GLENDALE, Ariz. — Let’s start with the hit. We have to start with the hit. It was the most memorable play of Tuesday’s PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, the hit that ignited No. 11 LSU to a 40-32 win against No. 8 UCF at State Farm Stadium, even though it left the Tigers’ quarterback flat on his back, looking up at this facility’s retractable roof.
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On 3rd-and-8 from the UCF 15, LSU’s Joe Burrow dropped back and looked right toward receiver Derrick Dillon. Burrow threw to the outside, Dillon broke in. Brandon Moore intercepted the pass and, from the get-go, the UCF cornerback looked to have a clear path to the end zone. His only obstacle was Burrow, who angled to the sideline to try to cut off Moore at the 35.
The quarterback’s only problem: He didn’t see Joey Connors zeroing in on him. The 6-foot-1, 313-pound defensive tackle leveled Burrow, dropping him to the grass, freeing up his teammate for the 93-yard Pick Six. Burrow stayed still. His coaches and teammates fumed.
Joe Burrow dead https://t.co/MNFYj8kufO
— Shannon Moorer (@ShannonMoorer) January 1, 2019
“The first thing that went through my mind was that guy should’ve been out of the game,” said offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger, who watched the play unfold from the coaches’ box. “The second thing was: Get up.”
“I thought it was targeting,” LSU coach Ed Orgeron said. “It looked like targeting.”
In the moment, left guard Garrett Brumfield missed it. He was too busy trying to chase down Moore, unsuccessfully, as UCF pushed ahead 14-3 midway through the first quarter. But once he had a chance to watch the replay on the stadium video board, Brumfield wasn’t happy.
“I thought it was distasteful. I thought it was unnecessary,” Brumfield said. “I don’t think it was a high-character thing to do in a football game.”
Officials reviewed the play and ruled Connor’s block clean. On the LSU sideline, it didn’t matter.
“If that doesn’t make you mad, if that doesn’t get your butt in gear — I don’t know what will,” tight end Foster Moreau said. “A cheap shot on your quarterback?”
As LSU trainers tended to Burrow, Myles Brennan grabbed his helmet and started warming up on the sideline, taking snaps from center Lloyd Cushenberry. A sophomore, Brennan had prepared himself for this moment. It’s the life of the backup quarterback, one heartbeat away. Or, in this case, one vicious hit.
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“I didn’t even blink,” said Brennan, who warmed up for a good minute or two. “Praying to God nothing happened to Joe. But if something did, I wanted to be prepared and go out and lead this team to victory. So, I was ready. I was ready to go.”
As it turned out, he wasn’t needed.
“You know what, Joe’s a tough guy,” Ensminger said. “If there’s any way he could get back in there, he was going to get back in there. There was no doubt in my mind. … Even when he runs the football, I have begged him to get down, and he won’t do it.”
On the sideline, Burrow watched UCF (12-1) kick off, chatting briefly with fullback Tory Carter. Then, he trotted on the field for LSU’s next possession.
“The only reason I didn’t get up in one second is because I got the wind knocked out of me,” said Burrow, who had a couple nasty scratches on the right side of his neck. “I would’ve got up immediately if that didn’t happen.”
His mindset: Complete passes. Score touchdowns.
After the pick-six, Burrow — a graduate transfer from Ohio State in the first of two seasons of eligibility — was just 2 of 6 for 31 yards. Rattled but recovered, he found rhythm the rest of the half. He threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson, perhaps the best throw of the day, bringing LSU to within 14-10. On LSU’s next possession, he connected with Dillon on a catch-and-run across the middle for a 49-yard score.
In the second quarter, Burrow took another hit, this time after unleashing a short pass to Terrace Marshall Jr. This time, UCF safety Kyle Gibson was ejected for targeting. Two plays later, the junior quarterback found Jefferson for a 33-yard touchdown that gave LSU a 24-14 lead.
Joe Burrow threw a 33-yard TD just TWO PLAYS after this hit 👏 pic.twitter.com/u77ULt7f8Y
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) January 1, 2019
“Joe is by far the toughest quarterback I’ve ever been around — and that’s from Day 1,” Brennan said. “He’s taken a lot of big hits, and he’s gotten up — maybe not as fast as others — but he’s gotten up and gone on to the next play.”
The Fiesta Bowl’s Most Outstanding Offensive Player, Burrow finished 21 of 34 for a career-best 394 yards. All four of his touchdown passes came after the pick-six. To put this in perspective: At LSU, he became the first quarterback since 2003 to throw for 300-plus yards and four touchdowns in the same game.
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After the contest, a fan somehow got onto the field and asked for a photo while Burrow waited to be interviewed. “Hold on a sec,” Burrow said while be pulled a dark championship T-shirt over his grass-stained jersey. Once he got it on, the quarterback motioned toward the fan, who quickly snapped the photo. “Appreciate it, Joe,” he said.
LSU (10-3) was in bad shape for this. Cornerback Greedy Williams and nose tackle Ed Alexander pulled out to prepare for the NFL Draft. Injuries and disciplinary issues robbed the Tigers of other key players. Then, once the game started, LSU lost cornerback Terrence Alexander (throwing a punch) and safety Grant Delpit (targeting) to ejections. Delpit was so frustrated he tweeted in the locker room as the game unfolded: “Impossible, this is not football anymore lol.”
But the Tigers found a way. Defensive end Rashard Lawrence said it’s simply how they’re built. Leaning on each other during tough times, telling themselves to keep pushing and pushing. It’s an “us-against-the-world” mentality, one that sprouted before the season amid low external expectations. That was a theme this week. Reminding everyone that LSU wasn’t supposed to be here, not on this stage.
Behind Burrow, the Tigers proved otherwise.
“Joe is an excellent quarterback,” Orgeron said. “We believe in him. He’s got excellent leadership skills. He’s come to practice every day. He works every day. He’s exactly what we feel like an LSU quarterback ought to be.”
(Top photo of Burrow: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
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