LSU romps over Oregon 40-27

The LSU Fighting Tigers opened their 2011 campaign against the mighty Ducks of Oregon last night, romping a  PAC 12 team that almost won a national championship eight months earlier.

But it was the Tigers that looked like the champs last night, running away from Oregon with a score of 40-27.

With the fate of their quarterback Jordan Jefferson hanging in the balance, the Tigers took it to the Ducks. 

"I asked them to put to the perimeter all the things that could be considered distractions," LSU coach Les Miles said. "I enjoyed Jarrett Lee's gutty effort. I liked how the offense did the things they needed to do."

Oregon's much-touted De'Anthony Thomas fumbled on consecutive possessions in the third quarter, leading to 14 points for the Tigers.

"Those are self-inflicted wounds," coach Chip Kelly said. "The drops, the turnovers and the penalties are the things that really killed us. Against a team like that, you're not going to win the game."

Jarrett Lee won the game for the Tigers, a quarterback that the Tiger faithful haven't seen start under center since 2009 against Louisiana Tech. But he was sharp.

"We've had a lot on our minds as team coming into this game," Lee said. "It's not something that we wanted to happen. But you have to put that to the side and move forward."

Next up for the Tigers, Norwestern State.