Sam Leavitt passed for three touchdowns in limited action, Corey Barber Jr. caught two of the scoring passes, Harlem Berry and Stacy Gage each rushed for more than 100 yards and No. 11 LSU routed McNeese 63-14 on Saturday night in Baton Rouge, La.
Leavitt, who is the second-leading rusher for the Tigers (4-1) but has been hampered by a hamstring injury, did not run the ball and played just the first half before being relieved by Landen Clark with LSU leading 35-0. Leavitt passed for 176 yards and an interception.
Barber, a freshman who had just one reception for 15 yards before Saturday, finished with seven catches for 83 yards and his first touchdowns. Berry had the first 100-yard rushing game of his two-year career, finishing with 125 yards and a score on 15 carries, and Gage rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns on six carries.
LSU outgained the FCS Cowboys (2-4) 731-196 and finished with a 37-6 advantage in first downs.
On the first possession of the second half, Clark completed four passes for 66 yards and Deuce Geralds ran 1 yard for a touchdown. Berry followed with an 11-yard touchdown run that expanded the lead to 49-0.
Backup quarterback Brady Barrier relieved Jake Strong and threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to Jamaal Levi, who ran 64 yards for a touchdown on the next possession for the Cowboys’ points.
Gage ran 46 yards and 39 yards for fourth-quarter touchdowns and the Tigers’ final points.
McNeese drove to the LSU 45 on the game’s first possession before Tamarcus Cooley intercepted Strong and returned to the Cowboys’ 48. Nine plays later, Dilin Jones rushed 1 yard for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
Leavitt threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Roman Mothershed for a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Clark ran 3 yards for a touchdown to extend the lead to 21-0. Leavitt’s 6-yard and 12-yard touchdown passes to Barber pushed the lead to 35-0 at halftime.
