October 20, 2007 Week 8 · Regular Season Belt changed hands

LSU takes the belt, 30–24, at home over Auburn.

Home · New Holder

LSUAP No. 5 30

Away · Defending Holder

AuburnAP No. 18 24

AP poll, week 8: Auburn No. 18 at LSU No. 5 · No. 1 that week: Michigan. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

LSU took the belt here, ending Auburn’s run of 21 days and 2 defenses (reign #262) and starting reign #263. It lasted 34 days and 3 defenses, until Arkansas took it on November 23, 2007.

For LSU this was its 15th shot at the belt; it had held the belt 5 times before — and it took it back here.

It was the first of 2 meetings between the two with the belt on the line; all-time it is 1–1.

AI-Written

Recap

Auburn struck first with two touchdowns in the opening quarter and a field goal to build an early 17-7 lead, but LSU's offense found its rhythm behind Matt Flynn's arm. LSU tied the game with a touchdown to Early Doucet and two field goals by Colt David to make it 16-14 heading into the fourth quarter. The Tigers pulled away with a Jacob Hester touchdown reception and another David field goal to extend their lead to 30-17, and though Auburn answered with a late touchdown to make it 30-24, LSU sealed the win with a dramatic Demetrius Byrd touchdown reception in the final second. Flynn's 337 passing yards and four touchdown passes proved too much for Auburn's defense, despite the Tigers' 19+ minutes of time of possession.

Brandon Cox to Montez Billings 17-yard TD in Q1 -- Auburn's early momentum
Matt Flynn to Keiland Williams 46-yard TD in Q1 -- LSU answers immediately
Jacob Hester 5-yard TD reception in Q4 with 12:55 left -- extended LSU lead to 30-17
Demetrius Byrd 22-yard TD with 0:01 remaining -- sealed belt for LSU

Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score

LSUAuburn

Total yards488296

Rushing yards16997

Passing yards337208

First downs2316

3rd down conv.7/156/14

Turnovers20

Penalties–yards5–353–20

Time of possession16:1719:13

Full team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play

When	Team	Yards	Play
Q1 10:10	Auburn	+17 yd	Brandon Cox pass complete to Montez Billings for 17 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 10:10	Auburn	+0 yd	Wes Byrum extra point GOOD.
Q1 3:19	LSU	+46 yd	Matt Flynn pass complete to Keiland Williams for 46 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 3:19	LSU	+0 yd	Colt David extra point GOOD.
Q2 9:34	Auburn	+1 yd	Carl Stewart rush for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 9:34	Auburn	+0 yd	Wes Byrum extra point GOOD.
Q2 1:40	Auburn	+22 yd	Wes Byrum 22 yard field goal GOOD.
Q2 4:21	Auburn	+33 yd	Brandon Cox pass complete to Montez Billings for 33 yards to the LSU 23 for a 1ST down.
Q3 13:00	LSU	+34 yd	Matt Flynn pass complete to Early Doucet for 34 yards to the Aub 34 for a 1ST down.
Q3 11:21	LSU	+29 yd	Colt David 29 yard field goal GOOD.
Q3 9:17	LSU	+21 yd	Matt Flynn pass complete to Early Doucet for 21 yards to the LSU 26 for a 1ST down.
Q3 6:48	LSU	+8 yd	Matt Flynn pass intercepted by Patrick Lee at the Aub 14, returned for 8 yards to the Aub 22.
Q3 2:46	LSU	+58 yd	Matt Flynn pass complete to Demetrius Byrd for 58 yards to the Aub 9 for a 1ST down.
Q3 2:03	LSU	+26 yd	Colt David 26 yard field goal GOOD.
Q4 12:55	LSU	+5 yd	Matt Flynn pass complete to Jacob Hester for 5 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 12:55	LSU	+0 yd	Colt David extra point GOOD.
Q4 14:49	LSU	+25 yd	Matt Flynn pass complete to Richard Dickson for 25 yards to the Aub 30 for a 1ST down.
Q4 12:55	LSU	+26 yd	Andrew Crutchfield kickoff for 70 yards returned by Mario Fannin for 26 yards to the Aub 26.
Q4 8:12	LSU	+33 yd	Colt David 33 yard field goal GOOD.
Q4 3:21	Auburn	+3 yd	Brandon Cox pass complete to Rodgeriqus Smith for 3 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 3:21	Auburn	+0 yd	Wes Byrum extra point GOOD.
Q4 0:01	LSU	+22 yd	Matt Flynn pass complete to Demetrius Byrd for 22 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 0:01	LSU	+0 yd	Colt David extra point GOOD.

Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

LSU

Player	INT	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	QBR
Matt Flynn	1	22/34	319	9.4	3	78.1
Ryan Perrilloux	0	0/1	0	0.0	0	0.2

Auburn

Player	INT	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	QBR
Brandon Cox	0	18/28	199	7.1	2	64.0

Rushing

LSU

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	LONG
Jacob Hester	9	50	5.6	20
Matt Flynn	10	34	3.4	18
Charles Scott	5	28	5.6	17
Trindon Holliday	1	17	17.0	17
Terrence Toliver	1	17	17.0	17
Ryan Perrilloux	4	11	2.8	5
Keiland Williams	1	6	6.0	6
Richard Murphy	2	6	3.0	3

Auburn

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Brad Lester	16	68	4.3	0	13
Ben Tate	10	17	1.7	0	6
Brandon Cox	6	12	2.0	0	9
Carl Stewart	1	1	1.0	1	1
Kodi Burns	1	1	1.0	0	1

Receiving

LSU

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Early Doucet	7	93	13.3	0	33
Demetrius Byrd	3	89	29.7	1	58
Keiland Williams	1	46	46.0	1	46
Richard Dickson	3	31	10.3	0	25
Terrence Toliver	2	19	9.5	0	13
Brandon LaFell	3	18	6.0	0	13
Richard Murphy	1	17	17.0	0	17
Jacob Hester	2	6	3.0	1	5

Auburn

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Montez Billings	6	78	13.0	1	31
Rodgeriqus Smith	6	56	9.3	1	19
Brad Lester	5	56	11.2	0	18
Mario Fannin	1	9	9.0	0	9

Show more stats (4 more categories)

Interceptions

LSU

No recorded stats in this category.

Auburn

Player	INT	YDS	TD
Pat Lee	1	8	0

Kicking

LSU

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Colt David	3/3	100.0	33	3/3	12

Auburn

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Wes Byrum	1/1	100.0	22	3/3	6

Punt Returns

LSU

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Chad Jones	5	35	7.0	19	0

Auburn

No recorded stats in this category.

Punting

LSU

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Patrick Fisher	4	208	52.0	0	0	55

Auburn

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Ryan Shoemaker	5	210	42.0	0	0	53
Patrick Tatum	2	92	46.0	0	0	46

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.

Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 272930099) · This game in the downloadable dataset

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