Tigers ride Burrow to a rout
Heisman Trophy winner throws record-tying 7 TD passes to lead way in emotional victory
ATLANTA — Joe Burrow and the LSU Tigers turned in a first half for the ages, a breathtaking offensive display even as their coordinator grieved a horrific tragedy from his box high above the field.
This team from the bayou is truly something special.
With one more victory, it will be a national champion.
In his first game as a Heisman Trophy winner, Burrow threw for seven touchdowns and 493 yards as No. 1 LSU romped to a stunning 63-28 victory over No. 4 Oklahoma in the Peach Bowl semifinal game Saturday.
The Tigers (14-0) are headed to the title game against either No. 2 Ohio State or No. 3 Clemson clicking on all cylinders, having dismantled the Sooners (12-2) with a 30-minute outburst that will long be remembered in Cajun country.
“We go into every game thinking nobody can stop us,” Burrow said.
Certainly, the Sooners couldn’t.
Burrow tied the record for any college bowl game with his seven touchdown passes — which all came before the bands hit the field for the halftime show at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Justin Jefferson was on the receiving end for four of those scoring plays, also tying a bowl record.
As if that wasn’t enough, Burrow scored an eighth touchdown himself on a 3-yard run in the third quarter, thoroughly dominating his expected duel with Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts, the Heisman runner-up.
Yet, the postgame celebration was weighed down by heavy hearts.
LSU offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger learned shortly before kickoff that his daughterin-law, broadcaster Carley McCord, was among five people killed in a plane crash in Louisiana. The small plane went down shortly after takeoff for what was supposed to be a flight to Atlanta for the game.
Coach Ed Orgeron delivered the news to Ensminger, who was seen with tears running down his cheeks but stuck to the task at hand.
“Coach, we’re going to get through this,” Ensminger told his boss.
LSU needed only three plays to race 42 yards for its first score — a perfectly thrown ball over Jefferson’s shoulder for a 19-yard touchdown less than 3 minutes into the game.
Oklahoma briefly put up a fight. Hurts’ 51-yard pass to CeeDee Lamb set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Kennedy Brooks that tied the score at 7.
After that, the rout was on. It was a miserable finale for Hurts, who closed out a nomadic college career that began with him leading Alabama to a pair of national championship games before losing his starting job to Tua Tagovailoa. After graduating, the Channelview product transferred to Oklahoma for a one-and-done season that produced some dazzling numbers but ended short of the ultimate goal.