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Backup Myles Brennan led another touchdown drive, ending with a one-yard score by Tyrion Davis-Price, making the score 51–14 at the end of the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Tigers scored on a 54-yard punt return touchdown by Trey Palmer, and a two-yard touchdown run by Davis-Price. Following the win over Ole Miss, Alabama moved to No. 1 before an October 12 road game against the No. 24 Texas A&M Aggies, the Crimson Tide's first ranked opponent of the season. Alabama won the game, which saw Tagovailoa break the school record of 80 passing touchdowns in a career, previously held by A. Next week, the Crimson Tide hosted the Tennessee Volunteers in a winning effort, during which Tagovailoa suffered an ankle injury. Mac Jones served as the starting quarterback for the following game against the Arkansas Razorbacks, which Alabama won by 41 points.
After a second bye week, LSU traveled to Tuscaloosa to play rival Alabama. Heading into the game, LSU was ranked No. 1 and Alabama No. 2 in the AP Poll. The season's first College Football Playoff rankings were released on the Tuesday prior to the game, with LSU ranked No. 2 and Alabama ranked No. 3. Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who was only 20 days removed from a minor ankle surgery, was making his return, and the battle between him and Joe Burrow was expected to play a major role in the Heisman Trophy race.
College football bowl games 2022: Dates, times, matchups
They rebounded and gained wins in their next two games against the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Western Carolina Catamounts. Going into their November 30 game against the Auburn Tigers , they were ranked No.5 in the CFP Rankings and were still considered in contention to make the College Football Playoff. However, Auburn won, ending their chances at earning a playoff berth. The Crimson Tide dropped to No. 14 in the rankings and were selected to play the Michigan Wolverines in the Citrus Bowl, a game they won 35–16. Joe Burrow's performance in the game helped to establish him as the main frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy, which is awarded annually to the best overall player in college football. Burrow won the award on December 14, becoming only the second player in LSU history to receive the honor.
LSU's defense was anchored by two All-American defensive backs in Jim Thorpe Award winner Grant Delpit and true freshman Derek Stingley Jr. Head coach Ed Orgeron was awarded several national Coach of the Year honors. LSU won the coin toss and elected to defer, giving Alabama possession of the ball to start the game. Avery Atkins performed a 65-yard kickoff that was received by Henry Ruggs, who returned it 29 yards to start the Crimson Tide's first series at their own 29-yard line. From here, a 20-yard pass to Ruggs and a 31-yard rush by Najee Harris put the team into LSU territory. However, the Crimson Tide's positive momentum stalled and on third down, Tagovailoa fumbled, with Ray Thornton recovering the ball for LSU at their own 8-yard line.
Oct. 12 Florida
Baskerville then blocked a Vanderbilt punt attempt and recovered the ball for a touchdown to make the score 59–24 midway through the third quarter. Later in the third quarter, Vanderbilt scored again with an 18-yard pass from Riley Neal to Kalija Lipscomb. In the fourth quarter, LSU scored with a six-yard touchdown run by John Emery Jr., and Vanderbilt scored in the final minutes via a 47-yard pick-six thrown by Myles Brennan. Following the game, LSU remained No. 1 in the AP Poll and was elevated to that rank in the Coaches Poll and the CFP Rankings.
The Gators will likely begin the season ranked in the top 10 of the polls but this isn't a team without question marks. The defense should be fine with senior linebacker David Reese and a solid secondary leading the way. With college football's top defense, more was expected of Mississippi State under first-year head coach Joe Moorhead but finished 8-5 (4-4 in SEC).
Oct. 5 Utah State
Big 12 play kicks off with yet another home game, this time it is the Oklahoma State Cowboys returning to Austin where they last left victoriously in 2017. LSU's non-conference away schedule also includes a trip to Austin to face off against the Texas Longhorns in the second week of the season. LSU answered with a dramatic one-point victory in The Swamp a year later, and Florida then took down the Tigers last season in Gainesville with a big fourth quarter showing. Given there is no sports happening, I'm considering watching a game every Saturday just like living the season again.
LSU would love to get some payback against the Gators after losing to them in Gainesville last season. The Aggies will be battle-tested before heading to Baton Rouge with road games against Wake Forest and San Diego State. This could be another sleeper game for LSU looking ahead to a Florida team that upset the Tigers in 2018. Georgia Southern appears to be a program on the rise and figures to come out of the gates fired up, but that doesn't mean the Eagles are ready to play the role of giant killer just yet. Last season, Georgia Southern ventured into the other Death Valley against Clemson and left with a 38-7 loss to the eventual national champions. The talent is on the roster for LSU in 2019, but does the schedule match up favorably for the Tigers to make a run to Atlanta and possibly earn a College Football Playoff berth?
