Blackman was 23-of-36 for 174 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions for Idaho (0-3).
"The kids were excited to have the opportunity to play this game," said Idaho head coach Robb Akey. "There's no doubt about that. These guys were ready to play. It's a matter of playing well, and you have to be perfect. You have to be right all the time when you play someone like (LSU). Those guys are damn good."
Holding a 28-14 halftime advantage, LSU tallied 35 second-half points to turn the game into a rout.
In the third, Lavar Edwards had a 23-yard interception return for touchdown before Hilliard had TD runs of 71 and 1-yard, respectively, which increased the margin to 49-14.
Hill ran it in from four and eight yards in the fourth to account for the final margin.
Earlier, after Ryan Bass was tackled behind the line of scrimmage for a 2-yard loss on 4th-and-1 at the LSU 44-yard line on Idaho's opening series, Mettenberger found Russell Shepard for a 33-yard completion before hitting Kadron Boone for a 17-yard score, which capped a quick 4-play, 54-yard drive.
Blackman was intercepted by Martin on the second play of Idaho's next possession, and Blue capped a 6-play, 29-yard trek and made it 14-0 with a 3- yard touchdown plunge.
With LSU at the Idaho 8-yard line, Gary Walker intercepted Mettenberger's pass and returned it 94 yards the other wall all the way to the LSU 5-yard line. Three plays later, Blackman flipped a 4-yard score to Michael LaGrone, which cut the deficit to 14-7.
After Martin returned a Blackman interception 45 yards for a touchdown on Idaho's following possession, Blackman shook off the miscue and led the Vandals 83 yards in seven plays, completing all six of his attempts for 69 yards. He found Jahrie Level for a 22-yard score, which made it 21-14.
LSU added a late touchdown before the half when Mettenberger tossed a 7-yard score to Jarvis Landry for a 14-point bulge with 37 seconds left.
Game Notes
LSU outgained Idaho, 472-213 ... Idaho committed 9 penalties for 49 yards, while LSU tallied 8 penalties for 58 yards ... Odell Beckham caught four passes for 74 yards for the Tigers.
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