By Hunt Palmer
THE STORY: After a dismal October and first week of November, LSU finished the season the right way.
LSU controlled the action a week ago against Vanderbilt and completely overwhelmed Oklahoma in the second half Saturday night. The Tigers took the first matchup with the Sooners as conference foes, 37-17.
Garrett Nussmeier returned from injury in the second quarter and connected on a pair of deep shots to Chris Hilton.
The foot injury Hilton suffered at the end of training camp may have hampered LSU’s ability to stretch the field much of the season. He’s clearly got a gear the rest of the unit lacks. It was fully on display against Oklahoma.
LSU scored on six of 10 drives and ran a kickoff back.
LSU’s defense swallowed up a dysfunctional Oklahoma offense, holding the Sooners scoreless after intermission. Jackson Arnold ran for his life most of the night. The Sooners only managed to mount one touchdown drive in the game. That equaled their defense’s effort as Nussmeier was stripped for a scoop and score.
It was a warm conclusion to the season on a chilly South Louisiana night.
Ultimately, this LSU team didn’t achieve its preseason goals. The Tigers dropped three league games and will play in a middling bowl. Still, some building blocks remain for the future, and a lot of those players had impacts on Saturday night.
LSU will await its bowl destination a week from Sunday.
THE STATS: Nussmeier finished 22-of-31 for 277 yards and three touchdowns.
LSU was 5-1 in games where Nussmeier didn’t throw an interception.
LSU won the turnover battle 2-1.
Aaron Anderson’s 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown was the first 100-yard return since Leonard Fournette in the 2014 Music City Bowl against Brian Kelly and Notre Dame.
Whit Weeks made 15 tackles, nine solo, two tackles for loss, a quarterback hurry and a forced fumble.
Freshman Dahvon Keys made 10 tackles.
Oklahoma threw for 26 yards in the second half.
LSU had seven completions of over 15 yards. Oklahoma had two.
THE PLAYS: LSU got the scoring going with just more than seven minutes to play in the first quarter. On a 3rd and 9 from the Oklahoma 18 yard line, Nussmeier calmly evaded the Oklahoma rush and found a wide-open Kyren Lacy who walked into the corner of the endzone.
Oklahoma answered with a defensive score. Nussmeier was stripped by Gracen Halton. R. Mason Thomas scooped it up at the nine yard line and brought it in for the score despite a huge hit by Aaron Anderson near the goalline. 7-7.
On the third snap of the second quarter, Nussmeier was drilled by Thomas for another sack. He remained down and left the game. AJ Swann entered as the backup.
Caden Durham got loose for a 50-yard run down to the Sooner 11 with about 10 minutes to play before halftime.
Damian Ramos paid it off with a 34-yard field goal to give LSU the 10-7 lead.
On the first Oklahoma snap of the ensuing possession, Arnold hit JJ Hester for a 50-yard gain down to the LSU 25. Major Burns was in coverage for the Tigers.
On the next play, Arnold kept a read-option and took it 23 yards down to the two. Xavier Robinson scored a play later to give Oklahoma its first lead, 14-10.
Anderson housed the next kickoff from 100 yards to put LSU in front, 17-14.
Oklahoma would get a field goal to knot things up at 17.
Nussmeier didn’t waste much time when he returned to the game. He found Chris Hilton for a 40-yard touchdown with just 45 seconds left in the first half. Hilton skied to make a circus catch in the endzone.
Hilton wasn’t done. The speedster ran under a 45 yard strike from Nussmeier to give LSU a two-score lead with 6:48 left in the third.
A trick play turned disastrous for the Sooners. Tight end Bower Sharp attempted a double pass. He was in the grasp of Ashton Stamps and just flung the ball skyward. It floated into the arms of Sage Ryan for an easy interception. Ryan ran it back to the LSU 42.
Nussmeier found Ke’Morreun Pimpton for 42 yards down to the Oklahoma four on the penultimate play of the third quarter. LSU would stall and settle for a 22-yard field goal. 34-17, LSU.
