In just the second week of the regular season, the college football gods graced fans everywhere with a matchup between two teams ranked in the top 10. No. 6 LSU traveled to Austin to go up against No. 9 Texas in arguably the top game of the season thus far in terms of AP Poll rankings. Ultimately, the winner of the contest was the Tigers, whose strong showing on offense and key defensive stops in the first half were enough to leave with the 45-38 victory over the Longhorns.
At first, the game looked to be a defensive showdown. The only points in the first quarter came from a field goal by LSU to cap off an 11-play, 71-yard drive. One of the biggest moments of the game came with about four minutes left in the quarter, when Texas intercepted LSU quarterback Joe Burrow at the Tigers’ 12-yard line, running it back a few yards and giving Texas 1st and goal from the Tigers 4.
However, LSU’s defense stood tall, stopping Texas on four straight plays, including a 4th & goal from the 1-yard-line.
It was a huge swing of momentum; however, LSU would go on to punt shortly after. Several plays later, Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger found Brennan Eagles for a 55-yard touchdown in the second quarter, putting the Longhorns on top 7-3.
But eight plays later, LSU responded with its first touchdown of the night, a six-yard pass to Justin Jefferson to put them back on top.
That was when LSU’s defense started to make an impact. The Tigers forced punts on consecutive drives in the second quarter, recording a sack in each of them.
The offense took care of the rest, kicking a field goal to make it 13-7, then scoring another touchdown six plays later on Jefferson’s second TD catch of the night. At halftime, LSU was leading 20-7 on the road, and the game had all of the makings of a blowout.
Wild Second Half
The second half is when the points started to fly. After LSU punted to lead off the half, Texas drove down the field for over seven minutes, covering 86 yards over 19 plays before Ehlinger ran in for the two-yard touchdown. LSU responded with a field goal, putting it up 23-14.
Then Texas put together another long scoring drive, this time finishing with a 20-yard pass from Ehlinger to Jake Smith to put Texas down by only two points.
With its lead almost completely evaporated, LSU found the end zone for the first time since late in the second quarter. In the first play of the fourth quarter, Burrow hit Terrace Marshall Jr. for the 26-yard TD to extend LSU’s lead to nine once again.
Texas responded with another huge score of its own, this time on a pass from Ehlinger to Devin Duvernay on 4th & 3 from the LSU 44. The score was 30-28 LSU, with plenty of time still remaining.
The Tigers, of course, would answer back. Two plays after the Longhorns were hit with a big roughing-the-passer penalty, Clyde Edwards-Helaire dashed for 12 yards into the end zone to make it 37-28.
With plenty of time on the clock, Texas did its best to mount a drive to make it a two-point game once again. However, thanks to a holding penalty that negated a 25-yard gain as well as a sack taken on first down for a loss of 12 yards, the Longhorns had to settle for a 47-yard field goal to make it a six-point contest with about four minutes remaining.
Shortly after, the Tigers had the dagger. After taking a sack and facing a 3rd and 17, Burrow hit Jefferson in the middle of the field for the first down. But the play didn’t end there, as Jefferson was able to sprint past a couple of defenders and take it 61 yards for the score. After completing the two-point conversion, LSU was up 45-31 with about two and a half minutes left in regulation.
About two minutes later, Texas was able to cut the deficit in half with Duvernay’s second touchdown catch of the night, but it was too little too late.
Burrow was sensational in the game, going 31-for-39 for 471 yards and four touchdowns. He was nearly perfect in the second half, completing 15-of-18 attempts for 251 yards and two touchdowns. Three LSU receivers had over 100 receiving yards, led by Jefferson, who had 163 yards on nine catches and three touchdowns on the night.
Despite taking the loss, Ehlinger put the Longhorns in position for success nearly every time he was on the field. The junior QB was 31-for-47 for 401 yards and four touchdowns. He was also the Longhorns’ leading rusher, gaining 60 yards on the ground along with a touchdown. Two receivers netted over 100 yards, led by Duvernay’s 154 yards and two touchdowns on 12 catches.
After that wild showdown, LSU returns home to host FCS school Northwestern State next Saturday. At 1-1, Texas will travel to play longtime rival Rice next Saturday as well.
