BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) – Leonard Fournette broke LSU’s single-game rushing record on just his first eight carries – scoring three touchdowns of 59 yards or more – and the 25th-ranked Tigers beat No. 23 Mississippi 38-21 on Saturday night.
Fournette finished with 284 yards rushing in his first action since aggravating a left ankle injury on Sept. 24. The speed and force with which he carried the ball left little doubt about how good he feels now. His touchdowns went for 78, 76 and 59 yards. He averaged 17.8 yards on 16 carries.
The victory puts LSU (5-2, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) at 3-0 under interim coach Ed Orgeron, who replaced Les Miles when the Tigers were 2-2.
Since Orgeron took over and promoted Steve Ensminger to offensive coordinator, the Tigers have demonstrated a penchant for big plays. They had four TDs of 40 or more yards against the Rebels, including Danny Etling’s 40-yard pass to D.J. Chark.
LSU finished with 515 total yards against Ole Miss (3-4, 1-3), which saw its chances of getting back into the SEC West race take a huge hit.