Derrius Guice rushed for a career-high 252 yards and Leonard Fournette added three touchdowns and No. 24 LSU improved to 4-1 under interim coach Ed Orgeron with a 38-10 win over No. 25 Arkansas on Saturday night.
The win ends a two-game losing streak against the Razorbacks for the Tigers (6-3, 4-2 SEC), who were coming off a 10-0 loss to No. 1 Alabama.
Guice rushed for two touchdowns on 21 carries, and his 96-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter was the longest in school history. Fournette scored on runs of 7, 7 and 3 yards for LSU, finishing with 98 yards rushing on 17 carries.
“Arkansas sees us as an easy victory every time we lose to Alabama because we always play them right after,” Guice said. “They felt like it was tradition to just beat us every time we play Alabama and lose, so I’m just happy we got to bring the Boot back home.”
The Tigers outgained Arkansas (6-4, 2-4) 547-291 in total yardage, and LSU quarterback Danny Etling finished 10-of-16 passing for 157 yards.
Rawleigh Williams accounted for 103 total yards to lead the Razorbacks, while Austin Allen was 15-of-31 passing for 210 yards and two interceptions.
“Offensively, it just seemed like whenever we did something good we shot ourselves in the foot or did something uncharacteristic,” Arkansas coach Bret Bielema said. “That obviously set us back.”
Guice’s previous career high was a 163-yard performance against Missouri on Oct. 1. The sophomore has now topped the 100-yard rushing mark in four games this season, and his career night comes a week after a two-carry, 8-yard performance against Alabama.
“We felt that Derrius deserved more touches,” Orgeron said. “Obviously, Derrius is a very good running back and we wanted to share the carries.”
THE TAKEAWAY
So much for the Alabama hangover for LSU, which had lost in two straight years to Arkansas. Both of those games came after physical matchups with the top-ranked Crimson Tide, but the Tigers were clearly the dominant team from their first possession — when they went 75 yards on nine plays for an opening touchdown.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Despite last week’s loss to Alabama, the Tigers remained in this week’s rankings and they’re likely to rise significantly after such a dominating win on Saturday. The Razorbacks, meanwhile, lost any good will they had with voters following last week’s 31-10 win over Florida and likely have to win out to return to the rankings this season.
UP NEXT
LSU returns home to host Florida in the makeup of the hurricane-postponed game from last month.
The Razorbacks are on the road for their final two regular-season games, starting next week at Mississippi State.
