No. 12 LSU showing penchant for ‘taking shots’ in pass game

BATON ROUGE, La.—LSU quarterback Danny Etling isn't letting the size and speed of his receivers go to waste.

He's been willing to throw deep—even into double coverage at times—and has been rewarded with big catches by receivers who'll likely face their toughest challenge yet at Mississippi State this Saturday night.

"We took some shots," Etling said of LSU's aggressive approach to the passing attack in the 12th-ranked Tigers' first two games, lopsided victories over BYU and Chattanooga. "Those receivers went up and made some plays for us. And that was awesome to see and it was awesome to get some young guys involved."

Five different receivers already have catches of 27 yards or more, the longest being D.J. Chark's 52-yard reception in the season opener. Chark also had catches of 48 and 46 yards against Chattanooga, including one in which he had multiple defenders around him also trying to make a play on the ball.

Throwing to covered receivers is one thing in a lopsided victory over an un-ranked, non-conference opponent at home. It could be a different story entirely in a Southeastern Conference opener on the road against a Bulldogs squad that also is off to a solid 2-0 start against non-league competition. But Chark doesn't want to discourage Etling from staying aggressive.

"A lot of time we criticize Danny for not being aggressive enough and Danny came out there and was aggressive and we made him right," Chark said. "So I don't care who we play; if Danny gives us that shot, we've got to go get it."