Joe Burrow leads LSU past UCF 40-32
Joe Burrow passed for 394 yards and four touchdowns and Cole Tracy kicked four field goals as LSU defeated Central Florida 40-32 in the Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium in Glendale (Az.) on Tuesday afternoon.
HOW THEY SCORED
First Quarter
LSU 3, UCF 0
Score: Tracy 24-yard field goal. Time Remaining: 12:38. Drive: 10 yards in 5 plays. Time of Possession: 2:22. Key Play: Clyde Edwards-Helaire returned the opening kickoff 77 yards to UCF’s 16.
UCF 7, LSU 3
Score: Greg McCrae 25-yard run. Matthew Wright kick. Time Remaining: 10:56. Drive: 69 yards in 6 plays. Time of Possession: 1:38. Key Play: On second-and-seven, Marlon Williams completed a 23-yard pass to Darriel Mack for a first down at LSU’s 43.
UCF 14, LSU 3
Score: Brandon Moore 93-yard pass interception return. Wright kick. Time Remaining: 6:39.
UCF 14, LSU 10
Score: Justin Jefferson 22-yard pass from Burrow. Tracy kick. Time Remaining: 1:27. Drive: 67 yards in 11 plays. Time of Possession: 5:05. Key Play: On third-and-12, Burrow was sacked by Kyle Gibson. UCF was penalized 15 yards for an unsportsmanlike conduct call against Randy Charlton to give LSU a first down at the Knights’ 32.
Second Quarter
LSU 17, UCF 14
Score: Derrick Dillon 49-yard pass from Burrow. Tracy kick. Time Remaining: 12:59. Drive: 63 yards in 5 plays. Time of Possession: 2:04. Key Play: On second-and-nine, Burrow ran ten yards for a first down at LSU’s 48.
LSU 24, UCF 14
Score: Jefferson 33-yard pass from Burrow. Tracy kick. Time Remaining: 7:11. Drive: 78 yards in 9 plays. Time of Possession: 5:02. Key Play: On first-and-ten, Burrow threw an incomplete pass to Terrace Marshall. UCF was penalized 15 yards for targeting by Gibson against Burrow to give LSU a first down at the Knights’ 23.
LSU 24, UCF 21
Score: Gabriel Davis 32-yard pass from Mack. Wright kick. Time Remaining: :04. Drive: 95 yards in 10 plays. Time of Possession: 1:53. Key Play: On second-and-ten, Mack completed a 16-yard pass to Davis for a first down at LSU’s 28.
Third Quarter
LSU 31, UCF 21
Score: Ja’Marr Chase 32-yard pass from Burrow. Tracy kick. Time Remaining: 12:38. Drive: 73 yards in 4 plays. Time of Possession: 1:32. Key Play: On first-and-ten, Nick Brossette ran 24 yards for a first down at UCF’s 32.
LSU 34, UCF 21
Score: Tracy 28-yard field goal. Time Remaining: 5:18. Drive: 69 yards in 11 plays. Time of Possession: 6:35. Key Play: On first-and-ten, Rashard Causey was penalized 15 yards for pass interference against Jefferson to give LSU a first down at UCF’s 30.
LSU 34, UCF 24
Score: Wright 37-yard field goal. Time Remaining: 3:01. Drive 0 yards in 4 plays. Time of Possession: :55. Key Play: Jacob Harris recovered a muffed punt by Jefferson at LSU’s 20.
Fourth Quarter
LSU 37, UCF 24
Score: Tracy 28-yard field goal. Time Remaining: 12:09. Drive: 62 yards in 10 plays. Time of Possession: 5:45. Key Play: On third-and-nine, Burrow completed a 37-yard pass to Dillon for a first down at UCF’s 34.
LSU 40, UCF 24
Score: Tracy 26-yard field goal. Time Remaining: 4:12. Drive: 78 yards in 12 plays. Time of Possession: 7:12. Key Play: On third-and-seven, Burrow completed a 42-yard pass to Stephen Sullivan for a first down at UCF’s 10.
LSU 40, UCF 32
Score: Taj McGowan 2-yard run. Otis Anderson pass from Mack. Time Remaining: 2:24. Drive: 75 yards in 10 plays. Time of Possession: 1:48. Key Play: On third-and-four, McCrae ran 22 yards for a first down at LSU’s 2.
TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
LSU wasted two golden opportunities in the red zone in the first quarter. A false start on tackle Saahdiq Charles with the ball at UCF’s 1 forced the Tigers to settle for a Tracy field goal. On LSU’s next possession, a pass from Burrow was intercepted by Moore, who returned the ball 93 yards for a touchdown. That touchdown put the Knights on top 14-3. On the Tigers’ next series, Gibson sacked Burrow on a third-down play. But, Charlton was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct after the play to keep the drive alive. Moments, later Burrow hooked up with Jefferson on a 22-yard touchdown pass. Burrow tossed scoring passes to Dillon and Jefferson to put LSU in front 24-14. Central Florida trimmed its deficit to three points at halftime, but the Tigers’ defense shut the door until the final minutes of the game.
