Sunday, October 15, 2000
LSU 34, Kentucky 0
First shutout ever for Mumme
By RUSTY HAMPTON
The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal
BATON ROUGE, La. — It wasn't so long ago the University of Kentucky was piling up enough yards, points and “firsts” to carry the Wildcats to back-to-back winning seasons and bowl trips.
The “firsts” are still coming, but they're the kind that will have Cats fans soon turning their attention to basketball instead of bowl trips.
One of the Southeastern Conference's lowest-rated defenses kept the Cats out of the end zone for the first time this season last night, leading to a surprisingly easy 34-0 victory for Louisiana State before a Tiger Stadium crowd of 85,664.
It was the first time Kentucky has been shut out in the Hal Mumme era, and the first time Mumme has been shut out in his 11-plus years as a head coach.
Kentucky lost three fumbles (two on muffed punts), and the shutout was preserved when freshman cornerback Erin Damond intercepted Jared Lorenzen's pass in the end zone with 1:39 left.
Lorenzen completed 31 of 55 passes for 280 yards — hardly the stuff of the nation's seventh-ranked passing attack.
The closest Kentucky came to scoring was a missed 46-yard field goal by Seth Hanson on the Cats' first possession. Six other times, they crossed midfield but came away empty.
Kentucky (2-5 overall, 0-4 in the SEC), has now lost four in a row for the first time under Mumme and will try to break that streak Saturday against one of the league's hottest teams, Georgia.
Meanwhile, one of the league's most inconsistent quarterbacks looked like an all-conference performer against the Cats.
Josh Booty, who started only because Rohan Davey is out with an ankle injury, led a balanced attack that wore Kentucky down and looked little like the chuck-and-duck offense the Tigers brought to Lexington, Ky., last year under Gerry Dinardo.
In that game, a 31-5 Kentucky victory, the Cats picked off three Booty passes.
This time, the sophomore got his revenge.
A former third baseman for the Florida Marlins, Booty looked like a major leaguer on the gridiron as well, completing 15 of 33 throws for 225 yards and three touchdowns. More important, the country's most frequently-intercepted quarterback didn't throw one against the Cats.
The first half featured a lot of offense (the teams combined for 348 total yards), a lot of mistakes and very little scoring.
LSU took the opening kickoff and drove 74 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead just over four minutes into the game. After Kentucky's Kendrick Shanklin fumbled a punt, John Corbello drilled a 38-yard field goal to make it 10-0 with 47 seconds left in the quarter. And that was it for the scoring in the half.
Booty completed just 6 of 19 passes in the half, but one went for a 7-yard touchdown to Josh Reed. At least five of his throws were dropped, including a potential touchdown play by tight end Robert Royal in the final minute.
Kentucky ....... 0 0 0 0— 0
LSU ....... 10 0 14 0—34
First Quarter
LSU—Reed 7 pass from Booty (Corbello kick), 10:27.
LSU—FG Corbello 38, :48.
Third Quarter
LSU—Henderson, 8 run (Corbello kick), 11:06.
LSU—Robinson 13 pass from Booty (Corbello kick), 4:02.
Fourth Quarter
LSU—FG Corbello 31, 14:00.
LSU—Edwards 25 pass from Booty (Corbello kick), 4:55.
A—85,664
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Kentucky, Johnson 11-53, Lorenzen 6-27, Simms 1-16, Homer 2-12, Pinner 1-5, Bryan 1-4. LSU, Toefield 18-52, Davis 13-45, Henderson 7-18, Banks 4-5, J. Booty 4-(minus-6).
PASSING—Kentucky, Lorenzen 31-55-1 280. LSU, J. Booty 15-33-0 225.
RECEIVING—Kentucky, McCord 4-51, Smith 3-41, Allen 3-26, Abney 3-24, Johnson 3-20, Homer 3-19, Harp 3-17, Blizzard 3-16, Shanklin 2-24, Pinner 2-6, Beirne 1-21, Kelly 1-15. LSU, Reed 7-67, Edwards 2-59, Myers 2-52, Toefield, 2-20, Royal 1-14, Robinson 1-13.
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LSU 34, Kentucky 0
