AU FOOTBALL: Defense burned by quarterback tandem

BATON ROUGE, La. — The gameplan was set. And, for the most part, executed.

For the most part.

Auburn came into Saturday night’s game at Tiger Stadium geared up to stop the run. Namely, LSU bruiser Charles Scott and speedster Trindon Holliday.

And it did.

But the Tigers forgot about LSU’s quarterback of the future, Russell Shepard, and his “run faster than anyone in a blue uniform” prowess.

Shepard knocked out any thought of an Auburn comeback with 1:09 to play in the third quarter, going 69 yards — untouched —  for a touchdown and giving LSU a 31-3 lead.

That was the longest run by an LSU player in two years.

Shepard, playing mostly as the go-to guy in the Wildcat, also played some tailback Saturday.

And, boy, did that go over well.

Shepard rushed six times for 71 yards and that score, averaging 11.8 yards per carry. Not bad.

Scott, LSU’s leading rusher coming into the game, was held to just 20 yards on 10 carries.

There was also another LSU quarterback who got loose Saturday.

But this one did it with his arm.

Starter Jordan Jefferson burned Auburn for 242 passing yards and two touchdowns, exposing another part of Auburn’s thin and inexperienced defense.

LSU had nine pass plays go for 12 yards or more, including touchdown passes of 14 and 17 yards.

In a game in which LSU’s ground game was expected to beat Auburn, it was, in fact, the LSU air attack that did it.

It was the most passing yards of Jefferson’s career, eclipsing the 233-yard performance he had in LSU’s win over Mississippi State in the fourth game of the season.

For the game, the Bayou Bengals threw for 254 yards. They ran for 122.

Not a bad night for LSU head coach Les Miles. But he knows there’s a way to go.

“Our offense came to life,” he said. “I still don’t think we’re hitting on all cylinders.

“We understand where we’re at.”

Plagued by injuries and depth issues, Auburn’s defense has now given up 1,228 yards in the last three games — all losses. That’s just more than 409 yards per contest.

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