LSU OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME
Burrow completed 21 of 34 passes for 394 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. Burrow finished with 418 yards of total offense as he ran for 24 yards. He bounced back from a pick-six and a late hit against him on the play. Burrow was spectacular as he tossed three first-half touchdown passes after the Tigers fell behind 14-3. Burrow’s four touchdown throws all covered more than 20 yards – 22 and 33 yards to Jefferson, 32 yards to Chase and 49 yards to Dillon. The 394 yards tied for the fourth most by a LSU quarterback in a game. Rohan Davey passed for 528 yards against Alabama and 444 yards against Illinois (Sugar Bowl) during the 2001 season. Tommy Hodson threw for 438 yards against Tennessee in 1989 and Jesse Daigle passed for 394 yards against Mississippi State in 1991. Burrow’s four touchdown passes tied the Tigers record for most in a bowl game. Matt Flynn threw four touchdown passes against Ohio State in the 2007 national championship game.
LSU DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME
Defensive end Rashard Lawrence delivered perhaps the best game of his career on a day which the Tigers had just five down linemen in uniform. Lawrence only had five tackles, but nearly all of them came on impact plays. Four of the five tackles occurred behind the line of scrimmage. Two of those four tackles-for-loss were sacks.
KEY TEAM STATISTICS
First downs: LSU 32, UCF 17
Passing yards: LSU 394, UCF 120
Yards per completion: LSU 18.8, UCF 10.0
Total plays: LSU 86, UCF 61
Total offense: LSU 555, UCF 250
Yards per play: LSU 6.5, UCF 4.1
Third-down conversions: LSU 9-of-18, UCF 6-of-15
Sacks: LSU 5, UCF 2
Penalty yardage: UCF 104, LSU 145
Time of possession: LSU 44:31, UCF 15:29
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICAL LEADERS
LSU
Nick Brossette: 29 carries, 117 yards
Joe Burrow: 34 attempts, 21 completions, 394 yards, 4 touchdowns, 1 interception
Ja’Marr Chase: 6 catches, 93 yards, 1 touchdown
Patrick Queen: 9 tackles, 2 tackles-for-loss, 1 sack
Rashard Lawrence: 5 tackles, 4 tackles-for-loss, 2 sacks
Todd Harris: 1 tackle, 2 pass breakups
UCF
Greg McCrae: 10 carries, 81 yards, 1 touchdown
Darriel Mack: 30 attempts, 11 completions, 97 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception
Gabriel Davis: 3 catches, 59 yards, 1 touchdown
Michael Colubiale: 3 catches, 20 yards
Pat Jasinski: 10 tackles
Brendon Harris: 7 tackles, 3 tackles-for-loss
Eric Mitchell: 4 tackles, 2 tackles-for-loss, 1 sack
NOTES
The following LSU rotation players were not in uniform – wide receiver Jonathan Giles; defensive ends Neil Farrell and Breiden Fehoko; nose tackle Ed Alexander and cornerbacks Kristian Fulton, Kelvin Joseph and Greedy Williams. Inside linebacker Jacob Phillips was suspended for the first half. Cornerback Terrence Alexander and safety Grant Delpit were ejected in the first half for throwing a punch and targeting, respectively. . .Burrow had 379 pass attempts for the season – second most behind Davey’s 420 in 2001. Burrow completed 219 passes – the fourth most by a LSU quarterback. Davey had 248 completions in 2001, JaMarcus Russell had 232 completions in 2006 and Matt Mauck had 229 completions in 2003. Burrow had 2,894 passing yards in 2018 – the fourth most by a Tigers quarterback. Davey threw for 3,791 yards in 2001, Russell passed for 3,129 yards in 2006 and Zach Mettenberger had 3,082 passing yards in 2013. . .Brossette eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark in the second half. He gained 117 yards to bring his season total to 1,039 yards. . .Chase’s six receptions and 93 receiving yards were career-highs. The touchdown reception was his first of the year. . .Queen, who replaced the suspended Jacob Phillips in the first half, had a career-high nine tackles. . .JaCoby Stevens’ interception in the final minute was the first of his career. . .Tracy finished the season with a school-record 29 field goals. Josh Jasper had the record – 28 in 2010. Tracy had 97 field goals in his college career – an All-Division record. Tracy scored 129 points – the second most in a season by a Tigers kicker. Colt David scored 141 points in 2007. . .LSU won the toss, but it did not defer for just the second time this season. . .LSU finished with a 10-3 record – its first double-digit victory season since 2013. UCF had its 25-game winning streak snapped. The Knights finished with a 12-1 record. . .The paid attendance was 57,246.
FROM THE LOCKER ROOM
Coach Ed Orgeron’s comments: “This team showed a lot of guts, a lot of grit. We were going to find 11 guys to put on the field and fight like Tigers. We had great leadership all year. We have great players and great coaches. We have a tradition to uphold. What happened before the season galvanized us. We’ll look back to the Florida and Texas A&M games as ones we should have won. There were circumstances we controlled against Florida and circumstances we did not control against Texas A&M. We will learn from that going into next year.”
UP NEXT
LSU will open its 2019 season against Georgia Southern at Tiger Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 31. The Eagles (10-3) defeated Eastern Michigan 23-21 in the Camellia Bowl at Montgomery (Ala.).
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