LSU 24, Arkansas 17
Hogs discover spark before rally fizzles out
FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas’ trophy case won’t hold the Golden Boot for yet another year.
No. 7 LSU throttled the Arkansas offense for much of the game, then held off a late Razorback rally to retain the 175-pound Golden Boot trophy with a 24-17 victory Saturday.
The Tigers (8-2, 5-2) bounced back from a shutout loss to Alabama by holding the Razorbacks to 91 total yards through three quarters and a season-low 216 in the game.
A crowd of 48,950 at Reynolds
Razorback Stadium braved temperatures that dipped near freezing by the end of the first on-campus night game of the season, and watched Arkansas fall to 2-8, 0-6 in the SEC.
LSU won its third in a row over Arkansas and stretched its lead in the series to 40-22-2, including 3-2 in games played at Fayetteville.
“I am so pleased with the win,” LSU Coach Ed Orgeron said. “This is a hard place to come and play, especially with tough circumstances for our football team. We gutted it out.”
Arkansas lost its eighth consecutive trophy game, stretching back to a 28-3 victory over Missouri in the 2015 regular-season finale.
“I want to give LSU credit,” Arkansas Coach Chad Morris said. “We knew they were an elite defense, knew that going in this week and obviously they definitely showed that.”
LSU took a 24-3 lead into the fourth quarter before the Razorbacks’ listless offense awakened behind quarterback Ty Storey and the passing game.
Storey threw scoring strikes to Cheyenne O’Grady of 11 and 32 yards to cap drives covering 76 and 75 yards, drawing Arkansas within a touchdown. The two drives ate up less than four minutes of clock.
The last of those scores came with 5:27 remaining, but O’Grady was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for dancing after breaking through two tacklers and lunging into the end zone, pushing Arkansas’ kickoff back 15 yards.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire returned the ensuing kick 25 yards to the LSU 41. The Tigers managed to run out the clock from there, with quarterback Joe Burrow hitting Derrick Dillon with a 14-yard slant to convert on third and 6 early in the sequence, then running a keeper 16 yards for another first down.
“It was just ours against theirs, and they just won that matchup,” Arkansas defensive lineman McTelvin Agim said. “I feel like we won a lot of matchups all night, but when it came down to the clutch moment, we gave one up.”
Jamario Bell stopped Nick Brossette for no gain on the 1 on the final play of the game.
“We got within a score, and we just needed one more stop, but we just couldn’t find a way to get that ball back,” Morris said.
LSU outgained Arkansas 359-216 in total offense, and ran for 164 yards while holding the Hogs’ run game to 16 yards.
“That was the difference in the game,” said Orgeron, who improved to 3-0 against Arkansas with the Tigers, all after losses to Alabama. “We’re 8-2 right now, and our focus was to come here and win the football game and that’s what we did.”
Burrow completed 15 of 21 passes for 195 yards and 1 touchdown, while Brossette and Edwards-Helaire ran for one touchdown apiece. Justin Jefferson had six catches for 117 yards, and he scored the game’s first touchdown.
The Tigers won the turnover battle 2-1 and made things tough on the Arkansas offense until late in the game.
Storey finished 19-of-38 passing for 200 yards and 2 touchdowns with 1 interception. He also lost a fumble.
The Razorbacks had trouble establishing either a ground game or a deep passing attack in the first half. Arkansas punted at the end of its first six drives, and had managed only 21 total yards to that point.
“We seemed like we were behind the chains the whole first half, and we didn’t look very good in the first half,” Storey said. “We looked really bad. Thankfully we made some adjustments that kind of opened it up a little bit and started driving it a little bit.”
Arkansas did not take a snap in LSU territory on its first seven possessions, with its furthest offensive penetration its own 41.
“There were times we were just getting handled a little bit,” Morris said. “That’s what was happening.”
However, the Hogs benefited from back-to-back turnovers late in the half with LSU leading 14-0.
On the first play, LSU linebacker Michael Divinity hit Storey as he drew back to pass, and safety Grant Delpit recovered at the Hogs’ 38.
Agim returned the favor on the next snap with a stripsack of Burrow that led to a rolling fumble. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw picked up the loose ball and returned it 24 yards to the LSU 33 with 31 seconds left in the half.
Cole Kelley threw deep on play action on first down, and Arkansas fans booed with vigor when no flag was thrown in the end zone with LSU cornerback Kristian Fulton tangled up with O’Grady.
Jared Cornelius caught a 27-yard pass on the next snap, leaving six seconds on the clock from the LSU 6. Delpit broke up Storey’s pass for Jordan Jones in the end zone with one second left, and Connor Limpert made a 24-yard field goal to put Arkansas on the board.
LSU built its 14-0 lead with one quick strike and one slog of a drive.
The lightning bolt came on LSU’s second series after Arkansas’ Matthew Phillips punted 24 yards to the Hogs’ 40.
On first down, Burrow threw a ball deep down the Arkansas sideline for Jefferson, who beat safety Kamren Curl on an out-and-up for a 40-yard touchdown at the 7:30 mark.
Three series later, LSU offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger decided to test the Arkansas run defense.
The Tigers ran the ball on nine consecutive plays, six from Edwards-Helaire and then three from Brossette. LSU netted 38 yards on the runs, reaching the Arkansas 39 before Burrow found Jefferson for 16 yards on play action.
A holding penalty on Saahdiq Charles threatened to derail the series, pushing LSU back to the Arkansas 30. But as Burrow slid after a 2-yard gain, Taylor hit him and was called for targeting and ejected. Brossette barreled into the end zone from 12 yards out two plays later with offensive linemen pushing him across the goal line.