[Tuck4Bama]

BATON ROUGE -- LSU junior defensive tackle Marlon Favorite was in great position against then-No. 12 South Carolina on Saturday at Tiger Stadium to celebrate his first start of the season with a huge defensive play.
But he reached a little too far.

Favorite's 17-yard sack of Chris Smelley ended with a violent-looking facemask penalty. Instead of fourth-and-goal from No. 2-ranked LSU's 25-yard line, the Gamecocks had a first-and-goal at the Tigers' 4 and scored a touchdown three plays later.

Instead of his first sack of the season, Favorite ended up with egg on his face. But the play illustrated Favorite's strength and quickness. It also showed that the defensive tackle slot next to All-America senior Glenn Dorsey is in good hands with starter Charles Alexander, a junior, sidelined for the season after knee surgery.

Favorite finished with six tackles, a good number for a defensive tackle, especially one playing next to Dorsey. Favorite promises -- and his teammates confirm -- that he'll make more plays like that one with a better finish.

"It was frustrating," Favorite said, shaking his head. "I have to be a little more disciplined and show more leadership. It caught me off-guard. I just wrapped up, and my hand rubbed off onto his facemask and got caught. I was thinking 'Get him to the ground because they were in goal line.' I was celebrating before I realized what happened."

Dorsey, who had eight tackles, said he didn't give his running mate a hard time about it following the Tigers' 28-16 victory.

"When you get back there, you're grabbing at anything you can," he said. "That's just him being aggressive and trying to make a play. Marlon can play. His time is coming. They can double-team me, but with guys like him in there, they (opponents) have to respect us across the board."

Tigers not missing a beat with Favorite- NOLA.com