No. 3 LSU 38, Towson 22: Zach Mettenberger threw a pair of touchdown passes to Odell Beckham as host LSU overcame a slow start to win its 41st straight non-conference regular season game.

Russell Shepard had a career-long 78-yard touchdown run - his only carry of the game, while J.C. Copeland and Michael Ford added rushing scores for LSU (5-0), which won its 18th straight regular season contest and 21st in a row at Tiger Stadium. Mettenberger finished 15-of-26 for 238 yards.

LSU fumbled three times, and the first two led to Towson scores - a 26-yard field goal by D.J. Soven early in the second quarter and Terrance West's 1-yard run with 5:15 left in the first half which gave Towson (2-2) a 9-7 lead.

LSU answered with a six-play, 62-yard drive, capped by Mettenberger's 27-yard touchdown pass to Beckham, and led 17-9 lead at the intermission when Drew Alleman's 23-yard field goal came five plays after a 6-yard punt by Towson's R.J. Pepper gave LSU the ball at the Towson 22.

Copeland's touchdown came in the third quarter and Mettenberger connected with Beckham for 53 yards to make it 31-9 on the first play of the fourth. Beckham, a sophomore, finished with 128 yards on five catches for the first 100-yard game of his career.

GAME NOTEBOOK: LSU enters the teeth of its Southeastern Conference schedule when it travels to No. 12 Florida next week before hosting No. 8 South Carolina on Oct. 13. ... West, who added another 1-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter, has seven TDs this season. ... LSU entered the game fourth in the nation in yards allowed per game (199.5), but yielded 291 to Towson.