LSU soars on Byrd’s late score

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Matt Flynn threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Demetrius Byrd with a second left to lift fifth-ranked Louisiana State to a 30-24 victory over No. 18 Auburn on Saturday night, keeping LSU’s national title hopes alive and well.

With South Florida losing earlier in the week, LSU is certain to move up to at least third in the Bowl Championship Series standings, behind only Ohio State and possibly Boston College, which was idle this weekend.

Flynn finished with 319 yards passing and three touchdowns.

Auburn’s Brandon Cox, taking hits in the pocket but rolling out effectively when necessary, turned in a gutsy performance, passing for 199 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

His last scoring pass, a three-yard touchdown strike to Rodgeriqus Smith, gave Auburn a 24-23 lead with 3:21 to go.

But Auburn, following a game-long pattern of keeping the ball away from LSU returner Trindon Holliday, squibbed the kickoff, giving LSU the ball on its 42.

Flynn scrambled for 19 yards during the final drive, then took one more shot at the end zone as the clock wound down instead of getting the ball in the middle of the field to set up a potential winning field goal. He floated a pass perfectly to the back of the end zone, where Byrd emerged from behind a defender and made a sliding catch, sending Tiger Stadium into a frenzy.

LSU extended its winning streak in Death Valley to 18 games. If that streak had ended, it would have been fitting for Auburn to be the team responsible. Auburn came in on a three-game winning streak that included impressive road wins over No. 14 Florida and Arkansas.

Jacob Hester gave LSU a 20-17 lead, diving for the pylon early in the fourth quarter after catching a swing pass on third and goal from the five. He led a patient rushing attack that amassed 169 yards, all but 40 in the second half.