 Baton Rouge, La. - The Western Kentucky University football team gave #1 LSU all it could handle, but in the end the top-ranked Tigers proved too much as they brought an end to the Hilltoppers' five-game win streak with a 42-9 victory in front of 92,917 Saturday night at Tiger Stadium.
 Leading just 14-7 at the half, the Tigers outscored WKU 28-2 in the final 30 minutes of play to pull away.
 "I thought our guys came out and played really hard. We just made too many mistakes in the second half, and you can't do that against any team, but especially one like LSU," said Hilltopper head coach Willie Taggart. "In the first half, we played outstanding with a lot of intensity. We were just unable to get anything going in the second half."
 "I really want to give Coach Taggart and his team a lot of credit," said LSU head coach Les Miles. "They came in tonight and gave us all we could handle. They have a really good football team."
 After the Hilltopper defense forced LSU (10-0) to punt on the opening possession, the Tiger offense wasted little time scoring the next time they had the ball. On the first play of the drive, Jordan Jefferson connected with Rueban Randle on a 59-yard scoring pass, putting LSU in front 7-0 with 6:18 to go in the first quarter.
 The Hilltoppers (5-5) responded with a 10-play, 65-yard scoring drive of their own, scoring the first opening-quarter points allowed by the Tigers all year. Keshawn Simpson capped off the drive with a two-yard scoring run to tie the game at 7-7 with 1:26 remaining in the quarter. It was the first touchdown of Simpson's career. On the ensuing kickoff, Xavius Boyd forced a fumble that was recovered by Vince Williams at the 45-yard line, giving the ball back to the WKU offense. The Toppers were unable to capitalize on the turnover, but Hendrix Brakefield pinned the Tigers at the 11 as the second quarter started with the game tied.
 It remained a 7-7 game until late in the first half when the Tigers put together and eight-play, 68-yard scoring drive. A 24-yard pass from Jefferson to Chase Clement moved the ball down to the WKU 4, and on third down Kenny Hilliard scored from a yard out to give LSU a 14-7 lead with 3:36 remaining before halftime. The Tigers would go into the locker room with a seven-point lead.
 WKU controlled time of possession in the first half, holding the ball for just over 20 minutes. Three of its five offense drives lasted over four-and-a-half minutes. The Hilltoppers tallied 140 yards of offense before halftime, getting 62 yards on the ground and 78 through the air.
 LSU quickly got on the board after halftime, getting another one-yard run from Hilliard to go up 21-7 with 8:58 to go in the third quarter. However, Antonio Andrews was able to return the kickoff 73 yards to the LSU 26. A 17-yard reverse by Boe Brand and a seven-yard run by Bobby Rainey got the ball down to the one, but the Tiger defense stopped the Hilltoppers on three straight plays from the one, denying WKU a score.
 With LSU starting at its own one, the Hilltopper defense was able to stop two straight runs, and Bo Adebayo got a sack of Jefferson in the end zone for a safety, making it a 21-9 game with 5:22 to go in the third.
 The Hilltopper offense got the ball back after the safety, but a Tahj Jones interception gave LSU the ball back at the WKU 42 yard line. After a three-yard loss on first down, Alfred Blue broke a 45-yard touchdown run, stretching the LSU lead to 28-9 with 2:53 to go in the quarter. Blue added another TD run early in the fourth quarter to stretch the lead to 35-9.
 The Tigers put one more score on the board late, capping a 14-play, 83-yard drive with a five-yard scoring pass from Jarrett Lee to Kadron Boone to go up 42-9 with 5:45 remaining, marking the final score of the game.
 For the Hilltoppers, Rainey carried the ball 28 times for 85 yards, marking the second-most yards allowed by LSU this season. Alabama's Trent Richardson had 89 yards against LSU last week. Rainey had eclipsed 100-yards last in the game, but a tackle for a big loss pushed his final total to 85. Jack Doyle accounted for four of WKU's 11 receptions on the night for 44 yards.
 Blue finished the game with nine carries for 119 yards and two scores for LSU, while Jefferson completed eight of 14 passes for 168 yards and a score.
 Kiante Young led the Hilltopper defense with a season-high 11 tackles , while Ben Duvall and Andrew Jackson finished with eight stops each. Kevin Minter led LSU with 11 tackles.
 The Hilltoppers return to Sun Belt Conference action next Saturday (Nov. 19), visiting North Texas for a 6 p.m. (CST) kickoff in Denton. The game will be televised on the Sun Belt Network, and can be seen locally in Bowling Green on WKYU-PBS.
- WKU -
