Garrett Nussmeier shines, but Harold Perkins is injured, as No. 16 LSU tops UCLA 34-17

Updated Sep. 21, 2024 9:12 p.m. ET

Associated Press

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — There were boos in Tiger Stadium as coach Brian Kelly and his heavily favored, 16th-ranked LSU squad trotted off the field at halftime of a tie game against UCLA on Saturday.

Whether because of LSU's mercurial early play or the oppressive Louisiana heat, large sections of the stadium cleared out soon after.

Those who stuck it out saw a much different second half.

Garrett Nussmeier passed for 352 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 16 LSU outscored UCLA 17-0 after halftime for a 34-17 victory.

“Wish we were cleaner in the first half. The mistakes are maddening,” Kelly said. “Those are the guys we got. There's nobody getting traded. ... We're going to keep working with them and they're going to turn the corner.”

LSU also lost the services of linebacker Harold Perkins, a preseason All-America selection, when he injured his right knee while making a tackle in the fourth quarter.

Perkins needed help getting to the sideline. Minutes later, he walked gingerly to the locker room with a towel over his head, flanked by trainers on each side.

“He's injured,” Kelly said. “We don't know. I mean, we'll do all the diagnostic testing tonight and tomorrow and well have a better answer” on Monday.

When Perkins left, LSU (3-1) led by two touchdowns and added a field goal with 5:48 left in what became the Tigers' third straight victory.

Mason Taylor had eight catches for 77 yards, supplanting Richard Dickson as the most prolific receiving tight end in LSU history, now with 999 career yards.

“It means a lot, it’s always a goal to make an impact on a program," Taylor said. "I feel like I can do a lot for this offense and I’m ready for anything they give me.”

Nussmeier completed 32 of 44 passes, highlighted by his 45-yard scoring strike to Kyle Parker deep down the right sideline, and did not turn the ball over.

“The offensive line did a great job keeping me upright and guys were making plays from the start,” Nussmeier said. "No moment is too big for us as an offense and I thought we did a really good job of just focusing, executing and taking it step by step.”

Breakout LSU freshman running back Caden Durham scored on a 35-yard catch and run. Josh Williams' 2-yard scoring run in the third quarter gave the Tigers the lead for good. Aaron Anderson finished with six catches for 75 yards.

Ethan Garbers passed for 281 yards and two touchdowns for UCLA (1-2), but lost a fumble in the first half and was intercepted in the second.

“It’s baby steps, but I just like the way my team is fighting. They are being resilient and continually trying to fight during the game,” UCLA coach DeShaun Foster said. "As long as my guys continue to fight and they want to get better, we will get better.”

LSU entered the game as more than three-touchdown favorites.

Both teams went 75 yards on their opening possessions for touchdowns on a 5-yard reception by LSU's Zavion Thomas and a 20-yard catch by UCLA's Jack Pedersen.

LSU defensive end Bradyn Swinson, coming off a three-sack game a week earlier, had two against UCLA. The second caused Garbers to fumble in Bruins territory, setting up an LSU field goal that made it 17-10.

But the Bruins drew even in the final seconds of the half on an 11-yard scoring passing to Logan Loya that Garbers released just as he was taking a heavy hit.

Takeaways

UCLA: The Bruins responded well to their humbling 42-13 home loss to Indiana a week earlier. Contending with the oppressive heat and humidity of an early season day game in south Louisiana — not to mention a hostile Death Valley crowd — UCLA went toe to toe with the Tigers for 2 1/2 quarters.

LSU: Giving up 17 first-half points to an offense that had not scored more than 16 points in either of its previous two games was not a great look for the Tigers' defense or highly paid ($2.5 million per year) first-year coordinator Blake Baker. But the unit responded well in the second half.

Heat factor

With the sun blaring and temperatures in the 90s made worse by humidity, fans were seen receiving medical attention and security workers said they saw some passing out.

Players said the heat was draining for them as well.

“We would prefer later games, but we are beholden to what the national (TV) audience is,” Kelly said. “I feel bad and I hope everyone is okay. I did see visually that there weren’t many fans in the stands (across from LSU's bench) because the sun was pounding on them.”