LSU FALLS TO WISCONSIN.
First season-opening loss with program could put Miles back on hot seat
GREEN BAY, Wis.— Rafael Gaglianone booted the 47-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. Wisconsin’s defense backed up its strong-legged kicker with a late-game interception.
Then LSU offensive lineman Josh Boutte delivered a devastating hit.
The Badgers staved off the fifth-ranked Tigers’ desperate last-ditch drive for a 1614 victory Saturday in a game that dealt an early blow to LSU’s national title hopes.
LSU’s frustration was on full display at the end of the game, when Boutte was ejected for a flagrant foul after the vicious blind-side hit on Wisconsin’s D’Cota Dixon. The safety had sealed the win with an interception with 57 seconds left.
“It was honestly unbelievable when I turned around and saw that D’Cota had the ball in his hands,” Wisconsin linebacker T.J. Watt said. “A little scuffle broke out from the LSU team. In the end that’s the way they play football, and we have our ways to play football.”
Dixon picked off Brandon Harris at the Wisconsin 25 and slipped to the ground. A nearby official waved both arms above his head as if signaling the play was over, while Dixon ran off with teammates with his right index finger pointed in the air in celebration.
That’s when Boutte rushed over and leveled Dixon.
Coach Les Miles said he had to review the film but that it was out of character for his lineman.
Boutte, Miles said, is “not a malicious guy, and I just can’t imagine that he saw him go down and then would’ve made a tackle.”
Either way, the play will likely be reviewed for possible discipline.
Heisman Trophy hopeful Leonard Fournette ran for 138 yards on 23 carries but walked gingerly to the sideline after his final carry, a 15-yard run with less than 2 minutes left.
Miles said Fournette would have returned if LSU was able to get the ball back.
Instead, the Tigers will limp home with their first loss in a season opener in Miles’ 12 years as LSU coach. This will surely put Miles back on the hot seat after he was nearly run out of Baton Rouge after a 9-3 season in 2015.
“We knew what was at stake this season. Our goal is to win it all and go undefeated. It’s a hurtful feeling,” cornerback Tre’Davious White said.