The No. 2 ranked Tigers traveled to Starkville to take on the 3-3 Mississippi State Bulldogs. Hoping to avenge the 37-7 loss in 2017, LSU comes into the game leading the nation in several offensive categories. The Bulldogs would try to get a spark to their offense by starting true freshman quarterback Garrett Shrader.
On their first possession the Bulldogs came out looking fired up, driving the ball down to their own 45 in six plays. The drive would end with the Bulldogs trying for a fourth and short, and failing to convert. LSU would take over and drive down the field and settle for a rare field goal.
The Tigers would get a fumble recovery in the second quarter in Bulldogs territory and again would only come away with three points. A rare site for this high powered offense, indeed. Three drives, all stalling inside the 10 yard line of the Bulldogs, leading to three field goals. “There was frustration for sure, we are used to scoring just about every time we touch the ball. But there was no panic.” Quarterback Joe Burrow would said in postgame. “We knew we were moving the ball, we just knew we had to execute at the end of the drives.”
However, it would be the Bulldogs that scored first in the game. A 17 yard rush by quarterback Garrett Shrader would put the Bulldogs on the board. The Bulldogs would be down just two points, when it seemed like they awoke a sleeping giant. The Tigers would take the next kick off out of the end zone to the 25 yard line, a personal foul by a Bulldog defender would move the ball to the LSU 40. Joe Burrow would then find wide receiver Racey McMath streaking down the side line uncovered for a 60 yard touchdown pass. Scoring drive: 1 play, 60 yards, 10 seconds. LSU was finding its quick hit ability after a slow first quarter start.
Although there were two first half turnovers by the Bulldogs, the second was the most impressive. Junior Jacoby Stevens, who has been all over the field this season for the Tigers, playing safety and linebacker, had an incredible one handed interception with 1:53 left in the half. LSU would drive 55 yards in just over a minute, capping off the drive with a touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Burrow to receiver Ja’Marr Chase.
Coming out after halftime the Tigers would receive the kickoff to start the second half. Surprisingly the Tigers went three and out for the first time in the game. The defense would hold and the Bulldogs would also have a three and out of their own. The Tigers would then score on two quick drives and have their four total touchdown drives of the game score in just over five minutes.
The Tigers went from being up by two to being up by 31 in that five minutes of playing time. Quarterback Joe Burrow continued his Heisman like season. Breaking more LSU school records, 29 passing touchdowns on the season put him ahead of Matt Mauck and Jamarcus Russell. “It just shows the amount of work we put in during the off-season, we are going to have two guys break the single season touchdown receiving record here soon too. So it’s a great achievement for us, but we still have five games left.” Says Joe Burrow on breaking the record.
The one thing that LSU did seem to struggle with today was scoring in the fourth quarter. For the first time in 10 games, LSU failed to score points in a quarter. The Tigers had scored in 39 straight quarters leading up to the scoreless fourth quarter.
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