Auburn Tigers football lost its third straight game this season to No. 9 Louisiana State University Tigers, 31-10.
LSU controlled the game from the beginning, jumping out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.
"LSU played a great game," said Auburn head coach Gene Chizik. "From the beginning to the end, they executed better than we did, and I'd say they beat us in about every phase of the football game."
Auburn could not contain LSU's sophomore quarterback Jordan Jefferson.
Jefferson had the best game of his career, completing 21 passes on 31 attempts for 242 yards and two touchdowns.
He also added a rushing touchdown and 26 yards rushing on 12 attempts.
"He had a big night, he executed really well," Chizik said.
Auburn was able to avoid being shut out in the third quarter when junior kicker Wes Byrum connected on a 24-yard field goal.
The once potent Auburn offense, capable of putting up more than 500 yards a game, was held to 193 total yards by the LSU defense, including only 42 yards in the first half.
"That's one of the best defenses in the country," Chizik said
Chizik said he can't look at one guy when evaluating this game.
"The whole offense right now is being unproductive," Chizik said. "You have 42 yards of offense at halftime, you can't pin that on one guy."
Senior running back Ben Tate failed to rush for more than 100 yards for the first time this season against an SEC opponent.
Tate rushed 18 times for 67 yards.
Senior quarterback Chris Todd was held to less than 100 yards passing for the second week in a row.
Freshman tight end Phillip Lutzenkhirchen caught the second touchdown of his career with eight seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Auburn's special teams was able to hold LSU to zero punt return yards on seven punts by senior punter Clinton Durst.
Sophomore linebacker Eltoro Freeman was a bright spot on the defense.
Freeman had 12 total tackles, including two tackles for loss and a sack.
Auburn plays University of Mississippi Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium at 11:21 a.m. CDT.
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