Joe Burrow accounted for all six touchdowns Monday night, to lead the #1 LSU Tigers to a 42-25 win over the #3 Clemson Tigers at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana in the FBS National Championship game to cap off a perfect 15-0 season.
Clemson (14-1) got off to a 10 point lead early on a one yard touchdown run by quarterback Trevor Lawrence in the first, and then a 52 yard field goal and a 36 yard scoring run by Tee Higgins 4:22 into the second quarter to make it 17-7. LSU (15-0) though came storming back led by their Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Burrow. Burrow scored on a three yard run, and then found Ja’Marr Chase for a 14 yard score with 5:22 to go in the half to give the Tigers from Louisiana State a lead they wouldn’t give back. Burrow connected with Thaddeus Moss for a six yard touchdown with 10 seconds left in the half to make it 28-17 at the break.
Travis Etienne scored on a three yard run early in the third to try and lead Clemson back, and Lawrence connected with Amari Rodgers for the two point conversion to cut it to 28-25. But Burrow was too much. He threw his fourth touchdown pass when he hit Moss for another score of four yards with 5:13 left in the third, and then made it five when he found Terrace Marshall Jr. for a 24 yard score early in the fourth that put the game away.
Burrow was 31-49 passing for 463 yards, with five touchdowns and no interceptions in the impressive LSU win and also ran for another. Clyde Edwards-Helaire rushed 16 times for 110 yards. Chase had nine catches for 221 yards and two touchdowns, and Justin Jefferson also had nine catches for 106 yards. LSU amassed 628 total yards. Lawrence finished 18-37 passing for 234 yards, but didn’t throw any touchdowns and wasn’t intercepted. Lawrence also rushed 10 times for 49 yards and a touchdown. Etienne rushed 15 times for 78 yards and a score. Justyn Ross had five receptions for 76 yards. The loss snaps a 29 game Clemson winning streak, and also is the first loss as a starting quarterback for Lawrence (25-1).
