Matt Flynn passed for 237 yards and three touchdowns tonight to lead No. 2 LSU to a comfortable 58-10 triumph over Louisiana Tech that could lift the Tigers back to the top of the national rankings.

Each of the Tigers' three previous victories — over Florida, Auburn and Alabama — were marked by late-game heroics that narrowly preserved the Tigers' national championship hopes.

They needed all of those comebacks, given their blown lead at Kentucky, which led to an overtime loss and an end to their brief stint at No. 1.

"The good news is we've been highly ranked most of the year, and wherever we've been ranked, it certainly has been in striking distance of where we need to be at the end of the year," LSU head coach Les Miles said. "It puts us close enough to play in the (national title) game if we continue to take care of business."

With Illinois upsetting top-ranked Ohio State earlier in the day, LSU stood to gain from putting this weekend's contest out of reach early and wasn't expected to get much resistance.

In 17 previous meetings between LSU and Louisiana Tech spanning more than a century, the Bulldogs (4-6) had beaten LSU only once, and that was back in 1904. LSU (9-1) was favored to win this one by about five touchdowns, a margin they held midway through the third quarter.

"I'll be shocked if they're not the national champions at end of the year," Louisiana Tech head coach Derek Dooley said. "They put it to us tonight."

Flynn's scoring strikes included a career-long 71-yarder to Terrance Tolliver, which also was a career long reception for the freshman receiver.

That was LSU's longest play from scrimmage this season until Tech's secondary over-pursued on a trap play and Jacob Hester broke loose for a career-best 87-yard touchdown run.

Flynn also scored on a 1-yard sneak, threw a 37-yard scoring pass to Brandon LaFell and lofted a 14-yard TD to tight end Richard Dickson. LSU rolled up 595 total yards and Colt David hit all three of his field goal tries.

The Bulldogs' defense gave Flynn minor trouble in the first half with two interceptions, the first setting up Zac Champion's 37-yard TD pass to Brian Jackson, which briefly pulled Tech as close as 10-7 early in the second quarter.

For the most part, the homecoming contest was a lopsided and anticlimactic ending to long day of tailgating under warm, sunny skies for purple and gold-clad LSU fans.

Two of the loudest cheers of the night had nothing to do with what was going on in Tiger Stadium: The first was sparked by the announcement that former LSU coach Nick Saban and Alabama had lost again, this time to Mississippi State; even louder was the response to the Ohio State result.

With the Buckeyes stumbling, LSU now needs three more victories to virtually assure itself a berth in the BCS title game in New Orleans, where the Tigers won their last BCS national championship during the 2003 season.

LSU travels to Ole Miss next Saturday, hosts Arkansas the day after Thanksgiving and meets the winner of the SEC East (probably Tennessee or Georgia) for the conference championship in Atlanta on Dec. 1. LSU's presence in the SEC title game was assured when Auburn and Alabama both lost earlier Saturday.