Future LSU Football Schedules
LSU scored on the game's opening drive with a 37-yard touchdown pass from Joe Burrow to Ja'Marr Chase. Arkansas converted two field goals, from 24 yards and 47 yards, to make the score 7–6 midway through the second quarter. After a touchback, the Tigers started on their own 25, but a 35-yard pass to Chase put them on Alabama's 40. Another few plays moved them up to Alabama's 19, but following a sack that put LSU at 4th & 17 at the Alabama 27, York was brought in to make a 45-yard field goal, making the score 19–13. Ruggs returned the subsequent kickoff to put Alabama at their own 28. After several plays and a delay of game penalty, they had not progressed by their fourth down and decided to punt, with Stingley returning the ball to the LSU 39.
With the way Texas is playing this season, it’s not far-fetched to say those driving routes will be used quite frequently by fans sporting burnt orange next year. The Longhorns won’t be doing a lot of traveling in those nonconference games as they open the season with a home game against Louisiana Tech on Aug. 31 and remain in Austin the next week when the LSU Tigers come to town. As usual, the Longhorns open their season with three non-conference games before heading into Big 12 play. The dates for the 2019 Texas football schedule were announced Thursday, per Texas Athletics. Stay tuned to Geaux247 for more on LSU's 2019 football schedule.
LSU then scored via a 39-yard run by Edwards-Helaire, and Florida closed out the half with a six-yard touchdown pass from Trask to Van Jefferson with four seconds remaining, bringing the score to 21–21. In the preseason, LSU was ranked No. 6 in both the AP and Coaches Polls. In their season opener, they defeated the Georgia Southern Eagles with a score of 55–3. With the offense using a new spread scheme, Burrow threw five touchdown passes, tying a school record. The next week, the No. 6 Tigers traveled to take on the No. 9 Texas Longhorns in a matchup between two top-10 teams.
Joe Burrow finished the game with 32-of-42 attempts for 321 yards, one touchdown pass, one rushing touchdown, and an interception. Clyde Edwards-Helaire ran for 136 yards and a touchdown on 26 attempts. Ja'Marr Chase led the team with eight receptions for 123 yards.
Defensive coordinator Mike Elko had a senior-laden unit in 2018 and must regroup with just four starters returning. After taking its lumps last season, Auburn's offensive line should be one of the team's strengths but it may not matter if the Tigers' new starting quarterback struggles. The defense should be solid yet again with one of the nation's top defensive lines and a seasoned secondary leading the way.
Two penalties against Alabama and rushing plays from Edwards-Helaire and Burrow put the Tigers at fourth down at Alabama's 22, where York scored a 40-yard field goal, bringing the score to 10–0. With about five minutes left in the quarter, the Tigers kicked a touchback and Alabama started at their 25. After two runs and an incomplete pass, Perine punted from the Alabama 29, with Stingley returning it to the LSU 28. A short run, a sack, and a short pass followed, and the Tigers punted from their 22. The punt was returned 77 yards by Waddle for a touchdown, putting the Tide on the board with a score of 10–7. Joseph Bulovas kicked off to the Tigers, with Edwards-Helaire returning the ball to the LSU 25.
This was LSU's 16th conference championship in school history, its 12th in the Southeastern Conference, and first since 2011. At the start of the 2019 season, Alabama and LSU were ranked No. 2 and No. 6, respectively, in both the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. By October 14, the AP Poll had Alabama and LSU ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. These rankings held going into their matchup on November 9, making the game the first "Game of the Century" matchup between the two top-ranked teams in the nation since the 2011 LSU vs. Alabama game, which LSU won 9–6. However, since that game, Alabama had won eight straight games against the Tigers leading up to their 2019 matchup, including the 2012 BCS National Championship Game. The winner of the game was expected to be a strong contender to make the SEC Championship Game and the College Football Playoff, and both teams starting quarterbacks were considered frontrunners for the Heisman Trophy.
Following this, the Crimson Tide had another bye week before their game against LSU. In the days leading up to the game, it was unsure if Tagovailoa would play due to his injury, with head coach Nick Saban saying that it would be a game-time decision. To open the second half, LSU's Micah Baskerville returned a Vanderbilt onside kick attempt 46 yards to the one yard line, after which Burrow threw his fifth touchdown pass to Racey McMath. Vanderbilt responded with a 52-yard touchdown run by Ke'Shawn Vaughn. LSU then scored again with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Burrow to Ja'Marr Chase, Burrow's sixth of the day.
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