LSU stifles Georgia for signature victory
Five fourth-down decisions by Orgeron help the Tigers take down the Bulldogs.
BATON ROUGE, La. — Joe Burrow passed for 200 yards and had two short touchdown runs, Louisiana State’s defense staggered Georgia’s normally prolific offense, and the 13th-ranked Tigers beat the No. 2 Bulldogs 36-16 on Saturday to give coach Ed Orgeron a signature victory.
Five fourth-down decisions by Orgeron influenced the result. LSU converted all four times it ran an offensive play on fourth and short, sustaining three drives that produced a total of 13 points.
“We were going to be as aggressive as we can. We were going to take shots and go for it and play to win the game the whole time,” Orgeron said. “We were going for it as hard as we can today. We were throwing out the kitchen sink, man. We were giving them everything we had and we did it.”
In another instance, Orgeron called timeout and elected to punt on fourth and two after the offense initially remained on the field. That decision pinned Georgia at its four-yard line, and Kristian Fulton’s interception of Jake Fromm’s pass shortly afterward set up another of Cole Tracy’s five field goals.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire rushed for 133 yards for LSU (6-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference), and Justin Jefferson caught six passes for 108 yards, including a 41-yard snag of a pass rifled over the middle and between converging defenders. That catch set up Burrow’s second touchdown in the fourth quarter.
“We’re an up-and-coming football team. We’ve still got a long ways to go, but we want to lead LSU to a championship,” Orgeron said. “Where this takes us, we don’t know, but hopefully it gives us some confidence we can play with anybody in the country.”
Nick Brossette added a short touchdown in the final minutes after Burrow’s 59yard scamper. Fans rushed the field, ignoring pleas not to do so from the public address announcer, as the game ended.
Fromm had by far his worst game this season, completing 16 of 34 passes for 209 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
He said that LSU’s defense gave him new and exotic pre-snap formations.