Late Notre Dame TD topples LSU
Irish end long New Year’s bowl drought
ORLANDO, Fla. — Myles Boykin scored on a 55-yard touchdown pass with 1:28 remaining, and No. 14 Notre Dame got its first win in a New Year’s Day bowl since 1994 with a 21-17 win over No. 16 LSU in the Citrus Bowl on Monday.
Three plays after Jack Gonsoulin’s 17-yard field goal gave the Tigers a 17-14 lead with 2:03 remaining, Boykin caught a pass from Ian Book with his right hand at the LSU 33, managed to elude corner Donte Jackson and then broke a tackle attempt by John Battle up the right sideline for the gamewinning score.
The junior, who saw increased playing time because of suspensions to two Notre Dame receivers, had three receptions for 102 yards and was named the game’s MVP. Book, who entered the game in the second quarter, was 14 of 19 for 164 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
Brandon Wimbush was Notre Dame’s quarterback for the first five series and struggled, including three-and-outs on his last three series. He connected with Equanimeous St. Brown for a 35 yard completion on the first play of the game, but the opening drive stalled at the LSU 31 when Josh Adams was stopped for a three-yard loss on fourth-and-1.
The Fighting Irish (10-3) trailed 14-6 early in the fourth quarter but tied it on a 6-yard Michael Young reception and two-point conversion to Josh Adams. The win breaks a ninegame losing streak by Notre Dame in bowls either designated as a New Year’s Six or played on Jan. 1.
Both quarterbacks played well. LSU’s Danny Etling was 19 of 33 for 229 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Derrius Guice. Guice had 98 yards on 21 carries.
Notre Dame got on the board first when Justin Yoon made a 46-yard field goal with four seconds remaining in the second quarter. LSU (9-4) took a 7-3 lead with 11:37 remaining in the third when Guice caught a 20-yard touchdown from Etling after the Tigers recovered a punt that bounced off an Irish’s player leg.
The Tigers had a lousy day on special teams. They missed two field goals and muffed two punts (yet managed to recover them).
NOTRE DAME 21, LSU 17 Notre Dame 0 3 3 15—21 LSU 0 0 7 10—17 Second Quarter ND—FG Yoon 46, :04 Third Quarter LSU—Guice 20 pass from Etling (Gonsoulin kick), 11:37 ND—FG Yoon 49, 2:47 Fourth Quarter LSU—Guice 2 pass from Etling (Gonsoulin kick), 11:13 ND—Young 6 pass from Book (J.Adams pass from Book), 7:49 LSU—FG Gonsoulin 17, 2:03 ND— Boykin 55 pass from Book (Yoon kick), 1:28 A—57,726. ND LSUFirst downs 17 21 Rushes-yards 34-152 42-170 Passing 216 229 Comp-Att-Int 17-28-1 19-33-0 Return Yards 21 25 Punts-Avg. 4-45.0 5-37.2 Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-0 Penalties-Yards 4-15 5-27 Time of Possession 22:28 37:32 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Notre Dame, J.Adams 15-44, Wimbush 4-38, De.Williams 2-36, Book 11-36, T.Jones 1-0, (Team) 1-(minus 2). LSU, Guice 21-98, Da.Williams 9-44, Etling 10-21, Gage 1-15, Dillon 1-(minus 8).
PASSING—Notre Dame, Kmet 0-1-0-0, Wimbush 3-8-0-52, Book 14-19-1-164. LSU, Etling 19-33-0-229.
RECEIVING—Notre Dame, Boykin 3-102, J.Adams 3-19, St. Brown 2-47, Weishar 2-13, Smythe 2-10, Young 2-8, T.Jones 2-(minus 1), Finke 1-18. LSU, Chark 5-63, Moreau 4-64, Guice 3-24, Anderson 2-35, Sullivan 2-24, Gage 2-15, Da.Williams 1-4. MISSED FIELD GOALS—LSU, Culp 24, Gonsoulin 38.