FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — LSU let them hang around.

The Tigers outgained Arkansas through the first two quarters as well as almost doubling up the time of possession battle. No. 8 LSU football dominated the first half in short at Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Saturday night.

Everywhere but the scoreboard.

LSU couldn't finish drives, including a short field it had off an Arkansas fumble in the first quarter, as it nursed a nine-point lead at the break.

Arkansas cut the deficit to one-possession game early in the third and got the ball back with a chance to take the lead but sophomore linebacker Whit Weeks reared his head. He tipped a ball to himself for an interception that set up the Tigers offense at the Arkansas 2.

LSU scored on the next play while the defense pitched a shutout the rest of the way as it downed the Hogs 34-10. The Tigers (6-1, 3-0 SEC) remain undefeated in conference play and set up a monster showdown with Texas A&M in College Station next weekend.

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Whit Weeks again leads LSU defense's torrid pace

In the last six quarters, plus an overtime possession, LSU's defense has allowed just one touchdown. It's a script flip from what many believed about defensive coordinator Blake Baker's unit before the season began and after the first couple of weeks of the season.

Since Weeks, the sophomore linebacker, has entered the starting lineup for the Tigers, there's been a different energy and, more importantly, an increased level of execution.

Weeks made the biggest play of the game with the pick against Arkansas. And he finished with a team-high nine tackles, one tackle-for-loss, one pass breakup and the interception.

LSU football gashes Arkansas with early run game

It's been a while since LSU had gained close to 100 yards on the ground in the first half of a game against quality competition.

But behind Caden Durham, the freshman tailback, the Tigers were able to have their way against Arkansas' defense early Saturday night. LSU averaged 5.6 yards per carry but was north of 8 yards per rush before the last couple of runs only went for a handful of yards. Durham had 101 yards on 21 carries with three TDs to lead LSU's rushing attack that amassed 158 yards.

Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier has been the driving force for LSU's offense through the first six games of the season so it was refreshing to see offensive coordinator Joe Sloan lean a little more into the run game against an opponent it had an advantage against.

Penalties halt some promising drives for LSU

Through the first two quarters, the Tigers had piled up seven pre-snap penalties. Many of those got LSU's offense off schedule and put the unit behind the chains into the bad down-and-distance situations. Wide receiver Kyren Lacy garnered two offensive pass interference calls.

The Tigers fought off back-to-back penalties once they got inside the Razorbacks' 5-yard line but Durham bailed the offense out with a 22-yard touchdown run. Without that play, the first half would've been much closer. Early in the second half, a holding call nullified what would've been a first down on third-and-long

LSU finished the game with 10 penalties totaling 75 yards..

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Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU football handles Arkansas to ascend to top of SEC standings