Five stats that defined LSU’s win over Army

It was another blowout win for LSU on Saturday night.

After beating Army 62-0, the Tigers have now outscored their last two opponents by a combined score of 110-18. It’s a breath of fresh air after this team got caught up in three straight shootouts.

The offense continues to roll and the defense is looking better, providing LSU with optimism before the trip to Tuscaloosa in a couple of weeks.

Anytime you have a game as lopsided as Saturday night, it can be difficult to find meaningful takeaways, but there are bits and pieces we can read into.

Here are five numbers that defined LSU’s 62-0 win over Army.

Andre Sam's two interceptions

Andre Sam had himself a night. He intercepted two passes and allowed just one catch in coverage. According to PFF, he was LSU’s top-graded defender on Saturday night.

Sam has been the most consistent defensive back on LSU’s roster this fall. A lot has been asked of him with the defense struggling, but the Marshall transfer held his own in most spots.

Sam’s three interceptions on the year lead the team. He’s made some impressive plays in space too. LSU needs a playmaker on the backend down the stretch and Sam’s looking like he could be that guy.

Army's 0% success rate on passing downs

Against a offense that struggles to throw the ball, LSU’s defense did what it should. It held Army to zero successful plays in obvious passing situations.

We knew LSU had the talent advantage, but this is a secondary that has flat-out blown coverages at times. That didn’t happen on Saturday night.

The defense played disciplined football and didn’t allow a single explosive play. When Army was put in third and long, LSU got off the field.

This trend dates back to the end of the Missouri game, which is a strong enough sample size to think there might be something here now.

Jayden Daniels: 18.6 yards per attempt

Jayden Daniels didn’t need to put up big numbers on Saturday. He threw just 15 times and was pulled early in the third. He didn’t do much on the ground either, totaling a season-low of six rushing yards.

But when he did throw the ball, he was incredibly efficient. He averaged 18.6 yards per attempt, which was more than any QB in the country yesterday.

On the year, Daniels now leads all of FBS with 11.3 yards per attempt. That puts him as the only QB to average over 11 yards per throw and over a half-yard better than JJ McCarthy’s 10.7 yards per attempt.

Daniels averaged just 7.5 yards per attempt last year and 8.6 over the course of his career. The 11.3 mark is nearly a four-yard improvement on his 2022 number and just what coaches and fans wanted to see from the veteran QB.

Seven players with rush attempts

Seven LSU players got to carry the ball on Saturday night. Daniels is included in that seven, but there were six LSU backs that saw action.

Logan Diggs got the start, but LSU was quick to rotate other guys in. John Emery Jr. got six carries and looks like he could be LSU’s No. 2 right now.

Noah Cain got reps in the second half, leading LSU rushers with four first downs on the night.

True freshman Trey Holly made his mark too. The blue-chip recruit carried it six times and led LSU with 91 yards thanks to this burst with under a minute left.

That seven doesn’t include Josh Williams, who didn’t get a carry but made his mark in the receiving game, catching two passes for 46 yards.

Running back was a question mark entering the year. Now, it’s anything but. LSU has a long list of backs it trusts along with a couple of talented youngsters beginning to emerge.

Garrett Nussmeier: 12 passing attempts

With the game in hand at halftime, LSU was able to get backup QB Garrett Nussmeier true first-team reps.

Nussmeier’s 12 attempts were a season-high. It was clear he wasn’t just in there to hand it off and wind the game down. Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock wanted give Nussmeier a chance to run this offense.

Nussmeier looked good. He got the ball out quick and averaged 12.9 yards per completion.

With Daniels playing like the best QB in the country, there hasn’t been much talk about Nussmeier this year, but he remains one of the better backup QBs in the sport.

If anything happens to Daniels, LSU’s in good hands with No. 13.

Story originally appeared on LSU Tigers Wire