This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
BATON ROUGE, La. • Kenny Hilliard rushed for 141 yards and two touchdowns to help No. 3 LSU open its season with a 41-14 victory over North Texas on Saturday night.
While the heavily favored Tigers never were threatened, their performance did not always thrill a Death Valley crowd that eagerly anticipated the debut of Zach Mettenberger as starting quarterback.
Mettenberger, who briefly was sidelined by a vicious sack, was 19 of 26 for 192 yards, an interception and a touchdown. But LSU didn't really need to throw in a game decided by its overwhelming defense and a running game that accounted for 316 yards, including 123 yards by Alfred Blue.
North Texas quarterback Derek Thompson completed only 8 of 21 passes, but two passes were scoring strikes of 80 and 15 yards to Brelan Chancellor. —