LSU stifles Louisville in Citrus Bowl
Cardinals unable to score a TD in third consecutive loss.
Sophomore running back Derrius Guice ran for 138 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown, and caught a scoring pass to help No. 20 LSU to a 29-9 victory over No. 13 Louisville in Saturday’s Citrus Bowl.
Guice — stepping in for the departed Leonard Fournette, who decided to skip the bowl game to concentrate on the NFL draft — consistently made explosive plays running the ball, as a receiver and a kickoff return man for the Tigers (8-4).
“LSU is Army U so when one man goes down you’ve got to step up,” said Guice, who averaged 5.3 yards per carry. “I feel like I’ve done a great job of stepping up this year. The line did a great job of helping me step up and (running backs coach Jabbar Juluke) has developed me all year.”
H i s p e r f o r m a n c e w a s eclipsed only by the overpowering performance of the Tigers defense that completely shut down quarterback Lamar Jackson and the Cardinals, who did not score a touchdown.
“I’m awfully excited about our football team, the way they bought into one team, one hear tbeat ,” said LSU coach Ed Orgeron, who was officially at the helm for the first time since being hired as Les Miles’ replacement.
Jackson was sacked eight times, including a safety for an 8-yard loss late in the second quarter. Jackson completed just 10 of 27 passes for 153 yards while leading the rushing attack with 33 yards as the Cardinals (9-4) ended their season with three straight losses.
“They’re very good up front and we knew that coming in,” Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said. “We did make some assignment errors where we turned a couple of guys completely loose a few times and then there were a few times that they beat us on the pass rush and then there were a couple of times where we needed to get the ball out of our hand and get open quicker, so it all plays together.”
LSU quarterback Danny Etling threw for 217 yards and two touchdowns as the Tigers moved the ball with balance all game. Malachi Dupre led LSU in receiving with seven catches for 139 yards.
TaxSlayer Bowl
Georgia Tech 33, Kentucky 18: Dedrick Mills ran for a career-high 169 yards and a touchdown, leading the Yellow Jackets over Kentucky.
It was the seventh-most rushing yards in bowl history, earning Mills the Most Valuable Player trophy and making some forget about his two suspensions this season.
“I think he can be a very special player,” Tech coach Paul Johnson said. “He’s a very talented young man. We’ve got to try to help him grow up. Sometimes, you know, at that age, when you’re 18, we all didn’t make great decisions. It’s our job to help him make the right decisions because he’s got a bright future if he’ll continue to work hard.”
Playing without running back Marcus Marshall, who decided to transfer after the regular-season finale, Georgia Tech (9-4) turned to Mills to handle the workload against Kentucky (7-6).
The newcomer from nearby Waycross, Ga., delivered. With dozens of friends and family members in attendance, he carried a career-high 31 times as the Yellow Jackets won back-to-back bowl games for the first time in more than a decade.