Burrow-Hurts: A tantalizing matchup in Atlanta
Freshman Sam Howell threw for 294 yards and three touchdowns in addition to catching a TD pass, and North Carolina blew out Temple at the Military Bowl in Annapolis to cap a satisfying return season for coach Mack Brown. Howell completed 25 of 34 passes and ran for 53 yards on three carries to help the Tar Heels (7-6) secure their first bowl victory since 2013. North Carolina was 4-6 before winning its last two regular-season games to qualify for a bowl bid. Temple (8-5) has gone to a bowl game five years in a row — and lost four of them. This was the Owls’ first trip under coach Rod Carey, who came to Temple after a run of six-plus seasons at Northern Illinois in which he was 0-6 in the postseason. North Carolina went 3-9 in 2017 and 2-9 last year before hiring Brown, who coached the Tar Heels from 1988-97 prior to heading to Texas for a 16-year stay. Coming off a five-year absence from coaching, the 68-year-old Brown can attribute a portion of his success to securing Howell, a high school star in North Carolina who initially committed to Florida State. Closing out a sensational debut season at the college level, Howell threw a pair of touchdown passes before halftime to stake the Tar Heels to a 20-6 lead. UNC pulled away early in the third quarter by scoring two touchdowns in a 12-second span, the last on a 20-yard interception return by Storm Duck. Howell completed the third-quarter blitz by catching a 2-yard TD pass from wide receiver Rontavius Groves at the end of a razzle-dazzle reverse to make it 41-6. Howell threw 38 touchdown passes this season, most by a true freshman in FBS history. His 3,641 yards passing are an Atlantic Coast Conference record for a freshman who has not redshirted.
Atlanta — Joe Burrow needed a year under his belt, along with a coaching change and a new wide-open offense, to really find his way at LSU.
Jalen Hurts didn't have even that long to adjust, which makes his lone season at Oklahoma even more remarkable.
Now, two transfer quarterbacks who left an inedible mark on their second programs will meet today in the Peach Bowl semifinal playoff game.
The overall matchup looks a bit one-sided — top-ranked LSU (13-0) is a two-touchdown favorite over the No. 4 Sooners (12-1) — but the quarterback duel is downright tantalizing.
Burrow, the runaway winner of the Heisman Trophy, has completed nearly 78% of his passes for 4,715 yards, with a staggering 48 touchdowns and just six interceptions.
“How can you not respect what Joe's done?” Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said. “He's had a fabulous year. He's going to be the best quarterback we've faced.” Ditto for LSU. Hurts, the Heisman runner-up, has dazzled with both his right arm and his legs. He's completed just under 72% of his throws for 3,634 yards, 32 touchdowns and seven interceptions — and leads his team in rushing with 1,255 yards and 18 TDs.
“He's the key to the game,”
LSU coach Ed Orgeron said.
Both star quarterbacks took circuitous routes to get where they are.
Burrow, who left Ohio State after failing to earn a starting job, played solidly for LSU in 2018. He became a full-fledged star when the Tigers committed to the spread offense and hired Joe Brady away from the New Orleans Saints to serve as passing game coordinator.
While Burrow, an Ohio native, has fit comfortably into the Louisiana lifestyle — memorably, he donned a jersey that spelled his name “Burreaux” for senior night — Hurts faced a more difficult adjustment after transferring to Oklahoma from Alabama.
Guarded and not very vocal, Hurts won over his teammates and coaching staff with his stunning play on the field.
“Respect is earned, not given,” Hurts said. “When you're with a group of men in a new setting, you don't know any of them, you're the quarterback, you're trying to earn their respect, you go in there and lead by example and just do your job. If they wish to follow you, they do. They followed.”
Hurts led Alabama to the national championship game his first two seasons, only to lose the starting job to Tua Tagovailoa. After watching from the bench as a junior, he graduated early and transferred to Oklahoma to play one more year.