BATON ROUGE, La. — Georgia coach Mark Richt once called the Tiger Stadium crowd the loudest he’d ever heard.
Knowshon Moreno may remember Death Valley more for the hush he caused with his tackle-breaking 68-yard touchdown run.
Moreno’s long score late in the third quarter gave ninth-ranked Georgia a three-touchdown lead, and the Bulldogs held on for a 52-38 victory over No. 11 LSU on Saturday that sent many Tigers fans to the exits early.
“I didn’t hear anything but somebody behind me trying to catch me,” Moreno said. “I was just running hard, trying to get an important score.”
The game showcased two of the best running backs in the Southeastern Conference, and neither disappointed. Moreno gained 163 yards, while LSU’s Charles Scott gained 144 yards and scored two touchdowns.
The Bulldogs (7-1, 4-1) had a big edge at quarterback, however, with the experienced Matthew Stafford calmly delivering clutch throws, none better than his 49-yard touchdown to freshman A.J. Green while the Tigers brought heavy pressure on third-and-10.
Stafford was 17-of-26 for 249 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for a 7-yard score in the fourth quarter while improving to 24-5 as a starter.
LSU redshirt freshman Jarrett Lee threw three interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns of 40 and 53 yards by Georgia linebacker Darryl Gamble. Lee was 14-of-28 for 287 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore Andrew Hatch took a couple of drive-stalling sacks and could not move the Tigers consistently.
The loss was a devastating one for LSU (5-2, 3-2), which still does not have a victory over a team currently ranked in the top 25 and will have to get help to catch SEC West-leading Alabama. It also marked the first time LSU had yielded 50-plus points more than twice in the same season.
Georgia, meanwhile, can take the SEC East lead by beating Florida in Jacksonville, Fla., next Saturday. Richt, 28-4 on opponents’ fields, celebrated his latest road masterpiece by raising both arms in front of a rowdy contingent of Georgia fans while the band played Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
