Originally published September 23, 2009 at 2:51 PM | Page modified September 23, 2009 at 5:01 PM

No. 7 LSU felt vindicated by Washington upset

The LSU Tigers felt they had their season-opening win at Washington validated by the Huskies' upset over Southern California last Saturday.

By Brett Martel

The Associated Press

BATON ROUGE, La. — It was as if No. 7 LSU won two games in one weekend.

At the very least, the Tigers felt they had their season-opening win at Washington validated by the Huskies' upset over Southern California last Saturday.

Shortly before LSU (3-0) kicked off against Louisiana-Lafayette -- a game the Tigers won easily, 31-3 -- the announcement of the Washington result drew one of the loudest cheers of the night in Tiger Stadium, an acknowledgment that maybe LSU's 31-23 victory over the Huskies was more impressive than initially thought.

"After that game, people were ready to write us off, saying we were half-stepping, didn't look impressive, but now they understand we went into a hostile environment and took care of business," LSU defensive tackle Charles Alexander said.

When LSU first returned from the West Coast, players and coaches found themselves constantly defending their performance against a team that had gone winless a season ago.

Now, of course, it's easier to swallow with the Huskies ranked 24th in the AP Top 25 poll.

"It makes you feel good," offensive lineman Lyle Hitt said. "I was talking to a friend of mine last week and watching TV and the prediction stuff ... and they showed the USC-Washington matchup, and I kind of nudged my friend and said, 'Washington's going to play them close. Washington has a good team and USC better be on their toes.'

And sure enough, they came away with the upset."

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