Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Wisconsin shocks No. 5 LSU, 16-14
AP SPORTS WRITER
GREEN BAY, Wis — Rafael Gaglianone kicked a 47-yard field goal with 3:47 left, and Wisconsin staved off No. 5 LSU’s desperate last-ditch drive for a 16-14 victory Saturday in a game that dealt an early blow to the Tigers’ national title hopes.
LSU’s frustration was on full display at the end of the game, when offensive lineman Josh Boutte was ejected for a flagrant foul after a vicious blindside hit on Wisconsin’s D’Cota Dixon after the safety sealed the win with an interception with 57 seconds left.
Wisconsin’s defense delivered in the clutch to back up the stronglegged Gaglianone.
“It was honestly unbelievable when I turned around and saw that D’Cota had the ball in his hands,” Wisconsin linebacker T.J. Watt said. “A little scuffle broke out from the LSU team. In the end that’s the way they play football and we have our ways to play football.”
Heisman Trophy hopeful Leonard Fournette ran for 138 yards on 23 carries but limped off on his final carry, a 15-yard run with less than 2 minutes left. Coach Les Miles said Fournette would have returned if LSU was able to get the ball back.
Les Miles’ first loss in a season opener in his 12 years as LSU coach will surely put him back on the hot seat. He was nearly run out of Baton Rouge after a 9-3 season in 2015.
The Takeaway
LSU: Miles said he had to review the film of Boutte’s hit, and that it was out of character for his lineman.
Boutte, Miles said, was “not a malicious guy, and I just can’t imagine that he saw him go down and then would’ve made a tackle.”
Otherwise, the offense sputtered and quarterback Brendan Harris struggled, going 12 of 21 for 131 yards with two interceptions and a score. But Miles’ move to bring former Wisconsin assistant Dave Aranda aboard in the offseason to coordinate the defense paid off. Tre’Davious White returned an interception for a touchdown and recovered a fumble that set up LSU’s score, both in the third quarter.
WISCONSIN: Corey Clement ran for 86 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. The Badgers defense pitched a shutout well into the third quarter, forcing two fumbles and frustrating Harris. But Wisconsin led just 6-0 at halftime after squandering early scoring chances, including a stop on fourthand-1 from the LSU 23.
Quarterback Bart Houston, making his first career start, was 19 of 31 for 205 yards with two interceptions.
The Badgers celebrated at Lambeau Field, home of the NFL’s Green Bay Packers.