LSU safety Ronald Martin and defensive end Lavar Edwards each snagged deflected passes and returned them for scores, helping No. 3 LSU pull away for a 63-14 victory over winless Idaho on Saturday night in Baton Rouge, La.
The victory gave LSU (3-0) an NCAA FBS record 40th-straight non-conference regular-season victory. LSU also set a Tiger Stadium mark with 20 straight home wins, while extending its national-best regular-season winning streak to 16 games.
LSU intercepted Idaho’s Dominique Blackman four times. Martin, a sophomore making his first start with Craig Loston getting the night off, had two, both off deflections by cornerback Jalen Collins. Both also resulted in touchdowns.
The Tigers’ offense wasn’t bad, either.
Zach Mettenberger surpassed 200 yards passing for the first time, completing 17 of 22 passes for 222 yards with TD passes of 17 yards to Kadron Boone and 7 yards to Jarvis Landry.
Kenny Hilliard rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns, giving him six TDs this season.
Blackman was 23 of 36 for 174 yards and two TD passes. Gary Walker had a 94-yard interception return for Idaho (0-3), setting up the Vandals’ first touchdown.
At one point, Idaho trailed the Tigers just 21-14 with 5:34 remaining in the second quarter.
At Boise State 39, Miami (Ohio) 12: D.J. Harper rushed for a career-high 162 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Broncos (1-1) to the victory over the RedHawks (1-2).
Harper, a sixth-year senior who was granted a medical redshirt and an extra year of eligibility, also caught a 21-yard pass from Joe Southwick and ran for a two-point conversion.
At Nevada 45, Northwestern State 34: Stefphon Jefferson rushed for 247 yards and two touchdowns as the Wolf Pack (2-1) rolled up 655 total yards in beating the Demons (1-2). Brad Henderson passed for 357 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 102 yards for Northwestern State in a game that featured 1,240 yards of offense.
Cal Poly 24, at Wyoming 22: Deonte Williams rushed for 187 yards, including a 65-yard score on the game’s fourth play, and the FCS Mustangs (2-0) held on to beat the Cowboys (0-3).
At Montana 34, Liberty 14: Peter Nguyen ran a punt back 90 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter as the Grizzlies (2-1) jumped out to a 24-0 halftime lead over the Flames (0-3).
At Montana State 43, Stephen F. Austin 35: Cody Kirk scored three touchdowns, including a 6-yard run with 2:26 remaining, that sparked the Bobcats (3-0) past the Lumberjacks (1-2), who got a career-high 418 yards and 3 TDs passing from Brady Attaway.
At Sacramento State 28, Northern Colorado 17: Garrett Safron threw two touchdown passes, Ezekiel Graham ran for 98 yards and another score, and the Hornets (2-1) came from behind to beat the Bears (1-2).
At San Jose State 40, Colorado State 20: Chandler Jones caught two long touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to help the Spartans (2-1) pull away from the Rams (1-2). Jones finished with six catches for 133 yards, and Noel Grigsby had seven for 124 and Jabari Carr had eight for 108 and two touchdowns for San Jose State.
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