Burrow keeps Alabama showdown intact
BATON ROUGE, La. — Joe Burrow bounced up immediately from a high-speed hit that looked like it could have given the LSU quarterback whiplash as he was sent crashing into the Auburn bench area.
Trotting resolutely back to the line of scrimmage, Burrow resumed his schoolrecord eighth career 300yard passing performance in a tense, top-10 clash that put a premium on grit and perseverance.
Burrow passed for 321 yards and a touchdown, ran for 47 yards and another score, and second-ranked LSU edged No. 9 Auburn 2320 on Saturday.
“If your quarterback shows toughness like that, it can kind of get your team going,” Burrow said. “If you lay down on the field and don’t hop right back up, it shows your team that you are not really into it.”
The victory ensured LSU (8-0, 4-0 SEC) would be unbeaten heading into its highly anticipated Nov. 9 tilt at Alabama, which entered this weekend ranked No. 1.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire rushed for 136 yards and touchdown for LSU, which wasn’t able to put away Auburn (6-2, 3-2) until Derrick Dillon recovered an onside kick with 2:31 left.
“It was a gut check tonight,” LSU coach Ed Orgeron said, praising the way his players stuck together. “They didn’t want to be denied.”
While LSU’s prolific, uptempo spread offense rolled up 508 yards, the unit didn’t approach its 50.1point scoring average against an Auburn defense that thwarted LSU drives into its territory with a pair of fourth-down stops and an interception.
“They fought their guts out and our defense played unbelievable,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. “We had opportunities and we didn’t seize the moment. We just didn’t get it done offensively.”
LSU had not previously scored fewer than 36 points in a game, but Auburn’s defensive front put pressure on Burrow, sacking him three times.
Still, Burrow didn’t flinch when he was leveled along the sideline after 14-yard scramble on third-and-12 in the first half. He completed five of his next six throws, ending with a 20-yard touchdown on a fade to Terrace Marshall Jr.
Burrow completed 32 of 42 passes. His top target was Ja’Marr Chase, who caught eight passes for 123 yards.
“We showed toughness today. It was not a pretty win by any means,” Burrow said. “SEC games aren’t going to be pretty. When you can come out on top of a top-10 team and feel like you could have played better, it’s always a good thing.”
Auburn’s Bo Nix completed 15 of 35 passes for 157 yards and one late touchdown.