Rewind: LSU 29, Louisville 9

With its defense holding Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Lamar Jackson to no touchdowns and Derrius Guice scoring two touchdowns, LSU defeated Louisville 29-9 in the Citrus Bowl at Camping World Stadium in Orlando on Saturday afternoon.

HOW THEY SCORED

FIRST QUARTER

LOUISVILLE 3, LSU 0

Score: Blanton Creque 24-yard field goal. Time Remaining: 7:14. Drive: 55 yards in 5 plays. Time of Possession: 1:11. Key Play: On first-and-ten, Jackson completed a 53-yard pass to James Quick for a first down at LSU’ 9.

SECOND QUARTER

LSU 7, LOUISVILLE 3

Score: Colin Jeter 1-yard pass from Danny Etling. Colby Delahoussaye kick. Time Remaining: 14:54. Drive: 52 yards in 7 plays. Time of Possession: 3:41. Key Play: On third-and-five, Etling completed a 12-yard pass to Guice for a first down at Louisville’s 4.

LSU 14, LOUISVILLE 3

Score: Guice 1-yard pass from Etling. Delahoussaye kick. Time Remaining: 7:14. Drive: 79 yards in 13 plays. Time of Possession: 5:45. Key Play: On third-and-11, Etling completed a 39-yard pass to DJ Chark for a first down at Louisville’s 2.

LSU 16, LOUISVILLE 3

Score: Safety, Jackson tackled in the end zone by Arden Key. Time Remaining: 1:08.

LSU 16, LOUISVILLE 6

Score: Creque 47-yard field goal. Time Remaining: :00. Drive: 3 yards in 4 plays. Time of Possession: :54. Key Play: Zykiesis Cannon intercepted an Etling pass and returned the ball 1 yard to LSU’s 33.

THIRD QUARTER

LSU 23, LOUISVILLE 6

Score: Guice 70-yard run. Delahoussaye kick. Time Remaining: 8:48. Drive: 82 yards in 2 plays. Time of possession: :45.

LSU 26, LOUISVILLE 6

Score: Delahoussaye 42-yard field goal. Time Remaining: 3:04. Drive: 35 yards in 8 plays. Time of Possession: 4:18. Key Play: On third-and-five, Etling completed an 8-yard pass to Chark for a first down at Louisville’s 29.

FOURTH QUARTER

LSU 26, LOUISVILLE 9

Score: Creque 30-yard field goal. Time Remaining: 14:43. Drive: 56 yards in 12 plays. Time of Possession: 3:21. Key Play: On fourth-and-two, Jackson completed a 4-yard pass to Keith Towbridge for a first down at LSU’s 13.

LSU 29, LOUISVILLE 9

Score: Delahoussaye 25-yard field goal. Time Remaining: 10:38. Drive: 41 yards in 8 plays. Time of Possession: 4:05. Key Play: On second-and-seven, Etling completed a 10-yard pass to John David Moore for a first down at Louisville’s 22.

LSU OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME

With Leonard Fournette officially off to the NFL, Guice accepted his new role of being the Tigers’ go-to back. Guice accounted for 230 yards – rushing, receiving and returning kicks. Guice carried the ball 26 times for 138 yards, including a 70-yard scoring run. He caught three passes for 11 yards, including a one-yard reception for a touchdown. Guice also returned three kickoffs for 81 yards. Guice became the fourth LSU back to rush for at least 1,300 yards in a season. Guice closed the year with 1,387 yards – the fourth highest total in school history – trailing Fournette, Charles Alexander and Jeremy Hill. Guice was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.

Guice’s comments: “The coaches did a great job preparing us for this game. We were disappointed we didn’t make the playoffs. We were fired up for the Heisman winner. The defense played a helluva game. I am glad coach (Ed) O(rgeron) got the job. He gives us a lot of energy and is involved more than most coaches.”

LSU DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME

To no one’s knowledge, Key needed just one sack to set the Tigers’ single-season record. It was announced during the game that the LSU media guide had a mistake regarding the sack record. The top total in a season was 11 by Gabe Northern in 1994. So, Key sacked Jackson twice to give him 12 for the season and the new record. One of the two sacks resulted in a safety which put the Tigers ahead 16-3. Key finished the game with six tackles and one quarterback-hurry.

Key’s comments: “I found out about the sack record on Twitter. I am still going for 20 sacks next year. The other coaches told me that (defensive coordinator) Dave Aranda got no sleep the past couple of weeks because of his preparation for Louisville.”

