The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
PEACH BOWL
TOP PLAYERS
LSU: QB Joe Burrow, 4,715 yards passing, SEC-record 48 touchdowns, 77.9 completion percentage. Oklahoma: QB Jalen Hurts, 3,634 yards passing, 32 touchdowns, 71.8 completion percentage, 1,255 yards rushing, 18 TDs.
NOTABLE
LSU: Making its first appearance in the College Football Playoff.
Oklahoma: Has yet to get past the semifinals in three previous playoff appearances.
LAST TIME
LSU defeated Oklahoma 21-14 in the Sugar Bowl for the BCS national championships (Jan. 4, 2004)
BOWL HISTORY
LSU: Appearing in its 51st NCAA-sanctioned bowl game. This will be the Tigers’ fifth trip to the Peach Bowl, their last coming in 2005 when they routed Miami 40-3.
Oklahoma: The 53rd postseason game for the Sooners, but their first appearance in the Peach Bowl.
No. 1 LSU (13-0, SEC champions) vs. No. 4 Oklahoma (12-1, Big 12 champions)
QUOTABLE
LSU: “Anytime, anywhere, anybody, we ready to play,” coach Ed Orgeron
Oklahoma: “It’s all about this team, this match-up right now,” coach Lincoln Riley said. “You’re going to play great teams, You have to play really well to beat the other teams. That’s how it should be. This is important. It’s a good accomplishment. But it’s certainly not our end goal.”
KEY STATS
LSU: Burrow’s 4,715 passing yards and nation-leading 48 touchdown passes are Southeastern Conference records. He is the most accurate passer in the country, at 77.9%, and has thrown just six interceptions. Oklahoma: Hurts became the third FBS player ever to record 3,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards by the 11th game of a season, and he joined 2007 Heisman winner Tim Tebow as the only players since 1996 with at least 32 passing TDs and 18 rushing TDs. Hurts leads the nation in points responsible for per game (23.7) and touchdowns accounted for (51). He has 4,889 yards of total offense (3,634 passing, 1,255 rushing).
HEISMAN WINNER
Quarterback Joe Burrow became LSU’s second Heisman winner and first since running back Billy Cannon in 1959. The 60-year gap between Heisman winners is the longest for any school with multiple recipients. Burrow was just the second Heisman finalist for LSU since candidates began being invited to New York for the presentation ceremony in 1982, and the first offensive player from the Tigers. The last finalist from LSU was defensive back Tyrann Mathieu, who finished fifth in the voting in 2011.