2010 LSU Tigers football team The 2010 LSU Tigers football team represented Louisiana State University in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season . The Tigers were led by head coach Les Miles in his 6th season . They played their home games at Tiger Stadium and were members of the Southeastern Conference in the Western Division . They finished the season 11 – 2 , 6 – 2 in SEC play and were invited to the Cotton Bowl Classic where they defeated Texas A & M 41 – 24 . Schedule . Schedule Source : Game notes . North Carolina . LSU began the 2010 season against North Carolina in the Chick - fil - A College Kickoff . North Carolina took the field missing 13 key players due to NCAA inverstigations over relationships with agents and possible academic violations . The Tigers scored first on a 6 - yard touchdown pass from Jordan Jefferson to Russell Shepard . After falling behind 10 - 7 , the Tigers scored 23 unawnswered points . Shepard gave the Tigers the lead with a 50 - yard touchdown run , followed by a safety , then two touchdowns from Patrick Peterson and Rueben Randle , respectively . North Carolina rallied with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and had an opportunity to score the game - tying touchdown with only seconds remaining . The Tigers defense held their ground and earned a hard - fought 30 - 24 victory in Atlanta . LSU won its 6th consecutive season opener under head coach Les Miles . Vanderbilt . The Tigers went on the road in week two to face the Vanderbilt Commodores . After a scoreless first quarter , Russell Shepard got the scoring going with a 30 yard touchdown run . After three straight field goals ( two by LSU , one by Vanderbilt ) , the Tigers put the game away with two touchdown runs by Alfred Blue and Stevan Ridley , respectively . The Tigers defeated the Commodores 27 - 3 marking a 2 - 0 start for the 5th consecutive season . Ridley finished the game with a season - high 159 rushing yards . LSU ' s defense dominated allowing just 135 total yards , and holding Vanderbilt to just 2 - 13 on third down . Mississippi State . The Tigers took the field in the season opener at Tiger Stadium against the Mississippi State Bulldogs . In the annual Gold Game , LSU began with 12 consecutive points and shut out the Bulldogs in the first half . After a 1 - yard touchdown run by Mississippi State ' s Vick Ballard , the Tigers responded with a 16 - yard run by Jordan Jefferson . LSU put the game away with a 2 - yard touchdown run by Stevan Ridley and defeated the Bulldogs 29 - 7 . The Tiger defense forced five interceptions , including two by Patrick Peterson . Josh Jasper kicked a school - record 5 field goals in the victory which gave the Tigers a 3 - 0 start . With the win , LSU extended its winning streak against Mississippi State to ten games , with their last loss coming in the 1999 season . West Virginia . In their week four matchup , LSU faced # 20 West Virginia . Stevan Ridley scored on a 1 - yard touchdown run at the end of the first quarter , and the Tigers held the lead the rest of the game . With 9 : 39 remaining in the first half , Patrick Peterson scored on a 60 - yard punt return touchdown . After the play , Peterson struck the famous Heisman Trophy pose for which he was penalized for excessive celebration . The Tigers went on to defeat the Mountaineers 20 - 14 . LSU relied heavily on its defense and special teams , getting an interception and a fumble recovery from Freshman Tyrann Mathieu , and two field goals from kicker Josh Jasper . Tennessee . LSU faced Tennessee in week five for the first time since the 2006 season . The game started with a bang with an 83 - yard touchdown run by Jordan Jefferson just two minutes into the game . Tennessee answered with just seconds remaining in the first quarter with a 1 - yard touchdown run by Tauren Poole . After a scoreless 2nd and 3rd quarter , the game became much more entertaining in the fourth . Tennessee took a 14 - 10 lead on a 3 - yard run by quarterback Matt Simms . LSU drove all the way down the field , but Jarrett Lee threw an interception in the endzone to give the Vols possession . Tennessee took the ball into field goal range , but was stopped on a fourth - and - one to give the ball back the Tigers . Led by Lee , LSU took the ball all the way down to the 2 - yard line . Jefferson attempted to run into the end zone , but was stopped short . With the seconds ticking away and without having any timeouts , the Tigers frantically tried to make substitutions and score the go - ahead touchdown . However , with only seconds remaining , LSU ' s center T - Bob Hebert snapped the ball to an unaware Jefferson , the ball was fumbled , and Tennessee fell on it with no time remaining . The scoreboard in the stadium and on TV read that Tennessee won 14 - 10 , and the two teams started leaving the field . However , Tennessee was penalized for too many men on the field when the ball was snapped , and the Tigers got one more untimed down . Stevan Ridley scored the game - winning 1 - yard touchdown run , giving LSU the win in dramatic fashion . Florida . After an unbelievable win against Tennessee , LSU traveled to Gainsville to face the Florida Gators . The Tigers controlled the game at halftime as they held a 20 - 14 lead . After a scorless 3rd quarter , Jordan Jefferson scored early in the 4th on a 3 - yard touchdown run . The Tigers looked to be in complete control with a 26 - 14 4th quarter lead , but Florida ' s Andre Dubose returned the ensuing kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown . The Gators took a 29 - 26 lead on a 5 - yard run by Mike Gillislee with 3 minutes remaining . The Tigers took possession and drove all the way down to the Florida 36 - yard line with 35 seconds remaining . Facing fourth - and - three , LSU lined up for a 54 - yard field goal . However , holder Derek Helton flipped the ball over his head to kicker Josh Jasper who then ran for the first down . On the next play , Jarrett Lee hit Terrance Toliver for a 28 - yard gain , and two plays later the two connected for the game - winning 3 - yard touchdown . LSU escaped Gainsville with a hard - fought 33 - 29 victory , and their first win over Florida since their 2007 BCS National Championship season . McNeese State . The Tigers returned home in week seven to face McNeese State , the second - winningest football program in the state of Louisiana . The Cowboys scored first , but LSU answered with a 2 - yard touchdown run by Stevan Ridley . The Tigers fell behind 10 - 7 early in the second quarter , but regained the lead on another touchdown run by Ridley . The game was put away with two touchdown runs by Freshman Michael Ford . LSU defeated McNesse 32 - 10 , extending its regular season non - conference winning streak to 32 games , the longest in the nation . With the win , LSU started 7 - 0 for the first time since 1973 . The win also marked the Tiger ' s 26th straight victory over teams from the state of Louisiana . Auburn . LSU faced Auburn in week eight in a matchup of the two remaining undefeated teams in the SEC . Eventual Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton scored the game ' s first points on a 1 - yard touchdown run . With just seconds remaining in the first half , Jordan Jefferson tied the game at 10 - 10 with a 2 - yard touchdown run . In what was considered a Heisman - moment play , Newton ran for a huge 49 - yard touchdown giving Auburn a 17 - 10 lead in the 3rd quarter . Early in the 4th , LSU used a trick play to tie the game 17 - 17 , with running back Spencer Ware tossing a 39 - yard touchdown to Rueben Randle . With 5 minutes to play , Auburn ' s Onterio McCalebb ran for a 70 - yard touchdown . LSU was stopped on a fourth - and - six with 3 minutes left to seal the 24 - 17 win for Auburn . In the victory , Cam Newton set the SEC record for most rushing yards by a quarterback in a single season . LSU Tigers in the 2011 National Football League Draft . Source :