WHY LSU WON

Aranda’s defense delivered its best defensive performance of the season. Louisville did not score a touchdown for the first time in six years. Jackson accounted for 186 yards – more than 200 yards less than his per game average. The Tigers’ front seven totally dominated the Cardinals’ offensive line. Louisville gained 57 first-half yards – all but four coming on one Jackson pass completion.

NOTABLE TEAM STATISTICS

LSU gained 394 yards, while Louisville had 220 yards. The Tigers averaged 5.6 yards per play as compared to 3.5 yards per snap for the Cardinals. . .LSU had a huge advantage in rushing yards – 177 yards to 67. . .The Tigers had possession of the ball for 36 minutes. . .LSU converted seven of its 17 third-down plays, while Louisville was just 2-of-17 on third-down situations. . .The Tigers sacked Jackson eight times, while Etling was sacked only once.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICAL LEADERS

LSU

Derrius Guice: 26 carries, 138 yards, 1 touchdown; 3 catches, 11 yards, 1 touchdown

Danny Etling: 29 attempts, 16 completions, 217 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception

Malachi Dupre: 7 catches, 139 yards

Duke Riley: 8 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 quarterback-hurry

Arden Key: 6 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 quarterback-hurry

Jamal Adams: 6 tackles, 1 tackle-for-loss, 1 pass breakup

Tashawn Bower: 4 tackles, 3 sacks

LOUISVILLE

Lamar Jackson: 27 attempts, 10 completions, 153 yards; 26 carries, 33 yards

James Quick: 3 catches, 81 yards

Keith Kelsey: 12 tackles, 1 tackle-for-loss, 1 quarterback-hurry

Stacy Thomas: 11 tackles, 1½ tackles-for-loss, 1 pass breakup

Jonathan Greenard: 5 tackles, 2 quarterback-hurries, 1½ tackles-for-loss, 1 pass breakup

DeAngelo Brown: 5 tackles, 2 tackles-for-loss

Devonte Fields: 3 tackles, 2 quarterback-hurries, 1 sack

NOTES

Maea Teuhema started at right tackle instead of Toby Weathersby. However, Weathersby did enter the game on LSU’s second series. Teuhema also played some snaps at left tackle. . .The seven catches and 139 receiving yards were career-highs for Dupre. . .LSU’s eight sacks were one short of the school record set against Tulane in 1994. . .Guice’s touchdown reception was the first of his career. With the 70-yard scoring run, Guice had eight touchdown runs of at least 20 yards this season. . .The safety recorded by LSU was its first in four seasons. Sam Montgomery registered a safety against Auburn in 2012. . .The last time the Tigers had a safety in a bowl game occurred 43 seasons ago – against Penn State in the Orange Bowl. The Nittany Lions had a Heisman Trophy winner – running back John Cappelletti. . .The last time the LSU defense did not allow a touchdown in a bowl game happened eight years ago. The Tigers beat Georgia Tech 38-3 in the 2008 Chick-fil-A Bowl. . .Freshman Rashard Lawrence had his first sack of the season. . .Delahoussaye made two of his three field goal attempts in his final game. Delahoussaye ended his career making 79.5 percent of his field goal attempts (fifth highest in school history) and making 35 field goals (eighth most in school history). . .The Tigers finished with an 8-4 record – the 17th consecutive season they won at least eight games. No other power conference school has as long a streak. . .Louisville ended the season with a 9-4 record with three straight losses. . .The paid attendance was 46,063.

FROM THE LOCKERROOM

Coach Ed Orgeron’s comments: “I’m happy for the team and the Tiger family. This was never about me. You’ve got great players. Let them play, right? I’m awful prod of the way they bought in. Dave Aranda answered the call. Our defensive backs covered their guys. They didn’t give up big plays. We didn’t blitz much this season. It was brilliant on Dave’s part to mix it up. We stayed one step ahead. When you give Dave three weeks to prepare, he’s going to prepare. I could tell by the way he was talking, he had a good feel for the Louisville offense. We thought we were better with our wide receivers than their defensive backs. We wanted to take advantage of that. Derrius Guice stepped in for Leonard Fournette and didn’t blink an eye. He’s one of the best players in the USA. We expect him to be the best next year.”

UP NEXT

LSU will open the 2017 season against BYU at NRG Stadium in Houston on Sept. 2. The Cougars (9-4) defeated Wyoming 24-21 in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego on Dec. 21.

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