BATON ROUGE - The LSU Tigers came out firing against the McNeese Cowboys in an in-state showdown on Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.

McNeese moved into LSU territory on its opening possession, but Cowboys quarterback Jake Strong was intercepted by LSU safety Tamarcus Cooley to end the scoring threat.

LSU capitalized on the turnover as running back Dilin Jones took a direct snap and punched it into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown, capping a nine-play, 48-yard drive to give the Tigers an early 7-0 lead.

On the ensuing Tiger drive, LSU extended its lead as quarterback Sam Leavitt connected with tight end Roman Mothershed for a touchdown to cap a 77-yard drive and make it 14-0.

LSU was threatening in McNeese territory once again early in the second quarter, but Leavitt was intercepted near the goal line by Cowboys cornerback Lorenzo Dubose on a pass intended for receiver Eugene Wilson III.

The Cowboys could not capitalize on the turnover as the LSU defense forced its third consecutive three-and-out. The Tigers found the end zone once again on the ensuing possession as quarterback Landen Clark rushed for a 3-yard touchdown to extend LSU's lead to 21-0 midway through the second quarter.

The LSU offense continued to roll as Leavitt connected with freshman Corey Barber Jr. for a 6-yard touchdown just a few minutes later, extending the Tigers' lead to 28-0.

LSU drove 62 yards in just four plays, capped by Leavitt finding Barber Jr. once again, this time for a 12-yard touchdown to extend the Tigers' lead to 35-0 with under a minute remaining in the first half.

Check back here throughout the night for updates from the action in Death Valley.